{{Short description|Fraternal order for women}} [[File:Badge of Dame Grand Cross of Honour and Devotion - Malta (1st h. 20 c) 01 by shakko.jpg|thumb|Badge of Dame Grand Cross of Honour and Devotion - Malta (1st half of 20th century)]] '''Dames of Malta''' are female members of the '''[[Sovereign Military Order of Malta]].''' The male counterparts of these '''[[Dames]]''' are the '''[[Knights of Malta]]'''.
This [[secret societies|secret]] [[fraternal order]], also known as '''Ladies of the Knights Hospitallers of St. John of Jerusalem''', was originally named '''Ladies of Malta'''. In 1902, it was consolidated with the '''Daughters of Malta''', and assumed the name "Dames of Malta." These Dames are an auxiliary to the Ancient and Illustrious Order Knights of Malta. Their governing body is known as "Zenodacia," the branches are called "Sisterhoods" and are under the jurisdiction of the Supreme Grand Commandery of the Ancient and Illustrious Order of Malta. Candidates for membership must be "white female Protestants, over sixteen years of age, not married to a Roman Catholic, able to write and speak the English language, competent to pursue some useful occupation, believers in the doctrines of the Holy Trinity as expressed in the Apostles' Creed." The "ritualistic work" of the Order unfolds "the marvelous history of its glorious past [the Order claims to be the direct descendant of the ancient Sisterhood of the Hospitallers Dames of Jerusalem] and "the deep religious significance of its institution," and glories in "the fact that it is the only Knightly Order having one Universal Password that admits to all Council Chambers around the Globe."<ref name="Preuss1924" />
In 1924, the membership of the Dames of Malta was 28,000. In 1978, the membership was over 5,000.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Schmidt |first=Alvin J. |title=Fraternal organizations |last2=Babchuk |first2=Nicholas |date=1980 |publisher=Greenwood Press |isbn=978-0-313-21436-3 |series=The Greenwood encyclopedia of American institutions |location=Westport, Conn |pages=79}}</ref> The headquarters were at 1345 Arch St., [[Philadelphia]], [[Pennsylvania]].<ref name="Preuss1924">{{cite book |last1=Preuss |first1=Arthur |title=A Dictionary of Secret and Other Societies ... |date=1924 |publisher=B. Herder Book Company |page=100 |chapter=Dames of Malta |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=tK82AAAAMAAJ&pg=PA9100 |access-date=15 October 2024 |language=en}} {{Source-attribution}}</ref>
==Notable members== *[[Genevieve Garvan Brady]], Papal Duchess, Dame of the [[Order of the Holy Sepulchre (Catholic)|Order of the Holy Sepulchre]], holder of the Cross [[Pro Ecclesia et Pontifice]] *[[Anne M. Burke]]<ref>{{Cite web |title=Sex Abuse Critic to Pope: Swap White Cassock for Black, Lose the Red Shoes |url=http://www.politicsdaily.com/2010/07/31/sex-abuse-critic-to-pope-swap-white-cassock-for-black-lose-the/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100803154652/http://www.politicsdaily.com/2010/07/31/sex-abuse-critic-to-pope-swap-white-cassock-for-black-lose-the/ |archive-date=2010-08-03 |date=2010-07-31 |last=Gibson |first=David |website=PoliticsToday.com}}</ref><ref name=":0">{{Cite web |title=Chivalry truly isn't dead: Here's where knights and dames still exist |url=https://aleteia.org/2018/05/04/chivalry-truly-isnt-dead-heres-where-knights-and-dames-still-exist?li_source=LI&li_medium=keep-reading |access-date=2025-05-13 |website=Aleteia — Catholic Spirituality, Lifestyle, World News, and Culture |language=en}}</ref> *[[Bernadette Castro]]<ref name=":0" /> *[[Mary Higgins Clark]]<ref name=":0" /> *[[Gilbert Walter Riversdale Monckton, 2nd Viscount Monckton of Brenchley|Marianna, Dowager Viscountess Monckton of Brenchley]], served as [[High Sheriff of Kent]] (1981–82); widow of [[Gilbert Walter Riversdale Monckton, 2nd Viscount Monckton of Brenchley]] *[[Virginia A. Dwyer]], director and deputy chairman of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York; chairman of the board of trustees of the University of Rochester<ref>{{Cite news |date=1997-10-02 |title=Dwyer, Virginia A. |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1997/10/02/classified/paid-notice-deaths-dwyer-virginia-a.html |access-date=2025-05-13 |work=The New York Times |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331}}</ref> *[[Emma, Lady Hamilton]] (1765-1815), awarded the Maltese Cross by Emperor Paul I of Russia for her aid to blockaded Malta. Lady Hamilton was the first English woman to be invested as a Dame of Malta<ref>{{Cite web |date=2017-03-10 |title=Emma Hamilton and the decade that shook Europe |url=https://www.rmg.co.uk/discover/explore/emma-hamilton-decade-that-shook-europe |access-date=2019-08-09 |website=Royal Museums Greenwich {{!}} UNESCO World Heritage Site In London |language=en}}</ref><ref>Pettigrew 1849, vol. ii., p. 631, n.1.</ref><ref>Pettigrew 1849, vol. ii., pp. 619-20.</ref><ref>Williams 2006, p, 234.</ref> *[[Clare Boothe Luce]], American playwright and political activist *[[Princess Michael of Kent|Marie-Christine''',''' Princess Michael of Kent]]<ref name=":0" /> *[[Marie Isobel, Countess Cathcart]]<ref name=":0" /> *[[Princess Maria Ludwiga Theresia of Bavaria]] *[[Janne Haaland Matláry]]<ref>{{cite web |title=Janne H. Matlary |url=http://www.pass.va/content/scienzesociali/en/academicians/former/matlary.html |publisher=[[Pontifical Academy of Social Sciences]] |access-date=18 June 2021}}</ref><ref name=":0" /> *[[Baron Talbot de Malahide|Patricia Mary, Lady Talbot of Malahide (née Riddell)]]<ref name=":0" /> *[https://archive.today/20130216140355/http://obituaries.nydailynews.com/23551571%23ixzz2JyF9VoWV Dorothea Angela McElduff (1926–2013), Member of Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre and Dame of Malta] *[[John McShain|Mary McShain (née Mary J. Horstmann)]], great-niece of Bishop Ignatius F. Horstmann (the third Bishop of the [[Diocese of Cleveland]]); widow of [[John McShain|John McShai]] *[[Freda Payne]]<ref name=":0" /> *[[Regina A. Quick Center for the Arts|Regina A Quick]], philanthropist *[[Sharon Rich]], author<ref name=":0" /> *[[Karen Garver Santorum]]<ref name=":0" /> *[[Phyllis Schlafly]], American constitutional lawyer and conservative activist *[[Princess Urraca of Bourbon-Two Sicilies]] *[[Csilla von Boeselager]], Hungarian philanthropist; founded the Hungarian Maltese Charity Organisation (Ungarischer Malteser Caritas Dienst) *[[Elisabeth von Thurn und Taxis]]<ref name=":0" />
==References== {{Reflist}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Malta, Dames of}} [[Category:Dames of Malta| ]] [[Category:Lists of Roman Catholics]]