John Edward Critien

John Edward Critien (29 September 1949 – 3 December 2022) was a Maltese Roman Catholic official. He served as Bailiff Grand Cross of Justice of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta and as a member of the Chapter of the Grand Priory of Rome. From 2014 to 2019 he was a member of the Order's Sovereign Council.

Early life and career Critien was born in Sliema, Malta on 29 September 1949, the younger son of Major Frank Edward Critien and of his wife May Grech. He received the degree Bachelor of Arts from the Royal University of Malta and then pursued further studies in Italy at the University for Foreigners Perugia and at the University of Pisa. In 1983 he was admitted as a knight of the third class in the Grand Priory of Rome. Critien remained a member of the Sovereign Council until the end of his five-year term in 2019.

Critien was appointed Grand Prior of Rome on 28 August 2022; he was the first Maltese and the first non-noble to hold this office. He died at Palazzo Malta in Rome on 3 December of the same year, at the age of 73.

Decorations Grand Cross, Order pro Merito Melitensi Knight Grand Cross of Merit, Order of Merit of the Italian Republic Knight Grand Cross, Order of St. Gregory the Great Knight Grand Cross of Justice, Sacred Military Constantinian Order of Saint George (House of Bourbon-Two Sicilies), 1994 Knight Grand Cross, Order of Saints Maurice and Lazarus Knight Grand Cross, Order of the Yugoslav Crown