On 15th February 1113, Pope Pascal II – with the Bull Pie Postulatio Voluntatis – placed the monastic community of the Hospitallers of St. John of Jerusalem under the patronage of the Church, with the right to freely elect its heads, without interference from other lay or religious authorities.

It is thanks to this Bull – which represents the foundation of its independence and sovereignty – that for 900 years the Sovereign Order of Malta has been able to accomplish its humanitarian mission worldwide.