Some Investitures around the world

With the resumption of travel and meetings in person, the Investitures are once again becoming a fundamental moment, not only, of course, for the spiritual dimension of this event, but also for the possibility of fraternal sharing that has often been lacking in this period.

Meetings between Lieutenants from the same geographical area on the occasion of the Investitures

Already during the spring, the Governor General had begun to organise meetings for Lieutenants and Magistral Delegates belonging to similar geographical groups in the Iberian Peninsula in Madrid, following the now consolidated tradition of the meeting between Italian Lieutenants (which took place this year in Assisi in May). In recent months, three new European groups have met in this way.

On the occasion of the Investiture in Stockholm, Sweden, the Governor General, Ambassador Leonardo Visconti di Modrone, promoted a meeting between the Lieutenants and the Magistral Delegates of the Nordic countries on 17 September, with the participation of Helene Lund, member of the Grand Magisterium, and Msgr. Czeslaw Kozon, Bishop of Copenhagen and Grand Prior for Sweden and Denmark. The meeting was attended by the Lieutenants of Sweden and Denmark, Jørgen Boesen, and of Finland, Verna Johanna Paloheimo, as well as the Magistral Delegate for Norway, Huan Ngoc Nguyen. The Knights and Dames from this region are particularly appreciated,” commented the Governor General, “for their efforts in keeping alive the presence of the Order of the Holy Sepulchre in countries where the percentage of Catholics is very low.

A few days later it was the turn of the meeting of other Lieutenancies on the occasion of the Investitures in Vienna on 23 and 24 September (the prayer vigil in St. Stephen’s Cathedral on Friday 23 September, and the Investiture presided over by the Grand Prior of the Lieutenancy, Abbot Raimund Schreier, the following day in the Augustinerkirche).

Together with the Governor General and Vice Governor General for Europe Jean-Pierre de Glutz, the Lieutenants of Austria, Belgium, Germany, England and Wales, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Eastern Spain, Slovenia, Switzerland and Liechtenstein were present. In his address to the numerous participants at the gala dinner following the Investiture in Vienna, the Governor General recommended to those present to strengthen the Order’s unity while respecting the diversity of traditions.

The new Ritual, the commitment to greater spiritual involvement, the generosity towards the Mother Church of Jerusalem, must be shared by all the Lieutenancies, aware that together they interpret a precise design of the Church and a duty established for the Order by the Holy Father.

Finally, on 25 November, the Lieutenants and Magistral Delegates of the Englishspeaking countries (England and Wales, Scotland, Ireland, Gibraltar and Southern Africa) met with the Governor General in London on the side-lines of the Investiture ceremonies which took place at St. George’s Cathedral in Southwark.

The Prayer Vigil was officiated by the Grand Prior, Archbishop John Wilson, Archbishop of Southwark, and the Investiture itself, the following day, by Cardinal Fernando Filoni, Grand Master, who welcomed 12 new members to the Order.

A solemn banquet followed at the Mansion House, official residence of the Mayor of the City of London. During the banquet in the Egyptian Room of the Mansion House, the speeches emphasised the unity of the Order in its various peripheral articulations and the uniqueness of its commitment to the Holy Land.

Chicago, 23-25 September 2022

The Lieutenancy for the USA North Central, under the leadership of outgoing Lieutenant Max Douglas Brown, welcomed many Knights and Dames of the Order during the Investiture held in Chicago. His Eminence Cardinal Cupich, Grand Prior, presided over the celebrations, in the presence of Lieutenant General Agostino Borromeo, who represented the Grand Magisterium.

Paris, 23-24 September 2022

Cardinal Fernando Filoni, Grand Master of the Order of the Holy Sepulchre, presided over the Investiture of some forty new members of the Lieutenancy for France in the church of Saint Sulpice in Paris, in the presence of the Apostolic Nuncio, Msgr. Celestino Migliore.

In the morning, the Grand Master participated in the Chapter of the Lieutenancy, together with General Jean-Marie Faugère, Lieutenant of France, taking the time to answer questions from the Knights and Dames, in a warm and fraternal atmosphere.

On Friday evening, His Eminence accompanied the Prayer Vigil that preceded the Investiture in the Cathedral of SaintLouis des Invalides, during which he solemnly presented General Bernard Fleuriot with the diploma and insignia of Lieutenant of Honour of the Order.

