vatican city2013

Annalesordinis equestris sancti sepulcHri hierosolymitani 2012

The Grand Master’s HistoricPilgrimage in the Holy LandThe Grand Master’s HistoricPilgrimage in the Holy Land

Ivan RebernikDirector

Graziano MottaCo-Director and Editor

With the editorial collaboration of François Vayne,the authors cited in each article,

the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem,the Lieutenants of the corresponding Lieutenancies

Translators:Chiara Andreola, Nancy Celaschi, Isabelle Cousturié Contini,

Claudia Kock, Tomás Scusceria Muffatti

Layout:Fortunato Romani - Italiani nel Mondo srl

Vicolo dei Granari, 10a - 00186 Romaitalianinelmondo@alice.it

Photographic documentation:the Archives of the Grand Magisterium, the Archives of L’Osservatore Romano,

the Archives of the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem, the Archives of the corresponding Lieutenancies Carla Morselli, Elisa Pinna, and Christa von Siemens

Cover photo:Jerusalem – the Grand Master Cardinal Edwin O’Brien proceeds from the Jaffa Gate for his solemnentrance into the Basilica of the Holy Sepulchre. He has just received an official welcome from theHoly City. Near him (in the photo) are the Latin Patriarch Fouad Twal, Grand Prior of the Order,the Vicar of the Franciscan Custody of the Holy Land, Father Artemio Vitores, and the Governor

General Agostino Borromeo.

Published by:Grand Magisterium of the Equestrian Order

of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem00120 Vatican City

Tel. +39 06 69892901Fax +39 06 69892930

www.vatican.va/roman_curia/institutions_connected/oessh/orwww.vatican.va/roman_curia/institutions_connected/oessh/index_en.htm

E-mail: gmag@oessh.va

Copyright © OESSH

00120 vatican City

Annalesordinis equestris sancti sepulcHri hierosolymitani 2012

contentsIn the sign of continuity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2

Cardinal O’Brien’s solemn entrance into the Basilica of the Holy Sepulchre . . . . . 4

Consistory, the Pope creates the Grand Master a Cardinal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

The Cardinal Grand Master takes possession of the Diaconal Church of SanSebastiano al Palatino . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15

Pope Benedict XVI and the way of the Christians in the Middle East . . . . . . . . . . . . 17

“Rethink the present so as to look to the future with the eyes of Christ” . . . . . . . . . 18

The life of the Order . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21

Projects in the Holy Land – The Church in Aqaba proclaims the future . . . . . . . . . 24

Gethsemane’s olive trees reveal their secrets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30

Oil for Peace . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33

Jerusalem: a City between Earth and Heaven . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35

A city built in Italy in the image of Jerusalem . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39

In Acquapendente the oldest replica of the Holy Sepulchre . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41

George Doty dies, leading figure in the restoration of the Anastasis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44

Blessed Cardinal Aloysius Stepinac, a member of the Order of the HolySepulchre . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46

From the Lieutenancies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51

Review . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73

Lieutenancies in the world . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75

“ANNALES” comes back to life! With the same pulsation, the sameintent, the same aspirations that marked its birth in the 1990’s whenit was welcomed with pleasure all over the Order and at all levels; so

much so that it was missed and there were many requests to bring it back. Manyof our members saved their copies; others used them to present our institution tothose who wanted to be closer to it or even join it. The hoped-for work of its rebirth in the sign of continuity, which was a decision of the Grand Magisterium,once again availed of the valuable collaboration of its Co-Director, GrazianoMotta, who was called back to place at the service of the Order a uniqueprofessional experience, not only in the field of Catholic journalism, but also inhis knowledge of the Holy Land where he had lived for almost thirty years,

during a large part of which he wasactively involved in the LatinPatriarchate of Jerusalem.

The process began with therevisiting of the periodical “AD”, andin fact its latest issue, that of last year,outlined and anticipated its generallines. The involvement of the same artdesign firm and the same graphicsfirm was meant to show a continuitythat nonetheless assimilates thetechnical and stylistic updating. Thelife of the Order was naturally givenpre-eminence: the two big events ofthe year were, in fact, the consistory ofPope Benedict XVI in which GrandMaster Edwin O’Brien was created aCardinal and then his pilgrimage in

the Holy Land with his solemn entrance into the Basilica of the Holy Sepulchreand his making contact with the reality that is the Order’s raison d’etre.

The sign of continuity is offered by Jerusalem, which receives special attentionbecause of the concomitance of four events deserving due attention; first of all theStudy Week dedicated to the city by the Fondazione Paolo VI at Gazzada, whichbrought together scholars and researchers of great renown; we are honored topublish the introductory report given by Professor Cesare Alzati, scientificdirector. Then there is the millennium of the city of Sansepolcro – built by twoenlightened pilgrims not only to perpetuate the meaning of Jerusalem, but also tokeep it alive in time – which was rendered more solemn by the visit of the HolyFather Pope Benedict XVI and his memorable discourse. Then there was the

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IN THE SIGNOF CONTINUITY

In the life of the Order two great events markedthe beginning and the end of 2012, with the

Grand Master as the protagonist of both: on 18February he was created a Cardinal of the HolyRoman Church with the diaconate church of SanSebastiano al Palatino; his first pilgrimage toJerusalem, with his solemn entrance into theBasilica of the Holy Sepulchre on 27 November.Thus he has been fully inserted into the Churchof Rome, among the Holy Father’s closest collab-orators in service to the Holy Land; and in vener-ating the tomb of the Risen Lord, he highlightedthe centuries-old bond of the members of theOrder with that tomb and thus renewed theirdedication to the support of the Mother Churchof Jerusalem.

seminar at Acquapendente, a city in Tuscia on the medieval Via Francigena;thanks to the research of an Israeli historian, H.E. Mordechai Levy, Ambassadorof Israel to the Holy See, it can claim the title of housing in its cathedral the mostancient reproduction of the Basilica of the Holy Sepulchre. (For this reasonSansepolcro and Acquapendente continue to be centres of historical attractionand a source of spirituality for the members of the Order).

And finally the continuity with the past of “Annales” cannot be betterhighlighted than by mentioning the fact that this year our confrere George Doty,featured in 1996 in the first volume of “Annales”, was called home to the Houseof the Father: in fact, it was shortly after the inauguration of the restoration of theAnastasis, the rotunda of the Holy Sepulchre, in a unimaginable and unrepeatableecumenical ceremony. The project, which was stalled for several decades, becamea splendid reality thanks to the acceptance of his generous and disinterested offerthat was made at the conclusion of exhausting diplomatic negotiations by thePresident of the “Pontifical Mission for Palestine” at that time, Monsignor RobertStern.

In the necessary documentation of the projects realized in the Holy Landthrough the donations of the Knights and Ladies – which this year reached an all-time high – we would point out the monumental parish Church dedicated toMaria Stella Maris in the Jordanian city of Aqaba on the Red Sea, which is in aperiod of impressive demographic and economic growth; and the Catholicsecondary school in Rameh, an Israeli town near the border with Lebanon.Because of their importance and the commitment of funds over the years, theyare the “crown jewel” of the Latin Patriarchate. The volume has as an appendixtwo singular accounts: on the scientific front, the dating of the olive trees ofGethsemane – promoted and executed by our confrere Professor GiovanniGianfrate, which caught the attention of the world’s media; and one on thedevelopment of the initiative by Father Raed Abusahlia, enterprising priest of thePatriarchate, who has provided stable work to almost a hundred PalestinianChristian workers through his collaboration with several European Lieutenancies.

Two more contributions deserve mention: that of Cardinal Leonardo Sandri,Prefect of the Congregation for the Oriental Churches, who reflects on theclosing document of the Special Assembly for the Middle East of the Synod ofBishops, in which our Order was called to participate actively; and the one by ourconfrere Davor Zovko who proposes for the attention and veneration of theKnights and Ladies Blessed Cardinal Aloiz Stepinac, Commander with Plaque ofthe Order, recounting his tormented story. For many of us, this is quite adiscovery!

Ivan RebernikChancellor

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In his first officialvisit to Jerusalem,Bethlehem, Nazarethand Jordan, he wasaccompanied by theGrand Prior, PatriarchFouad Twal, and byGovernor GeneralAgostino Borromeo.An event that, at thebeginning of the Yearof Faith, is inserted inthe dynamic of thenew pastoral missionsthat the Pope hadentrusted to him

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Cardinal O’Brien’ssolemn entrance into the Basilica ofthe Holy Sepulchre

The Grand Master’s historic pilgrimage to the Holy Land

In front of the chapel containing theempty tomb of Jesus, Cardinal EdwinO’Brien prepares to impart thesolemn blessing at the conclusion ofthe ceremony for his solemn entranceinto the Basilica.

