Identity and mission
The Representative Office of the Sovereign Military Hospitaller Order of Saint John of Jerusalem of Rhodes and of Malta to the State of Palestine is the diplomatic mission through which the Sovereign Order of Malta – a sovereign subject of international law and a religious lay Order, devoted, in the words of its motto Tuitio Fidei et Obsequium Pauperum, to the defence of the faith and the service of the poor and the sick – maintains its bilateral relations with the Palestinian Authority and conducts its humanitarian, medical and social engagement in the Palestinian territories.

The Office cooperates closely with the Palestinian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates, with the Palestinian International Cooperation Agency (PICA), with the Holy See, the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem, the Custody of the Holy Land, the Apostolic Delegation to Jerusalem and Palestine, and with the network of Catholic and humanitarian institutions active in the Holy Land – including the Holy Family Hospital of Bethlehem and the Mar Youssef Primary Health Care Clinic in Gaza City.

Chancery and opening hours
The Chancery of the Representative Office is established in Ramallah, at No. 10, Aref Al-Aref Street, Al-Masayef Area. Offices are open from Monday to Thursday, 9:00 AM – 5:00 PM. Visits are by appointment.

Diplomatic staff

• H.E. Ambassador Michèle Burke Bowe, GCM – Head of the Representative Office (Ambassador since 8 March 2018; previously Minister Counsellor since 14 September 2016).
• Counsellor: dr. Demetrio Maltese, LL.M. (Cantab), Ph.D. (Bocconi) – Civil Law Notary in the Milan District (FM Notai, founding partner) and Adjunct Professor of Corporate Law at Università Bocconi (Milan). Knight of Magistral Grace of the Sovereign Order of Malta (since 2024; Donate of Devotion since 2021); awarded the medal pro merito melitensi for service rendered during the Covid-19 emergency. Member of the Italian Relief Corps of the Order of Malta (CISOM) since 2017. Outside the Order, since 2020 he has served as Legal Advisor for Italy of the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem; he is also Legal Advisor of the Province of San Domenico in Italy of the Order of Preachers (Dominicans), of the Order of Saint Clare (Poor Clares) of Jerusalem and Morocco, and of the Institute of Saint Angela Merici – Ursuline Sisters of Saint Charles.

Ecclesiastical Advisor
H.E.R. Mgr Pierre Bürcher, Bishop Emeritus of Reykjavík and Ecclesiastical Advisor to the Representation, is a Swiss prelate whose episcopal motto, “Christus pax nostra”, captures half a century of ministry. Born on 20 December 1945 in Fiesch (Canton of Valais) and ordained in 1971 for the Diocese of Lausanne, Geneva and Fribourg, he was appointed Auxiliary Bishop of that Diocese in 1994 by Pope Saint John Paul II, Bishop of Reykjavík by Pope Benedict XVI in 2007, and Apostolic Administrator of the Diocese of Chur in 2019. A member of the Dicastery for the Eastern Churches since 2004 and of the Holy Land Coordination for over twenty years, since 2018 he has been entrusted by Pope Francis with a special mission, distributing to pilgrims rosaries crafted by Bethlehem families. He is a Member of the Sovereign Order of Malta and of the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem.

The Patron Saint of the Order
On 24 June the Sovereign Order of Malta celebrates the Solemnity of the Nativity of Saint John the Baptist, the Patron Saint of the Order, observed by the Representation in communion with the wider Order around the world.

Heads of Mission of the Sovereign Order of Malta to the State of Palestine

• H.E. Amb. Michèle Burke Bowe – Ambassador since 2018 (Minister Counsellor 2016-2018).
• H.E. Amb. Justin Simpson – Ambassador 2013-2017; subsequently Ambassador of the Sovereign Order of Malta to Cuba.
• H.E. Amb. Patrick Renauld – Head of the newly opened Representation 2011-2013.

CONTACT DETAILS:
Address: 10, Aref Al-Aref Street, Al-Masayef Area – Ramallah, Palestine
Telephone: +970 259 825 5174
Email: repofficeramallah@orderofmalta.int
Website: palestinerepresentation.orderofmalta.int