The Knights of Malta have elected Fra' Giacomo Dalla Torre del Tempio di Sanguinetto as the 80th Grand Master for the Order.
He previously served for a year as the lieutenant of the Grand Master.
The election was made by secret vote among the 54 members of the Council Complete of State.
The new Grand Master succeeds Fra' Matthew Festing who resigned amid differences with the Vatican.
The newly elected Grand Master will swear his oath before the Pope’s Special Delegate to the Order, Archbishop Angelo Becciu, and the members of the Council Complete of State on Thursday.
The Order said the new Grand Master will be responsible for continuing the reform of the Constitution of the Order of Malt to adapt it to the development that the Order has experienced in recent decades.
The Order is present in 120 countries with over 2,000 projects in the medical-social field. The Order of Malta has more than 120,000 volunteers and medical staff.