“The presence of theChurch in the HolyLand, where it has

miraculously survived over thecenturies under hostile domina-tion, must persevere in bearingwitness of its service to the livedGospel”. This, in substance, isthe message of hope and peaceproclaimed by the Grand Masterof the Order of the Holy Sepul-chre upon his arrival inJerusalem, Monday, 26 Novem-ber.

He was officially received atthe Jaffa Gate, the “Gate of theFriend”, by the Patriarch ofJerusalem of the Latins andGrand Prior of the Order, FouadTwal, by the Apostoic Delegateto Jerusalem and Palestine andthe Nuncio in Israel, GiuseppeLazzarotto, by the Vicar of theFranciscan Custody of the Holy

Land, Father Artemio Vítores,and by religious and civil digni-taries. Then in procession theywent to the nearby co-cathedralof the Patriarchate, where, afterreciting together the Creed forthe Year of Faith, the Pilgrimshell was solemnly conferred up-on him. An enthusiastic crowdaccompanied him on his firststeps in the Holy City, and Patri-arch Twal did not hide his deepjoy in giving him the prestigious“shell” reserved to members ofthe Order in memory of their pil-grimage in the Holy Land.

THE ENTRANCE INTOTHE HOLY SEPULCHRE

On Tuesday afternoon – afterhaving visited the Greek Ortho-dox Patriarch and the ArmenianOrthodox Patriarch in the morn-

ing – the Grand Master, accom-panied by the Grand Prior andGovernor General Agostino Bor-romeo, entered the Sepulchre ofthe Risen Christ at the end of afervent procession through thestreets of the old city ofJerusalem, opened up by thekawwas, guards wearing the tra-ditional uniform that dates backto the time of the Ottoman Em-pire.

As is stipulated by the statusquo, the Franciscan Custos of theHoly Land, Father PierbattistaPizzaballa, had the honour ofwelcoming him and leading himin the Basilica of the Anastasis,accompanied by many Francis-can religious, “custodians” ofthis holy place, and by represen-tatives of the Greek Orthodoxand Armenian Orthodox Patriar-chates. Before the sepulchre up-

on which our faith in the divinevictory over evil and death isfounded, Monsignor Twal re-called the centuries-old senti-ments that bind the Patriarchateof Jerusalem of the Latins to theOrder of the Holy Sepulchre,emphasizing the January 1868message of Pope Pius IX. Withthis message the Pope entrustedto the Knights the mission ofsupporting the works and cultur-al and social institutions of theCatholic Church in the HolyLand, in particular through theconstruction of schools.

“We are particularly gratefulfor the generous interest in theHoly Land that Your Eminence,the Grand Magisterium, and allthe members of the Order dis-play. We accept your support andyour solidarity with gratitude.Know that we place our hope,our aspirations and our trust inyou”, in few words said the LatinPatriarch, a native of Jordan,which daily faces the countlessdifficulties of the Eastern Chris-

tians in living and remaining inthe land of their ancestors.“Please do not let us down”,Monsignor Twal insisted.

This cry from the heart deeplytouched the Grand Master whourged the faithful to imitate thefaith of the first Christians and to“show that the sepulchre is emp-ty and that Christ is living”.

THE BETHLEHEM STAGE AND THE INAUGURATIONAT THE UNIVERSITY

On the third day of his officialvisit, Cardinal O’Brien went toBethlehem, south of Jerusalem,first and foremost to pray at theplace where Jesus was born andalso inaugurate a new building atthe Catholic University that hadtaken two years of work.

Upon his entrance into theBasilica of the Nativity, he wasreceived by the Franciscan Cus-tos, who accompanied him to theGrotto; here he knelt to kiss thestar that marks the place of the

Saviour’s birth. The Grand Master then visit-

ed the Catholic University, thefirst one founded in Palestine in1965, one of the fruits of PopePaul VI’s pilgrimage; here he wasawaited by more than 500 direc-tors of schools and many profes-sors and teachers from thethroughout the region. “Jesustold his disciples to go and teachthe whole world. The Brothers ofthe Christian Schools and theircolleagues wonderfully illustratethese words of our Lord, espe-cially in Palestine”, the NorthAmerican Cardinal stated withgratitude.

During the inauguration,Brother Peter Bray, Vice Chan-cellor of this University that to-day has 2,600 students and morethan 10 thousand graduates,thanked the generous donors ofthe Equestrian Order of the HolySepulchre of Jerusalem who al-lowed the realization of the newbuilding with eight classroomsequipped with the most modern

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A procession led by the “kawwas”(their uniform, from the Ottoman era,is kept because of the “status quo” inJerusalem) and by the Franciscanfriars of the Custody of the HolyLand, accompanied the CardinalGrand Master to the entrance of theBasilica of the Holy Sepulchre. Theprocession formed at the Jaffa Gate(in the background in the photo onthe previous page). Near him are (l-r): Auxiliary Bishop William Somali;the Latin Patriarch; the Vicar of theFranciscan Custody; the GovernorGeneral; our confrere, ArchbishopGiuseppe Lazzarotto, Nuncio inIsrael and Apostolic Delegate toJerusalem; a Bishop from theArmenian-Orthodox Patriarchate;Bishop Giacinto-Boulos Marcuzzo,Auxiliary and Vicar of the LatinPatriarch for Israel.

technology. He also made men-tion of the recent violence in theregion, noting that “while we aregathered in Bethlehem on thishappy occasion to inaugurate theconstruction of this new build-ing, we join in prayer with the435 former students and gradu-ates of the Bethlehem Universitywho at Gaza have been struck by

the recent destruction of many ofhomes and the loss of numerousrelatives”.

The Cardinal also wanted togo to the parish of Beit Sahour,east of Bethlehem, where he vis-ited the school and spent timetalking to the students of the var-ious classes. Then, not too faraway, in the village of Beit Jala,

he went to meet the futurepriests in formation at the Patri-archal Seminary, listening withemotion to the testimony of oneof the 35 seminarians, Bernard,an American Palestinian, who ex-pressed how happy he was to beable to study in the Holy Land toprepare for the priesthood.

TO THE MEETINGWITH THE CHILDREN OF RAMEH

Nazareth was the next stop,Thursday 29 November, with aMass celebrated in the Basilica ofthe Annunciation and the bless-ing of a new school in Ramen, inUpper Galilee. Today the schoolbuilding is a dream come true. Ittook two years (2009-2011) tofinish the work after Pope Bene-dict XVI blessed the first stoneduring his pilgrimage in the HolyLand while celebrating Mass inNazareth on 14 May 2009. Onthe occasion of the official inau-

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The Franciscan custosof the Holy Land, Father

Pierbattista Pizzaballaintroduces the liturgicalceremony at the “Stoneof the Anointing” which

Cardinal O’Brienprostrates to kiss (photo

above). This is atraditional act of

veneration that recallsthe rite by which Joseph

of Arimathea andNicodemus placed the

body of the CrucifiedLord here to anointing it

with oils and perfume,according to Jewish

custom, before placinghim in the tomb.

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guration, Druse and Muslim reli-gious participated in the ceremo-ny and the celebrations. Becauseof many difficulties, mostly bu-reaucratic in nature, it took noless than 18 years to bring tocompletion the project, initiatedin 1995 by Auxiliary Bishop andPatriarchal Vicar in Israel resi-dent in Nazareth, Monsignor Gi-acinto-Boulos Marcuzzo.

Rameh is home to 8 thousandinhabitants, 51% of whom areChristians, 29% Druse and 20%Muslim. The school plays a fun-damental role in the city for theunity of the inhabitants: indeed,it was quite moving to see Chris-tians, Muslims and Jews gatheredwith the Patriarch and CardinalO’Brien to ask God to bless theschool and to grant grace to theteachers and students. This

Festive inauguration of the secondary school of the Latin Patriarchate in Rameh(Upper Galilee). Cardinal O’Brien guides the hand of a child in cutting thetraditional ribbon; near him are (right-left) Patriarch Twal, a member of the Drusecommunity, the Greek-Melkite Archbishop emeritus Pierre Mouallem of Akka-StJohn of Acre, and the Vicar for Israel, Bishop Marcuzzo. In addition to the invitedguests, participants included Patriarch emeritus of Jerusalem of the Latins, MichelSabbah, and members of the Muslim community (photo below).

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school, which has 650 studentsfrom Rameh and the surroundingarea, allows 141 Christian fami-lies of the area not to have tomove to another place in the re-gion.

