The „Order of Malta“ or more precisely the „Sovereign Military Order of Malta“, acronym SMOM or S.M.O.M, officially the „Sovereign Military Hospitaller Order of Saint John of Jerusalem, of Rhodes and of Malta“ is a Catholic lay religious order. Although the Order has no territory it is considered a Sovereignty. The Order dates back to 1099 and serves nowadays primarily humanitarian purposes. It has 13,500 members and employs tenth of thousands  of medical staff assisted by close to 100,000 volunteers.

While the Order lacks territory, the headquarters in Rome are ex-territorial and there are diplomatic relations to more than 100 states and has an observer status to the United Nations General Assembly. The Order has its own passport and issues its own coins and stamps.