The Malta Judo Federation and the Malta Judo Foundation on Thursday lost their patron Andrew Bertie who passed away in Rome.

Fra Andrew, a 3rd Dan black belt, was the 78th Grand Master of the Sovereign Military Hospitaller Order of St John of Jerusalem of Rhodes and Malta.

Andrew, as he was known among the Judo fraternity, started practising the sport in Great Britain.

On taking residence in Malta, he immediately made contact with the Maltese federation and never missed an opportunity to step on the mat and help the instructors in the teaching of the sport he loved so much.

The federation has been organising the popular Judo festivals in Christmas and Easter, under his patronage.

Last December, he joined the hundreds of young participants at the festival held at St Aloysius College.

In a statement, the federation said the Maltese judo fraternity will greatly miss Fra Andrew. They added that the U-20 international tournament, organised annually, will be dedicated to him and re-named the Andrew Bertie Memorial Promotional Tournament.

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