During his discourse the Pa-triarch recalled that the school isnot merely a place of learning,but also a place of dialogue be-tween religions and cultures; itmust always be at the service ofthe human person and con-tribute to the building of newbridges of friendship and lovefor all, without distinction. Car-dinal O’Brien, moved by thisconcrete religious brotherhoodthat promotes Islamic-Christiandialogue, said: “I had prepared awritten address, but when I sawthe crowd, the faithful of differ-ent religions living together injoy, when I saw the enthusiasmof the parents and students, I putmy written text aside and let myheart speak”. As usual, he espe-cially took the role of a pastormost attentive to the little ones,and his presence will certainly af-fect the history of this region.

“Jesus grew up here, likeyou”, the Grand Master said tothe children who joyfully sur-rounded him. His speech, sofilled with goodness, will remainone of the highpoints of thisjourney and perhaps some newreligious vocations will come

from it. “The coming of such animportant person to our school isa memorable event, and we aregreatly encouraged by the hon-our he has paid us” one of thoseresponsible for teaching said tothe press.

THE MEETING IN JORDAN WITH KING ABDALLAH II

During the last three days ofhis official journey, the GrandMaster went to Jordan, to Patri-arch Twal’s homeland. At Am-man the Cardinal had a meetingwith the Vicar of the Latin Patri-arch in that country, ArchbishopMaroun Lahham, and with somepriests; then he went to visit thecentre for the disabled dedicatedto Our Lady of Peace and to theparish-sponsored outreach worksin the town of Zerka. Thatevening he dined with the priestsof the Vicariate. The followingday he went to Madaba to visitthe new AUM (American Uni-versity of Madaba), which wasthe desire of Patriarch Twal, and

to the schools of the Patriarchatesupported by the Order. He alsovisited the famous map mosaic inthe Orthodox Church. Last ofall, he went on pilgrimage in thefootsteps of Moses on MountNebo. Returning to Amman, hecelebrated Mass in the parishChurch of Hashimi. On Sunday,2 December, Cardinal O’Brienand Patriarch Twal, who accom-panied him, were cordially re-ceived by the King of Jordan,Abdallah II, who discussed withhim various topics of currentconcern for the Christians in theMiddle East.

After having greeted the faith-ful of the parish of Sweifieh, theGrand Master re-entered Israelin order to return to Rome fromthe airport at Tel Aviv.

Upon his return to Rome, theheart of the universal Church, hepresented at the tomb of Peter allthese testimonies of a coura-geous, consistent and perseveringfaith being lived out in the landof the Saviour’s birth.

François Vayne

Cardinal O’Brien and PatriarchTwal who accompanied him, were

received by King Abdullah II ofJordan, who entered into a cordial

discussion with them about varioustimely topics of interest to theChristians in the Middle East.

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Consistory,the Pope creates

the Grand Master a Cardinal

The Order’s great joy and gratitude at the appointment

Vatican, 6 January, theSolemnity of theEpiphany. When the Eu-

charistic celebration in St. Peter’sBasilica ends, Benedict XVI goesto his study window for a festiveencounter with the faithful whofilled the immense piazza and, be-fore the traditional recitation ofthe Angelus, he makes the sur-prise announcement that on 18

February he will preside at an or-dinary public consistory for thecreation of 22 new Cardinals, andreads their names. The seventhone listed is the Archbishop ofBaltimore, Edwin O’Brien, Pro-Grand Master of the EquestrianOrder of the Holy Sepulchre ofJerusalem.

An appointment that is expect-ed, because it is now traditional

for the Holy Father to entrust tothe care of a Cardinal the leader-ship of the ancient chivalric Or-der that is placed, as we find inthe Annuario Pontificio, “underthe protection of the Holy See”and is a juridical person underCanon Law as well as in VaticanCity State. The joy of the Knightsand Ladies is as great as their ex-pectation. This is conveyed by the

Governor General, Agostino Bor-romeo, who expresses his grati-tude to the Holy Father for thisappointment, and presents to thenew prelate best wishes and thedevotion in the name of the digni-taries of the Grand Magisterium,the Lieutenants and the MagistralDelegates. A great number ofcongratulatory messages are sentby members of the Order andfrom personages and faithful fromevery continent, in particularfrom his fellow citizens of theUnited States of America. TheOrder is pleased as well by the el-evation of five other members tothe College of Cardinals: TimothyMichael Dolan and ThomasChristopher Collins, Grand Pri-

ors respectively of the Lieutenan-cies of New York and Toronto;Giuseppe Bertello, President ofthe Pontifical Commission of Vat-ican City State and President ofits Governatorate; Giuseppe Be-tori, Metropolitan Archbishop ofFlorence, Domenico Calcagno,President of the Administrationof the Patrimony of the ApostolicSee.

The highest officials of the Or-der cannot fail to attend the Con-sistory: present in Saint Peter’sBasilica on Saturday, 18 Februaryare the Grand Prior, the Patriarchof Jerusalem of the Latins, FouadTwal, and the Assessor, Archbish-op Giuseppe De Andrea; Lieu-tenant General Giuseppe Della

Torre del Tempio di Sanguinetto;Governor General, Agostino Bor-romeo; the Vice Governor Gener-als, Adolfo Rinaldi, Patrick D.Powers and Giorgio MoroniStampa; the Ceremonial OfficerFrancis D. Kelly; the members ofthe Grand Magisterium: ChristaVon Siemens, Joseph E. Spinnato,Pierre Blanchard, the Conde deRezende Joao de Castro de Men-dia, Michael F. Welan , AlbertoConsoli Palermo Navarra,Thomas McKiernan; the Assessorof Honor, Cardinal AndreaCordero Lanza di Montezemolo(who designed the new Cardinal’scoat-of-arms); the Chancellor ofHonor Monsignor José Dor-ronsoro; the Dignitaries of

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Maristany y Ibarra; of Ireland,Nicholas Mc Kenna; of Italy Cen-tral Saverio Petrillo; of Italy Ap-penine Central, Giovanni Ricas-oli; of Italy Southern Tyrrhenian,Giovanni Napolitano; of ItalySouthern Adriatic, Rocco Saltino;of Italy Sicily, Giovanni Russo; ofHolland, Godfried J.M.Prieck-aerts; of Poland, Karol Szlenkier;of Portugal, Goncalo De MedinaFiguereido de Bar; of Switzer-land, Jean-Pierre Marie de Glutz-Ruchti; of Scotland, Sheriff W.Frank Lunny, of USA Northcen-tral,Charles H.Foos; of USAWest-ern, William H. Davidson; theMagistral Delegate of the RussianFederation, Yaroslav A.Ter-novskiy; representatives from theLieutenancies of Belgium, France,Eastern Spain, Malta, Hungaryand the Principality of Monaco.Several Lieutenancies send dele-gations, some of them—particu-larly those from Italy—are com-posed of tens or even a hundredmembers. There is also a signifi-cant presence of faithful fromBaltimore, the Archdiocese ofwhich the Grand Master was pas-tor and is now Apostolic Admin-istrator, as well as from NewYork, his birthplace.

The event will also be markedby a reception in honour of thenew Cardinal on Monday the 20th

at Palazzo della Rovere, decorat-ed as a sign of festivity with tapes-tries hung from the windows onVia della Conciliazione. With theGovernor General at his side, hepersonally attends to the invitedguests: besides the officials of theGrand Magisterium and the Lieu-tenants, the Dignitaries of Honor,the members of the delegations of

Ladies and Knights who hadcome to Rome for the occasion,participants included several car-dinals, (including one with hissame surname, Keith MichaelPatrick O’Brien, Archbishop ofSaint Andrews and Edinburghand Grand Prior of the Lieu-tenancy of Scotland, and JoséManuel Estepa Llaurens, GrandPrior of the Lieutenancy of SpainWest), Archbishops and Bishops,prelates from the United States(including the Rector of the Pon-tifical North American College,which the Grand Master had at-tended and later served as rector),diplomats and civil officials. Serv-ing as honour guard at the flag ofthe Order were members in cere-monial dress from the Lieutenan-cy of Italy Central; led by theirCeremonial Officer, they also ful-filled other roles in the reception.

The Cardinal has the intenseexperience of other moments ofthe Consistory: on the vigil, Fri-day the 17th, he participates in aday of prayer and reflection onthe theme of “Proclamation of theGospel today, between the missioad gentes and the New Evange-lization”, which was introducedby a reflection given by his con-frere, Archbishop Dolan, whichthe Pope would describe as “up-lifting, joyful and deep”; the re-flection day itself was guided byArchbishop Rino Fisichella, Presi-dent of the Pontifical Council forthe Promotion of the New Evan-gelization, focusing on the immi-nent beginning of the Year ofFaith at a time of particular crisisthat sees, first and foremost, manyChristians far from the life of thecommunity and often confused

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Hhonor Aldo Maria Arena,Philippe Husson, Mario CantutiCastelvetri, Michael R.Earthmanand Otto Kaspar; the Lieutenantsof England and Wales DavidLawrence Gilbert Smith; of West-ern Spain Juan Garcia Martínez;of Eastern Spain Jacinto de

Saint Peter’s Basilica. Deeplyrecollected, Cardinal O’Brienapproaches Pope Benedict XVI whowill confer the Cardinal’s berretta onhim.On the preceding pages the imagescapture this moment and recount theliturgical ceremony at the altar of theConfessio. Seated behind the elevencardinals (right) are their closestcollaborators; one of them is ourconfrere Monsignor Adam J. Parker,the Grand Master’s secretary.

because of the events of history inthis period and in a serious crisisof identity and social responsibili-ty”.

