Jean de la Cassière

Who was Jean de la Cassière?

Fra' Jean l'Evesque de la Cassière was the 51st Grand Master of the Order of Malta, from 1572 to 1581. He commissioned the building of the Conventual Church of the Order in Valletta, Malta, and is buried in the Crypt of St. John.

La Cassiere had earned acclaim for his bravery in the battle of Zoara in Northern Africa where he had saved the colors of the Order. He was Grand Prior of the Order’s Langue d’Auvergne when he was elected on 30 January 1572 to succeed Pierre de Monte as Grandmaster.

The early years of his reign as Grand Master were marked by numerous disputes and quarrels between the Order and the Bishop of Malta over the ecclesiastical jurisdiction of the bishop. These disputes were unprecedented in the history of the Order since it had arrived in Malta in 1530 with a grant of virtual sovereignty from Emperor Charles V. La Cassiere was unable to resolve the matter, which finally was submitted to Pope Gregory XIII who in turn appointed a Grand Inquisitor, a step that caused enormous resentment within the Order.

A second major conflict arose in 1575 with the Republic of Venice, when Maltese galleys seized a Venetian ship that carried goods for Jewish owners. Venice was outraged, and the Order soon faced the threat of having all of its property on Venetian territory confiscated. Again it required the intervention of the Pope, as well as the payment by La Cassiere of complete compensation, to resolve the dispute. And again, there was much discontent among the knights over this perceived rebuke to their assumed right to confiscate any property of non-Christians.