Francisco Ximénez de Tejada y Eslava ( Aragonese: ''Francisco Ximénes de Texada i Eslava''; 13 October 1703, Funes,

Kingdom of Navarre The Kingdom of Navarre ( ), originally the Kingdom of Pamplona, occupied lands on both sides of the western Pyrenees, with its northernmost areas originally reaching the Atlantic Ocean (Bay of Biscay), between present-day Spain and France. The me ...

− 9 November 1775,

Naples Naples ( ; ; ) is the Regions of Italy, regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 908,082 within the city's administrative limits as of 2025, while its Metropolitan City of N ...

) was a Spanish knight who served as the 69th Prince and Grand Master of the

Order of Malta The Sovereign Military Order of Malta (SMOM), officially the Sovereign Military Hospitaller Order of Saint John of Jerusalem, of Rhodes and of Malta, and commonly known as the Order of Malta or the Knights of Malta, is a Catholic Church, Cathol ...

from 1773 to 1775. During his reign the Order became unpopular mainly due to bankruptcy brought by the lavish lifestyle of his predecessor

Manuel Pinto da Fonseca Manuel Pinto da Fonseca (also ''Emmanuel Pinto de Fonseca''; 24 May 1681 – 23 January 1773) was a Portuguese nobleman, the 68th Grand Master of the Order of Saint John, from 1741 until his death. He undertook many building projects, introd ...

. His reign was marked by the unsuccessful Rising of the Priests. During the reign of Ximénez, a warehouse was added to the Salina Right Redoubt in Salina Bay, and the redoubt became known as

Ximenes Redoubt Ximenes Redoubt () is a redoubt in Salina Bay, Naxxar, Malta. It was built by the Order of Saint John in 1715-1716 as one of a series of coastal fortifications around the Maltese Islands, and was originally called Salina Right Redoubt. Two wareh ...

due to the large escutcheon with the Grand Master's coat of arms above the doorway.

Death

Ximénez died of a pulmonary infection on 9 November 1775 while he was in Naples. Unlike most other Grand Masters of the Order of Malta he had not set aside any money for his funeral. He was buried in a lead-lined wooden coffin in the crypt at Saint John's Co-Cathedral,

Valletta Valletta ( ; , ) is the capital city of Malta and one of its 68 Local councils of Malta, council areas. Located between the Grand Harbour to the east and Marsamxett Harbour to the west, its population as of 2021 was 5,157. As Malta’s capital ...

, but his tomb remained unmarked. His remains were discovered again in 2021 when arrangements were made for Grand Master

Matthew Festing Fra' Robert Matthew Festing GCStJ OBE TD DL (30 November 1949 – 12 November 2021) was an English Roman Catholic official who was the Prince and Grand Master of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta from 2008 until his resignation on 28 ...

to be buried in the same crypt. Ximenes Redoubt

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Grand masters of the Knights Hospitaller 18th-century Spanish people 1703 births 1775 deaths Burials at Saint John's Co-Cathedral {{Malta-politician-stub

Death

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Further reading

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