On the occasion of this Investiture in Paris, the Lieutenancy for Luxembourg was able to have its only candidate invested for the current year, thanks to the impetus of the Lieutenancy for France. The Lieutenancy for Luxembourg travelled to Paris with a reinforced delegation of about twenty people, led by Lieutenant Jacques Klein, Chancellor Tom Cranfield and Ecclesiastical Master of Ceremonies Claude Bache.

The Lieutenancy for France organised the gala evening in the prestigious Cercle des Armées, which was attended by all the new members of the Order. The Archbishop of Paris, Msgr. Laurent Ulrich, and the Grand Chancellor of the Legion of Honour honoured the Order with their presence.

Cordoba, 7-8 October 2022

In view of the Investiture ceremonies of the Lieutenancy for Western Spain in Cordoba, the Governor General, Ambassador Leonardo Visconti di Modrone, met in Toledo with the Grand Prior, Monsignor Francisco Cesar Garcia Magan. Msgr. Garcia Magan was recently appointed to this position by the Grand Master, and became Secretary General of the Spanish Episcopal Conference a few weeks later. The discussion focused on the circular letter that the Cardinal Grand Master intends to send to all the bishops on the ecclesiological significance of aid to the Holy Land.

The Governor General then travelled to Cordoba for the Investiture ceremonies of the Lieutenancy for Western Spain. The Investiture was celebrated in the Cathedral and was preceded by a prayer vigil in the Church of San Pablo. The Mayor of Cordoba hosted a reception in the Alcazar de los Reyes Cristianos and then Lieutenant José Carlos Sanjuan y Monforte invited the participants to a gala dinner in the Archbishop’s Palace.

At the end of the Investiture ceremonies, the Governor General presented the Mayor of the city, José Maria Bellido Roche, with the Order’s Cross of Merit in recognition of the hospitality offered, in the presence of the Grand Prior, the Lieutenant for Western Spain and numerous dignitaries.

Malta, 4-5 November 2022

The Vigil and the Investiture ceremony of the Maltese Lieutenancy took place respectively in the Collegiate Basilica of the Nativity of the Virgin in Senglea and in the Metropolitan Cathedral of St. Paul in Mdina.

The vigil was celebrated by Msgr. Joseph Galea Curmi, Auxiliary Bishop of Malta, while the Investiture was presided over by the Grand Prior of the Order in Malta, Msgr. Charles Jude Scicluna.

The Lieutenancy was honoured by the presence of Saverio Petrillo, Treasurer of the Order, representing the Grand Magisterium. This great event was also attended by several Italian Lieutenants and a representative of the Lieutenancy for Ireland.

Naples, 2-3 December 2022

Some thirty new members joined the Order of the Holy Sepulchre in a ceremony held at the Basilica Santuario Incoronata Madre del Buon Consiglio in Naples, presided over by Cardinal Filoni, Grand Master, together with the Assessor, Archbishop Caputo, and the Grand Prior of the Lieutenancy, Monsignor Depalma. As the Grand Master recalled during the homily, the Investiture “implies full adhesion to the Spirituality of the Order, to the commitment to support the Mother Church of Jerusalem and your local Churches.” The Lieutenant for Southern Tyrrhenian Italy, Giovanni Battista Rossi, joyfully welcomed the new Knights and Dames together with the Chancellor of the Grand Magisterium, Ambassador Bastianelli, and the other Lieutenants present (Southern Adriatic Italy, Italy Sicily, Italy Sardinia, Switzerland and Liechtenstein, and Malta).

Prior to the Investiture celebration, the Grand Master, together with the Order’s Assessor and Archbishop of Pompeii, and the Lieutenant, met with the members of the Tyrrhenian Mediterranean Italy Lieutenancy for a moment of sharing in which the Knights and Dames, after listening to the words of the Grand Master, had the opportunity to ask various questions and seek advice. In the morning, Cardinal Filoni and a small delegation visited the catacombs of San Gennaro, an important place for the faith of the local population.

The previous evening, during the Prayer Vigil presided over by Archbishop Beniamino Depalma, the Grand Master, meeting the investendi before the celebration, reminded them of the importance of the personal encounter with Christ in Eucharistic Adoration. “You belong to Christ whose insignia you bear.” During the Vigil, the future Knights and Dames were presented with their own signs: the sword and spurs for the Knights and the jar of oils for the Dames

(December 2022)