On Saturday the 18th in St. Pe-ter’s Basilica, shortly before con-ferring the “red biretta” on theCardinals, giving them their ringsand the titular Church that wouldmark their insertion into theChurch of Rome (the Grand Mas-ter is given the diaconate churchof San Sebastiano al Palatino),Benedict XVI chooses to recallthe revolution caused by Jesuswith the words from the Gospelof Mark: (10:44-45): “Whoeverwishes to be first among you willbe the slave of all. For the Son ofman also came not to be served butto serve, and to give his life as aransom for many”. “Words”, heexplains that “shed light upon to-day’s public Consistory with aparticular intensity. They resoundin the depths of the soul and rep-resent an invitation and a re-

minder, a commission and an en-couragement especially for “you”;authentic faith imparts and devel-ops in our daily lives and which isnot the type of power and glorywhich belongs to this world”.Lastly, he recalls that in everytime and place there is a strugglebetween “dominion and service,egoism and altruism, possessionand gift, self-interest and gratu-itousness”, but “there can be no

doubt about the road chosen byJesus”.

Other themes would be elabo-rated upon by the Holy Father thefollowing day, Sunday the 19th,during the homily at the solemnMass celebrated with the newCardinals on the Solemnity of theChair of St. Peter (which the litur-gical calendar marks on 22 Febru-ary, but whose celebration was an-ticipated because that date coin-cided with Ash Wednesday andthe beginning of Lent). The Chair,he says, recalls the famous expres-sion of Saint Ignatius of Antiochthat the Church of Rome is “theone who presides in charity”. Intruth, the Pope emphasizes, “pre-siding in faith is inseparablylinked to presiding in love”; there-fore the Petrine ministry is “a pri-macy of love in the Eucharisticsense”. Everything in the Church,he continues, rests on faith: loveand authority, evangelization andcharity, the sacraments and litur-gy. “Faith without love would nolonger be an authentic Christianfaith”, but it is also true that“Love collapses if man no longertrusts in God and disobeys him.”In conclusion the Pope urges all“to remain always united to theirpastors, and to the new cardinalsas well, to be in communion withthe Church”, whose unity “is a di-vine gift to defend and helpgrow”; to his “dear brother cardi-nals” he said that their task in par-ticular” is to “bear witness to thejoy of Christ’s love”.

14 - Annales 2012

The Pope’s warm embrace was also asign of encouragement for the workperformed by the Order’s 30 thousandmembers on behalf of their Christianbrothers and sisters in the Holy Land.

On 16 March Pope Bene-dict XVI conferred the ti-

tle of Grand Master of theOrder of the Holy Sepulchreof Jerusalem on Cardinal Ed-win O’Brien, who until thattime was Pro-Grand Master.After confirming him a mem-ber of the Congregation forCatholic Education he alsoappointed him to the Congre-gation for Oriental Churchesand to the Pontifical Council“Cor Unum”.

sented to him by the Rector ofthe Church, Father Alvaro Cac-ciotti OFM who offers him an of-ficial salute from the altar. Thenthe Apostolic Protonotary, Mon-signor Nicholas Henry Marie De-nis Thevenin, a diplomat in serv-ice at the Holy See’s Secretariatof State, read the Pontifical Bullof appointment in Latin.This wasfollowed by Mass; concelebrantswere the Patriarch of Jerusalem

There was great excitementon 25 October at the Ro-man Forum, amid the fa-

mous archaeological remains,over an uncommon event: tens ofmembers of the Equestrian Or-der of the Holy Sepulchre ofJerusalem, in their white capes,welcomed their Grand Master,Cardinal Edwin O’Brien, nearthe Church of St. Sebastian onthe Palatine Hill when he came

to take possession, during thecourse of a religious ceremony, ofthe diaconate title of this churchassigned to him by Pope Bene-dict XVI in the Consistory of 18February; this appointment alsorequires a series of canonicalsteps to confirm his membershipin the clergy of Rome.

There was a solemn proces-sional entrance. At the door theCardinal kisses the Crucifix pre-

THE CARDINAL GRAND MASTERTAKES POSSESSION OF THE DIACONAL

CHURCH OF SAN SEBASTIANO AL PALATINO

Cardinal O’Brien’s titular Church is dedicated toSaint Sebastian, a Roman soldier and martyr for

the faith, intercessor for all Christians, witnesses ofpeace, who are persecuted today

Annales 2012 - 15

of the Latins, Fouad Twal, GrandPrior of the Order, the AssessorArchbishop Giuseppe De An-drea and Archbishop Gérald Cy-prien Lacroix of Quebec.

In his homily the Cardinal re-called the figure of Saint Sebast-ian, a soldier in the imperial

army, who was tortured becauseof his faith, and recalled that themembers of the Order which heheads are the guard of honor forthe protection of the Holy Sepul-chre of Christ, no longer with theforce of arms but with the con-stant witness of their faith.He

then urged his listeners to prayfor them as well as for the suffer-ing of the Palestinian Christiansand for all Christians who coura-geously face persecution; then,recalling that he had been achaplain and then the MilitaryOrdinary (Archbishop for theMilitary Services, USA) – for themen and women in uniform com-mitted to preserving the peace.

Present also were the Lieu-tenant General Giuseppe DellaTorre del Tempio di Sanguinetto,the Governor General AgostinoBorromeo, some members of theGrand Magisterium, the Lieu-tenant for Italy Central SaverioPetrillo with many Knights fromthe Rome Section, some of whomhad assured the service of order.There were other ecclesiasticaland civil dignitaries present, in-cluding Cardinal Bernard FrancisLaw, Archpriest emeritus of thePapal Basilica of Saint Mary Ma-jor and Bishop Franco Croci,Grand Prior of the LieutenancyItaly Central.

G.M.

16 - Annales 2012

The Lieutenant General and the Governor General with many members of theGrand Magisterium (photo) and dignitaries of the Order participated in the eventwhich, according to the ceremonial, has as its witness the crucified Christ from thebeginning, with the Cardinal’s entrance into the church (photo on previous page)to the reading of the Papal Bull that attests to the appointment (photo below).

The Post Synodal ApostolicExhortation Ecclesia inMiddle East gathered the

fruits of the Special Assembly ofthe Synod of Bishops, which washeld in the Vatican in October2010. Two special circumstanceshighlighted its importance: Bene-dict XVI chose to sign the docu-ment and give it personally to therecipients in the heart of theMiddle East, in Lebanon, and on

a special day, 14 September, theliturgical celebration of the Feastof the Exaltation of the HolyCross, one of the major feaststhat spread from the Eastthroughout Christendom follow-ing the Dedication of the Basilicaof the Resurrection built on Gol-gotha and Our Lord’s Sepulchre.

It is the Pope presenting itspurposes during his address atthe ceremony in which it was

consigned: “the Exhortation”, hesaid, “although destined for thewhole world, is meant to be aroadmap for the pastors for thecoming years.... Through them Ipaternally greet all the Christiansof the Middle East”; and he em-phasized that the presence of theOrthodox Patriarchs and Bish-ops who had come to welcomehim, as well as the representa-tives of the diverse religious com-

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Cardinal Leonardo Sandri, Prefect of the Congregation for OrientalChurches, presents the Post-Synodal Apostolic Exhortation

Pope Benedict XVI and the way ofthe Christians in the Middle East

18 - Annales 2012

“In examining the present situation of theChurch in the Middle East, the Synod Fa-

thers reflected on the joys and struggles, the fearsand hopes of Christ’s disciples in these lands. Inthis way, the entire Church was able to hear thetroubled cry and see the desperate faces of manymen and women who experience grave humanand material difficulties, who live amid powerfultensions in fear and uncertainty, who desire to fol-low Christ – the One who gives meaning to theirexistence – yet often find themselves preventedfrom doing so. That is why I wanted the First Let-ter of Saint Peter to serve as the framework of thedocument. At the same time, the Church was ableto admire all that is beautiful and noble in theChurches in these lands. How can we fail to thankGod at every moment for all of you (cf. 1 Th 1:2;

Part One of the Post-Synodal Exhortation), dearChristians of the Middle East! How can we fail topraise him for your courage and faith? How canwe fail to thank him for the flame of his infinitelove which you continue to keep alive and burn-ing in these places which were the first to wel-come his incarnate Son? How can we fail to praiseand thank him for your efforts to build ecclesialand fraternal communion, and for the human soli-darity which you constantly show to all God’schildren?

