[3] In the mid-15th century, Michele's uncles Andrea and Paolo were officially acknowledged as descendants of the Angelos emperors by Pope Paul III (r. 1534–1549) and founded the Sacred Military Constantinian Order of Saint George,[4][5] a chivalric order with invented Byzantine connections.

[2] Though Girolamo succeeded in having Michele legitimized by the Roman Curia on 27 March 1574,[7] his lineage was confirmed by legal courts to be allowed to succeed to the position of grand master[7] and Giovanni Andrea I (grand master 1592–1623 and 1627–1634) explicitly designated Angelo Maria as his successor,[8] Angelo Maria's accession to the position of grand master in 1634 was challenged by his uncle Andrea on the grounds of his "adulterous lineage".

As grand master, Angelo Maria managed to improve the financial circumstances of both his family and the Constantinian Order, possibly owing to a large inheritance from his mother, Lucietta Michiel,[9] who belonged to a prominent Venetian noble family.

[2] Angelo Maria worked to maintain the prestige and honor of the Constantinian Order, noted for having expelled disorderly members, such as Paolo Francesco Modrono, who was expelled in February 1673 because of criminal proceedings against him.

[10] In 1671, Leopold I, Holy Roman Emperor (r. 1658–1705), confirmed the Holy Roman imperial recognition of the Constantinian Order (previously recognized by Emperor Ferdinand II in 1630), issuing a diploma on 25 June which affirmed the rights of the order and the right of its knights to bear arms throughout the Holy Roman Empire.