Ferdinand Von Hompesch : 1797-1798
The Grandmasters of the Order of St.John in Malta Philippe Villiers De L'Isle Adam Pietro Del Ponte Didier De Saint Jaille Juan D'Omedes Claude De La Sengle Jean Parisot De La Vallette Alof De Wignacourt Martin De Redin Antonio Manoel De Vilhena		On 17th July 1797, Ferdinand Van Hompesch, a German Knight from the "Langue" of Allemagne, became Grandmaster. Hompesch had come to Malta when young as A page to Grandmaster Pinto. Rapidly attaining the dignity of Grand Cross, he was for twenty- five years the representative of the Order at the Court of Vienna. Unfortunately for him, in 1798, during his term as Grandmaster, Napolean Bonaparte came to the Malta and with the help of most of the French Knights and the unhappy Maltese people, he forced Hompesch and the Order to leave the Maltese Islands after 268 years. Grandmaster Hompesch, who was the last Grandmaster of the Order during its stay in Malta died in Montepellier on 12th May 1805.