Didier De Tholon Saint-Jalle

Didier de Tholon Saint-Jalle, Grand Master of the Order of Malta, 1535 - 1536

  • Saint-Jalle was the 46th Grand Master of the Order of Malta
  • He hailed from the house of Tholon en Dauphiné
  • He was already a sick man at the time of his election
  • He died less than a year later

Having distinguished himself years earlier at the Siege of Rhodes in 1522, Grand Master Didier de Tholon Saint-Jalle was elected on November 22, 1535 on account of his demonstrated valor and experience. At the time of his election, Saint-Jalle was living in Toulouse.

After receiving word that he had been elected, it was necessary for Saint-Jalle to make arrangements to travel from France to the island of Malta. This travel prevented him from immediately carrying out his new responsibilities. And, it was made difficult by his precarious health.

In the meantime, Saint-Jalle’s lieutenant Fra’ Jacques de Pelloquin built bastions around Malta’s Fort St. Angelo, settled quarrels between Italian and French knights, and organized a successful expedition to defend the Order’s garrison in North Africa.

By this point, eight months had passed since the election of Saint-Jalle and he had still not arrived in Malta. He fell ill while in the French coastal town of Montpellier and died there on September 26, 1536.