Pope Francis meets with the Order of Malta's Fra' Marco Luzzago on June 25, 2021. / Vatican MediaRome Newsroom, Mar 31, 2022 / 04:42 am (CNA).Pope Francis received two drafts of a new constitution for the Order of Malta at an audience with members of the 1,000-year-old institution on March 19. He reserved the right to read them calmly and then make his final decisions. To understand what's at stake, it's essential to know how the order is structured. The organization's members belong to three classes.The First Class consists of the Knights of Justice, or professed knights, and Professed Conventual Chaplains, who take the religious vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience. They are defined as religious but not required to live in a community. The Second Class is composed of Knights and Dames in Obedience, who promise to strive for Christian perfection in the spirit of the order.The Third Class comprises lay members who neither take vows nor make promises but are committed t...