Ecclesia in Medio Oriente makes it possible torethink the present in order to look to the futurewith the eyes of Christ. By its biblical and pastoralorientation, its invitation to deeper spiritual andecclesiological reflection, its call for liturgical andcatechetical renewal, and its summons to dia-

The Pope’s address on the Apostolic Exhortation in the Greek Melkite Basilica of Saint Paul

“Rethink the present so as to look to the future with the eyes of Christ”

Pope Benedict XVIdecided to sign theApostolic Exhortationin Lebanon, the nationthat gives witness topeaceful coexistencein the heart of theMiddle East, and hepersonally gave it toits recipients,includingrepresentatives of theOrthodox Churches,Muslim leaders, andexponents of cultureand society. Thesolemn ceremonytook place in theGreek Melkite CatholicCathedral of Harissa(photo on the previouspage), on the hillnoted for its Marianshrine.

munities of Lebanon, demon-strates the esteem and collabora-tion that should be fostered withmutual respect among all. Hethanked everyone for their ef-forts in this direction and, sayingthat he was certain that theywould continue to seek the pathsof unity and harmony, he pointedout how the happy convivialitythat characterizes Lebanon mustshow the whole of the MiddleEast and the rest of the worldthat within a nation there can becollaboration among the diverseChurches, all members of theone catholic Church, in a frater-nal spirit of communion with theother Christians and, at the sametime, conviviality and respectfuldialogue between Christians and

their brothers and sisters of otherreligions.

Quite aware of how terriblydelicate this balance can be, andof how it threatens to breakwhen it is stretched like a bow orput under pressure – often fromparties or interests that are con-trary and extraneous to Lebaneseharmony and gentlenesss – theHoly Father urged his listeners togive proof of real moderationand great wisdom, recommend-ing that reason prevail over pas-sion in order to foster the com-mon good. Efficacious was themention of King Solomon: wellhe knew Hiram, King of Tyre,and precisely because he consid-ered wisdom the virtue par excel-lence, he did not hesitate to ask it

of the Omnipotent and God gavehim a wise and intelligent heart.

The Pontiff made explicitmention of God to signify the ab-solute value of the divine pres-ence in the life of individuals andthe Churches, but also to affirmthat the conviviality to whichLebanon wants to give witnesswill not be credible unless it isfounded on a welcoming gazeand an attitude of mutual goodwill, unless it is rooted in God,who desires all men and womento be brothers and sisters.Through the good will and com-mitment of each and every per-son, the Lebanese can give to theinhabitants of the region and ofthe whole world an example tofollow but only if they remember

Annales 2012 - 19

logue, the Exhortation points out a path for redis-covering what is essential: being a follower ofChrist even in difficult and sometimes painful sit-uations which may lead to the temptation to ig-nore or to forget the exaltation of the cross. It ishere and now that we are called to celebrate thevictory of love over hate, forgiveness over re-venge, service over domination, humility overpride, and unity over division. In the light of to-day’s Feast, and in view of a fruitful application ofthe Exhortation, I urge all of you to fear not, tostand firm in truth and in purity of faith. This isthe language of the cross, exalted and glorious!This is the “folly” of the cross: a folly capable ofchanging our sufferings into a declaration of lovefor God and mercy for our neighbour; a folly ca-pable of transforming those who suffer because oftheir faith and identity into vessels of clay ready tobe filled to overflowing by divine gifts more pre-cious than gold (cf. 2 Cor 4:7-18). This is morethan simply picturesque language: it is a pressingappeal to act concretely in a way which configuresus ever more fully to Christ, in a way which helps

the different Churches to reflect the beauty of thefirst community of believers (cf. Acts 2:41-47:Part Two of the Exhortation); in a way like that ofthe Emperor Constantine, who could bear witnessand bring Christians forth from discrimination to

The hill of Harissa, near theGreek Melkite Basilicaof Saint Paul, is dominatedby the shrine in honorof Mary, patronessof Lebanon.

that it is not merely the work ofhumans, but rather a gift of God,which must be asked for insis-tently, preserved by all meanspossible and strengthened withdetermination.

The signing of the Exhorta-tion took place in the GreekMelkite Basilica of St. Paul onthe hill of Harissa, overlookingBeirut, in the presence of theHead of State, the Patriarchs andBishops, the Members of theSpecial Council for the MiddleEast of the Synod of Bishops, ofthe Orthodox and Muslim dele-gations, as well as representativesof the world of culture and civilsociety. Each one received thetext because, as the Pope ob-served, although it is destined forthe Universal Church, it has a

special importance for the wholeof the Middle East.

After all, Benedict XVI hadannounced the Special Assemblyof the Synod for that area in amemorable meeting at CastelGandolfo on 19 September 2009.It was the first time that the Bish-op of Rome had received theEastern Patriarchs and MajorArchbishops together in a frater-nal gathering intended to givethe Universal Pastor directknowledge of the situation in themotherland of Christianity.

The Exhortation Ecclesia inMedia Oriente is a true gift ofGod because it points out what isessential for the Christians of theOrient, regardless of their origin,who are all rooted in the inheri-tance of the Apostles themselves,

and the timeliness of their mis-sion, that is, the unity of all thebaptized, especially in the East.It was the Second Vatican Coun-cil that pointed out this wonder-ful synthesis of the identity of theChristians of the Orient in thedecree Orientalium Ecclesiarum.The desire for unity is obviouslyinseparable from the desire forpeace. Both of these come fromanother word pair: communionand witness. This is the themethat guided the Synod’s work andnow constitutes the sure path forthe Christians of the Orient, inthe womb of the universalChurch, to direct human historywith the light of the Gospel.

Cardinal Leonardo Sandri Prefect of the Congregation for

Oriental Churches

20 - Annales 2012

enable them openly and freely to live their faithin Christ crucified, dead and risen for the salva-tion of all.

Ecclesia in Medio Oriente provides some ele-ments that are helpful for a personal and commu-nal examination of conscience, and an objectiveevaluation of the commitment and desire for ho-liness of each one of Christ’s disciples. The Ex-hortation shows openness to authentic interreli-gious dialogue based on faith in the one God, theCreator. It also seeks to contribute to an ecu-menism full of human, spiritual and charitablefervor, in evangelical truth and love, drawing itsstrength from the commandment of the risenLord: “Go therefore and make disciples of all na-tions, baptizing them in the name of the Fatherand of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teachingthem to observe all that I have commanded you.Behold, I am with you always, to the close of theage” (Mt 28:19-20).

The Exhortation as a whole is meant to helpeach of the Lord’s disciples to live fully and to

pass on faithfully to others what he or she has be-come by Baptism: a child of light, sharing inGod’s own light, a lamp newly lit amid the trou-bled darkness of this world, so that the light mayshine in the darkness (cf. Jn 1:4f. and 2 Cor4:1-6). The document seeks to help purify thefaith from all that disfigures it, from everythingthat can obscure the splendour of Christ’s light.For communion is true fidelity to Christ, andChristian witness is the radiance of the paschalmystery which gives full meaning to the cross, ex-alted and glorious. As his followers, “we proclaimChrist crucified … the power of God and thewisdom of God” (1 Cor 1:23-24; cf. Part Threeof the Exhortation).

“Fear not, little flock” (Lk 12:32) and remem-ber the promise made to Constantine: “In thissign you will conquer!”. Churches of the MiddleEast, fear not, for the Lord is truly with you, tothe close of the age! Fear not, because the univer-sal Church walks at your side and is humanly andspiritually close to you!”.

Annales 2012 - 21

Jerusalem, he was director of administrative servic-es of the Fabric of St. Peter’s Basilica and of theFabric of St. Paul’s Outside-the-Walls.

● John Theodore Ralph is a Member of Honor of theGrand Magisterium.Knight of the Grand Cross, an Australian, he wasLieutenant of Australia Victoria and later a memberof the Grand Magisterium.

Terms of office completed● Adolfo Rinaldi, one of the Vice Governor Generals of

the Order, a Knight of the Grand Cross, he re-nounced for personal reasons a second four-yearterm. He was appointed Vice Governor General ofHonor in recognition of his activities and receivedthe Palm of Jerusalem of gold.

Confirmation of a second term● Joseph E. Spinnato, Knight of the Grand Cross, for-

mer Lieutenant of USA Eastern, member of theGrand Magisterium since 2008, he has been con-firmed for a second term.

