The celebration of the Holy Mass lies at the heart of the life of the Grand Priory. Members come together for Conventual Mass celebrated once a month as well as on important feast days of the Order’s liturgical calendar.

Solemn and devout liturgy has always been part of the Order’s charism. The Order’s first Rule in the 11th century, that of Blessed Raymond du Puy, makes that clear:

“in church the going about of the brethren should be decorous and their conduct appropriate; that is to say, that the clerics at the altar should serve the priest dressed in white clothing; there should be a deacon and a sub-deacon, and if required another cleric should perform this same duty; and let a light burn always by day and by night in the church; and let the priest go forth in white clothing to visit the sick, solemnly carrying the Body of the Lord, and let a deacon or sub-deacon or at least an acolyte precede him carrying a lantern with a lit candle and a sponge with holy water.”

The liturgy of the Order in Jerusalem, Rhodes, and then Malta was characterised by great beauty and solemnity, and retained many unique features, which the Grand Priory seeks to preserve. Accordingly, the liturgy is celebrated primarily in Latin, the traditional language of worship in the Roman Rite; Mass is celebrated according to both older and newer forms of the Roman Rite; the specific feasts of the Order’s calendar are marked; the relics of the saints are venerated; and the liturgy is accompanied by beautiful music.