RESPONSIBILITIES IN THE GRAND MAGISTERIUMAppointments:● Ivan Rebernik is Chancellor of the Equestrian Order

of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem.Knight of the Order since 2000, born in 1939, hold-ing a doctorate from the Pontifical Gregorian Univer-sity, he served as a librarian in the Vatican beforerepresenting his homeland, Slovenia, as Ambassadorto the Holy See.

● Bo Theutenberg is a member of the Grand Magisteri-umProfessor of international law, born in 1942, Knight-Commander with Star, in 2000 he became the firstLieutenant of the young Lieutenancy of Sweden.

● Philippe Plantade is a member of the Grand Magis-terium.A lawyer in Paris, born in 1958, he is a Knight-Com-mander with Star of the Equestrian Order of the HolySepulchre of Jerusalem since 2004 and he has exer-cised roles of great responsibility in the Lieutenancyof France.

● Pier Carlo Visconti is a Consulter of the Grand Mag-isterium.An engineer and industrialist, born in Turin, a Knightof the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre of

THE YEAR OF FAITH The Order mobilizes for a pilgrimage to Rome

Within the dynamic of the Synod of Bishops on theNew Evangelization, which was celebrated in

Rome from 7-28 October 2012, the Year of Faith wasopened by Pope Benedict XVI who, in his homily at theopening Mass on 11 October, introduced it as “a pil-grimage … in which we must take only what is neces-sary: the Gospel and the faith of the Church, of whichthe Council documents are a luminous expression, as isthe Catechism of the Catholic Church, published twentyyears ago.” From that day onwards the entire EquestrianOrder of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem went into gearfor this Year of Faith, which will end in November 2013.

Stimulated by the enthusiastic appeal of CardinalEdwin O’Brien, Grand Master of the Equestrian Order ofthe Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem, the Knights and

Ladies active in the Lieutenancies throughout the wholeworld began preparations for their participation in anextraordinary international pilgrimage to Rome, organ-ized by the Grand Magisterium in coordination with thePontifical Council for the Promotion of the New Evange-lization, presided over by Archbishop Salvatore Fisichel-la.

After a planning meeting with the latter, the GrandMaster confirmed the dates of the pilgrimage to coin-cide with the Consulta, from 13-15 September 2013.The commission, with Chancellor Ivan Rebernik presid-ing, worked together with the Prefecture of the PapalHousehold, the Cardinal Archpriests of the Papal Basili-cas, and the authorities of the Commune of Rome. TheLieutenancies and Magistral Delegations received in-

The life of the Order The life of the Order

22 - Annales 2012

structions on the method of participation and, in orderto better manage the logistical aspects, especially re-garding questions of reception and transportation, theGrand Master signed an agreement with UNITALSI (fromthe Italian for “Italian National Union for the Transporta-

tion of the Sick to Lourdes and Other InternationalSanctuaries”), a public association of the faithful withproven experience in the field of pilgrimages.

It is the “spiritual desertification” of recent decadesthat Benedict XVI gave as his motivation for creating a

Gathered inSynod to delvedeeper togetherinto the topico fthe NewEvangelization,the Bishops alsoprayed togetherwith the Popeduring theopening Mass forthe Year of Faithin St. Peter’sSquare.

Annales 2012 - 23

Pontifical Council delegated to promoting the NewEvangelization, thus situating the Year of Faith in thisperspective. Naturally he placed the event in the con-text of the 50th anniversary of the opening of the Sec-ond Vatican Ecumenical Council: “The Council did notformulate anything new in matters of faith, nor did itwish to replace what was ancient. Rather, it concerneditself with seeing that the same faith might continue tobe lived in the present day, that it might remain a livingfaith in a world of change”.

This work of Church renewal, begun by John XXIII andPaul VI, has not ceased to develop, up to the an-nouncement by Pope Benedict XVI – at the close of the

celebrations marking the 2000th anniversary of thebirth of the Apostle St. Paul, in the summer of 2010 –of the creation of a new dicastery specifically dedicatedto the New Evangelization, followed by this historic Yearof Faith. It was in 1979, at Nowa Huta, in Poland, thatJohn Paul II began to make popular the expression“New Evangelization”, which he took up again in Haiti in1983, a few days before opening the Year of Redemp-tion on 25 March of that same year, with a view to bet-ter preparing for and anticipating the Jubilee of 2000,whose spiritual fruits are still multiplying in these open-ing years of the 21st century within the Order as well.

F.V.

IN CHICAGO AND ROME MEETINGS OF THE LIEUTENANTS

a new record, higher than that of2010 (more than 10 million Euros),which also had been unprecedentedin the life of the Order. However, thedeficit in the balance of the Patriar-chate of Jerusalem of the Latins, es-

pecially in the operation of the schools, places newchallenges in front of the Order, as Vice GovernorGeneral Patrick D. Powers explained in Chicago andConsultor Pier Carlo Visconti did in Rome, also includ-ing aspects of the balance of the current year which,as always, is destined for the needs of the Christiansof the Holy Land.

The Lieutenants and Magistral Delegates of NorthAmerica and Europe – the geographic areas with

the greatest number of members of the Order – metagain in 2012, in Chicago (31 May - 2 June) and inRome (14-15 June), for the traditional appointmentpresided over by the Grand Master. It was the occa-sion for Governor General Agostino Borromeo to an-nounce for the month of September 2013 in Romeboth the Consulta ofthe Order for the revi-sion of the Statutesand the internationalpilgrimage on the oc-casion of the Year ofFaith, which the HolyFather wanted to tieto the Synod of Bish-ops for the New Evan-gelization, from 7-28October 2012. TheCeremonial Officer ofthe Order, MonsignorFrancis D. Kelly, especially explained to the EuropeanLieutenants the importance of these events for thelife of the Order and the spiritual growth of its mem-bers.

Presenting the financial report for 2011, the Gov-ernor General emphasized that once again the in-come (in excess of 11 million Euros) has established

The Governor General and the Grandmaster of the Order.

Vice Governor General Patrick D. Powers.

24 - Annales 2012

THE CHURCH OF AQABA PROCLAIMS THE FUTURE

The financial report of the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchreof Jerusalem reached an all-time high in 2011: because of the

tireless commitment of the Lieutenancies members donated 11,6million Euros to the Patriarchate of Jerusalem of the Latins, whichis facing great challenges. Thus in 2012 important projects could

be finished or undertaken.

BEGUN OR COMPLETED IN 2012THE ORDER’S PROJECTS

Annales 2012 - 25

The first stone of thechurch in Aqaba wasplaced in May 2011. The

work took approximately oneand a half years and the conse-cration took place on 14 Decem-ber 2012, in Advent. The solemnMass, with the Latin Patriarchand Grand Prior of the Order,Monsignor Fouad Twal presid-ing, was concelebrated by Arch-bishop Maroun Lahham, Auxil-iary Bishop for Jordan, by Bishopemeritus Salim Sayegh, by Auxil-iary Bishop for Israel Giacinto-

Boulos Marcuzzo, the GreekMelkite catholicos of Petra andPhiladelpia, Yasser Al-Ayyash,and the parish priest, Father Is-sam Zoomot and many priests,including the First Secretary ofthe Apostolic Nunciature in Jor-dan.

Gover Fawwaz Irshedat ofAqaba and other civil and Mus-lim authorities participated in thecelebration, together with thefaithful of the parish and manyChristians who had arrived bybus from every part of Jordan.

The new church, located inthis port city on the Red Seawhich sees the arrival of mer-chant ships – and, naturally,sailors too, many of whom areCatholic – from every part of theworld, is dedicated to the Virgin

Mary, “Star of the Sea”. Christians in Aqaba represent

2% of a constantly growing pop-ulation with the considerable de-velopment of the tourist industrydue to its proximity to the fa-mous UNESCO world heritagearchaeological site of Petra,which welcomes approximately300.000 visitors a year.

Emphasizing this newchurch’s importance for the re-gion, the Patriarch stated that it“proclaims the future” and that“this place will be a referencepoint for Christians”. With itsmodern form and its shiningbrightness, the church makes allforget about the little parlour inwhich Father Zoomot had beencelebrating Mass for his parish-ioners for several years. In his ad-

The monumental Church of Aqaba(photo on preceding page) isdedicated to Mary, “Stella Maris”. Itwas consecrated by the LatinPatriarch Fouad Twal who thenproceeded to the solemn Eucharisticcelebration (photo above).

The bright interiorand Churchfurnishings of theparish Church inAqaba and (photobelow) the exterior ofthe new secondaryschool in Rameh.This building wasinaugurated by theGrand MasterCardinal O’Brienduring his pilgrimagein the Holy Land (seepages 7 and 8).

Annales 2012 - 27

dress of welcome on the day onwhich the church had opened itsdoors, the parish priest thankedthe architect, Oussama Twal, andthe many donors, especially theKnights and Ladies of the Eques-trian Order of the Holy Sepul-chre of Jerusalem. In his homilythe Patriarch expressed his grati-tude for the Order’s generositythat allowed the construction ofthe building with its large meet-ing space in the basement: fi-nancing of more than 1,5 millionEuros was the result of the par-ticular commitment of the Lieu-tenancies of France, Ireland,Germany, Italy, Spain, Canada,United States and Taiwan.

Now, he said, JordanianCatholics, together with the Fil-ipinos and Sinhalese who havecome to work in this city, canbetter develop the life of the lo-cal Church with the youthgroups and prayer groups andwith those involved in variousparish activities. Aqaba, locatedon the border of Israel and notfar from Egypt, has come to be astrategic place for dialogue be-tween cultures and for the build-ing of peace between Christians,Jews and Muslims, all believersin one God.

THE GRAND SECONDARYSCHOOL IN RAMEH

The second important projectof 2012 was in Upper Galilee, inthe town of Rameh. It involvedthe construction of a four-storybuilding on the school campus ofthe Latin Patriarchate to host thesecondary school. Thus the pri-

mary and secondary school stu-dents can complete their studieshere. This initiative, financed en-tirely by the Order, was alreadyreferred to in the account of theGrand Master’s pilgrimage in theHoly Land (see pages 7 and 8).

THE SISTERS’ CONVENTIN ABOUD RESTORED

The projects for 2012 also in-cluded the restoration of the con-vent in Aboud. In this town, situ-ated in the Palestinian Territoriesabout 20 kilometers northwest ofRamallah, the convent of theRosary Sisters was in need ofrestoration, since it had beenwithout maintenance for at least40 years. The building, con-structed in 1011, served as apriests’ residence for many years;then it was used to house the sis-

ters who are very active amongthe local population. Their con-gregation, founded in Jerusalemin 1880 by Blessed Maria Alfon-sina, is the only women’s congre-gation founded in the Latin Pa-triarchate.

Sister Nadia and Sister Eva,the former a Palestinian and thelatter a Jordanian, take care ofthe house. They visit the Christ-ian families, giving special atten-tion to the elderly and the chil-dren and seek to maintain frater-nal bonds with the Muslim in-habitants, increasingly numerousbecause of the constant demo-graphic growth. Thanks to fundssent by the Grand Magisterium –the results of a collection fromthe Lieutenancy of Portugal –they were able to begin and bringto conclusion major work in themain parts of the convent, in par-ticular in the chapel, kitchen, of-

The Latin Patriarchate has entrusted the Franciscan Custody of theHoly Land with a program designed to assure the spiritual assistance

of the 220 thousand Christian workers from other nations (thePhilippines, India, Sri Lanka, Eastern Europe, Latin America) living inIsrael, in particular with the construction of a church and a pastoralcentre This is one of the most urgent problems facing the local Churchthat was illustrated to the Grand Magisterium of the Order by the GrandPrior, Patriarch Fouad Twal while, paradoxically, it is committed in theopposition to the phenomenon of the emigration of many Christianfamilies from the Holy Land. In the context of a thorough report on thereligious, social and political situation in Palestine, Jordan, Israel andCyprus, the Patriarch recalled that the recent Assembly of the CatholicOrdinaries in the Holy Land has created a commission for the pastoralcare of immigrants and political asylum seekers (approximately 30thousand, mostly from African countries) entrusted to the patriarchalvicar for the Catholic community of Hebrew expression, the Jesuit FatherDavid Neuhaus.

SPIRITUAL CARE OF CHRISTIAN WORKERSFROM FOREIGN LANDS

fice and parlor. The whole electrical system wasrewired and a new outside space was put ingood order.

RESTORATION WORK IN THEVICARIATE OF AMMAN AND FOURPRIESTS’ RESIDENCES IN JORDAN

The building of the Vicariate of the Latin Pa-triarchate in Amman is an important place forpastoral and diplomatic gatherings in one of theArab countries more open to and respectful ofthe Christian presence. It was necessary to re-pair the exterior, modify some of the spaces andremodel the adjacent monastery of the womenreligious. Precisely for the pastoral activitiescentre, the offices of the administration, therooms and offices of the Patriarch and the Aux-iliary Bishop, the rooms of the women religiousand guestrooms, the total financing provided bythe Grand Magisterium was in excess of 8 mil-lion Euros.

The parish house in Amman’s Misdar neigh-bourhood, the parish dedicated to Christ theKing – the oldest of the city parishes, foundedin 1924 – was in urgent need of restoration be-cause the old building was in very poor condi-tion. The stairs were rebuilt, as were the plumb-ing and electrical system. Until the end of the1960’s the building had been the seat of the Vic-ariate; today it is the “general headquarters” ofa large parish that includes 800 families and2.500 faithful, many of whom are immigrantsfrom Iraq. “Poverty is one of the biggest prob-lems of our parish and many people want toleave the area”, says the parish priest, Father Ri-ad Hejazin, always available to give his all toface the difficulties of daily living.

In Al-Hashimi, east of Amman, near the in-ternational airport, work on the priest’s house ofOur Lady of Mount Carmel parish was financedby the contribution of the Lieutenancy of SpainWestern. The parish unites 400 families, a num-ber which, according to the parish priest, FatherAdnan Bader, is growing. Father Bader is thespiritual assistant for the young people of the

28 - Annales 2012

The Rosary Sisters of Aboud (photo above) in one of thenewly-restored rooms in their convent. In Amman (center andbelow): the entrance to the church of the Latin Vicariate anda view of the parish church of the Sacred Heart.a

patriarchal school that has 600 students, frompre-school through high school, half of themChristians. The school, whose director is theparish priest, has been funded by the Ordersince its founding in 1958; it promotes in-creased mutual respect among the religiousgroups.

In Al-Rusaifeh, a city situated on the road toZarka, to the east of Amman, a contributionfrom the Grand Magisterium allowed therestoration of the priest’s house of Mary Moth-er of the Church Parish. Here the Christianfamilies are dynamic in keeping the Catholiccommunity alive, although there is still a con-stant exodus of the faithful at the same time asthere is a corresponding exponential growth inthe Muslim population, especially due to thepresence of a refugee camp. The church wasbuilt in 1967, when the territory still containedseveral tens of families of Latin Rite Christians,but their number is considerably less today.The Christian university youth movement isvery active at Al- Rusaifeh and holds its gather-ings in the newly-remodelled parish hall. Today,without a parish priest, the community is caredfor by a priest from Sri Lanka who lives in theparish house; he is also occupied in the care ofhis fellow countrymen living in Amman and inother cities throughout Jordan. Parish life is an-imated by the Sisters of Charity of MotherTeresa who care for handicapped children in acentre they opened.

Farther north, not far from Ajloun, in thetown of Al-Wahadneh, where the school of theLatin Patriarchate was just remodelled, the re-construction of the parish house was also nec-essary. The old building, built in 1948, was invery bad condition; it was demolished and an-other one, naturally more comfortable, wasbuilt. The new house, near the church dedicat-ed to Saint Elias, will allow the parish priest toperform his role of hospitality, listening andcounselling the faithful who are more than onethousand of the 10 thousand inhabitants, mem-bers of a community rich in faith and which hasin recent years given the Church many priestlyvocations. F.V.

Annales 2012 - 29

At Al-Hashimi and Al-Rusaifeh important restoration workwas done on the priest’s residence (photo above and center)while in Al-Wahadneh a new one was built. Here (photobelow) the work on the roof is still underway.

30 - Annales 2012

Professor Giovanni Gianfratetells his confreres how the scientific

research he sponsored andcoordinated revealed for the firsttime the age, state of health and

genetic code of the trees whoseancestors were witnesses of the

Agony in the Garden

Ihad admired those olive treesso many times without everasking myself “who” they

might be and what they mighthave witnessed, and what impor-tance that would have today in adisoriented and incredulousChristianity. Then, a bit of en-lightenment came from a passageof one of St. Cyril of Jerusalem’scatechetical lectures (X, 19)(“Gethsemane bears witness,

The event of the year in the eyes of the world’s media

GETHSEMANE’S OLIVE TREESREVEAL THEIR SECRETS

Annales 2012 - 31

still to the thoughtful almostshowing Judas”) and the “discov-ery” that at my age I knew almostnothing about Gethsemane andwhat its eight “venerable” olivetrees could tell us. From my pro-fessional experience and myawareness as a member of theEquestrian Order of the HolyCross of Jerusalem that it was notenough only to know that thesewere the “Olive Trees of theAgony” of Christ; it was neces-sary to know more and, most ofall, about them and their “memo-ry”.

Therefore, as director forprojects in the Holy Land of Flo-rence’s cultural association“Coltiviamo la pace” [Let’s culti-vate peace], I sponsored and co-ordinated a scientific researchproject that I named HortusGethsemani, the memory of anenvironment, naturally, with theagreement of the Franciscan cus-tody of the Holy Land, propri-etor of the site. The study wasconducted with the scientific col-laboration of the CNR (from theItalian for “National ResearchCouncil) through IVALSA (Treesand Timber Institute) in SestoFiorentino, calling upon its mostrenowned researcher, ProfesssorAntonio Cimato as scientific co-ordinator and counting on the fi-nancial support of Copagri, theconfederation of Italian agricul-tural producers, whose membersinclude the majority of Italianolive growers. Significant assis-tance was also offered by theOlive Branch Foundation ofJerusalem, whose President, Fa-ther Raed Abusahlia (at that timeparish priest in Taybeh/Efraim

but now director of the HolyLand’s Caritas organization), dueparticularly to a decades-longfriendship resulting from theItalian Bishops’ Conference of agift of an olive press (which Isponsored), which has assured amodest survival-level income forhis agricultural parishioners. Thisinitiative marks the beginning ofthe commercialization of Pales-tinian oil in Europe and the“lamp for peace” project towhich a number of Lieutenancieshave responded.

The study of Gethsemane’solive trees was conducted over athree year period, from 2009 to2012, and involved 15 Italian re-searchers from various universitydepartments and institutes of theNational Research Council. Firstof all the author, assisted by hisformer student in agriculturaltechnology, Adriano Rossi, col-lected samples of the roots andbranches of the eight plants, nec-essary for identifying their genet-ic profile, the verification of theirphysical, and “nutritional” con-dition and their morphologicaldescription. One year later, in

August of 2010, I accompanied ascientific mission composed ofresearch scientists from the Treesand Timber Institute from SestoFiorentino and Trento to collectsamples needed for the dating ofthe plants (taken from the treesabove the soil level). This wouldbe followed in 2011 by the analy-sis of the olives and their oil andin May of 2012 by the collectingof flower samples for observationunder an electronic microscope.Given the extraordinary impor-tance of the project because ofthe religious, cultural and scien-tific expectation, there was a mo-bilization of interdisciplinary ex-pertise from five university de-partments (Udine, Florence,Pisa, Chieti-Pescara) and threeinstitutes of the National Re-search Council from the “Scien-

The olive trees are both a promiseand a symbol of peace in a regiontorn by conflicts. They also are aremainder of Christ’s Agony inGethsemane and hence of God’simmense love for humanity.On the preceding page: the Basilicaof Gethsemane and, behind it, theconvent of the Order of Friars Minor.

32 - Annales 2012

tific Pole” of Sesto Fiorentino.On 19 October of this year

the results of the research weremade public in Rome, in VaticanRadio’s Marconi Room. This au-thor and Prof. Cimato explainedto the international journaliststhat the eight olive trees did notgrow spontaneously nor are theythe result of grafts on previously-existing plants; they are absolute-ly “twins”, children of the samemother, having identical DNA. Itwas possible to date three ofthem, which exhibited less lackof wood at the base of the trunk;this was done by the use of Car-bon 14 dating (the particularlyprecise wiggle matching method).The test was done by two inde-pendent accredited laboratories,the Center for Dating and Diag-nostic of the University of Salen-to and the Vienna EnvironmentalResearch Accelerator (VERA) atthe University of that city. Theresult is that their trunks can bedated to 1198, 1092 and 1166.However, for various reasons, es-pecially of a historical and ar-

chaeological nature, it is possiblethat they are descendants ofmuch older plants, even fromseveral centuries before the timeof Jesus. The studies also re-vealed that these plants are notaffected by any disease, not eventhose of environmental origingenerated by the ever-presentsources of pollution. As if theground in which they are grow-ing were capable of blocking –Professor Cimato called it a “lit-tle miracle” – the proliferation ofbacteria, insects, virus and anyother cause of suffering in thesesacred plants.

The research therefore fur-nished results of great scientificinterest, but in order to offsetany concern for the conservationof these plants, I am now in-

volved in launching a plan ofagronomical intervention andtechniques of cultivation that willallow their vegetative revitaliza-tion and unlimited conservationas well as the improvement of thewhole Franciscan holding atGethsemane. This study, howev-er, should be reason for rediscov-ering and revitalizing devotion toChrist in his Agony, in which hefreely chose to accept the Passionfor the salvation of humankind.Blaise Pascal reminds us(Pensees, 717) that “Jesus is inagony until the end of the world.We must not sleep during thistime”.

Giovanni Gianfrate

Professor. Giovanni Gianfrate, 65years old, a professor of agronomy, isconsidered the foremost expert onMediterranean olive history. A Knightof the Equestrian Order of Jerusalemsince 2007, he has served as secretary ofthe section of Florence. The scientificresults of his project Hortus Gethse-mani, la memoria di un ambiente [Hor-tus Gethsemani, an environment’smemory] were very well received; forthe world’s media, it was the event ofthe year in the Holy Land.

Some 15 research scientists fromItalian universities were involved forthree years at Gethsemane (photo ofthem at work on an ancient olive tree).The analysis and scientific dating ofthe olive trees was done in reputablelaboratories.

Annales 2012 - 33

“Istudied philosophy atthe Lateran Universityin Rome; but people say

I have business and economicsin my blood”, says Reverend(“Abouna”) Raed Abusahliah,until recently the parish priest ofTaybeh and now in Ramallah. We– a group of pilgrims from west-ern Austria – are sitting in a cir-cle in the large courtyard of thepresbytery in Ramallah, listing in-tently to Abouna Raed talkingabout the projects in Taybeh. Heis so enthusiastic that he canhardly sit still for a single sen-tence, his many emphatic ges-tures animating his words. Ourmere presence here is an event.We have come to his new parishbecause some of us already hadpersonal contacts with him andwanted to discuss with him howthese contacts could be givenconcrete expression without dif-ficulty during the year. The topicis oil. Not that oil (i.e., petrole-um) that causes so much frictionin the Near East but the olive oilfrom Taybeh that we have beenselling at home for several yearsnow.

A man with many stringsto his bow

Abouna Raed, born in 1965in Zababdeh in Palestine, was or-dained a priest in 1990. He heldappointments in various institu-tions in the Holy Land – as aprofessor in the Patriarchal Semi-

nary of Beit Jala, as Chancellor ofthe Patriarchate itself; he studiedin Rome and in 2002 becameparish priest of Taybeh, the bibli-cal Ephraim. Taybeh is renownedfor its olive groves, vineyards andthe cultivation of figs. Christianslive throughout this region,though now in dwindling num-

bers. At present there are about1,300 but some 3,700 are spreadaround the world.

It soon became evident to theparish priest that something hadto be done to combat unemploy-ment. So, in 2003, a new andpowerful oil press was donatedby the Italian Bishops’ Confer-ence. Nowadays 430 olive grow-ers make use of it. From the out-set it was clear that the oil mustbe of top quality. In fact it wastested in Austria by a food re-search organization and certifiedto be an exceptional product.Everyone who tries it can imme-diately taste the difference incomparison with olive oils pro-duced and marketed in industrialquantities. Last year 800 tonswere pressed; this year AbounaRaed is hoping for 1000 tons.

A “minor” project A member of the Order from

Bregenz, Austria organized theimport of 7500 500ml-bottlesand 92 5-litre cans (this year hehopes it will be 9,000. bottles).Some of them will be sent on tothe German and Swiss Lieu-tenancies.

Some members of the Orderoffer the oil for sale after SundayMass in a number of parishes,and it can also be bought frommonastery shops. Several goodrestaurants and businesses havealso been persuaded to use it andthey are all very happy with the

The Order’s projects forthe construction or

renovation of schools,kindergartens, churches,presbyteries and other

structures usually involvedonations on a largescale and we like to

report the results withpride and joy. Yet ourdirect support for the

“living stones”, brothersand sisters of the HolyLand, descendants of

Christ’s first followers,should not be ignored,

especially when ourassistance makes it easierfor them to become self-sufficient. In this articlewe provide a look at the

Christians of Taybeh.

A look at the Crhistians in Taybeh

Oil for Peace

Since 1869 the area has alsohad a school of the Latin Patriar-chate which, in 1978, was im-proved with a new building fi-nanced by the Equestrian Orderof the Holy Sepulchre ofJerusalem. In the past school yeararound 500 children from thewhole area attended this school,60% of whom are Christians.The school employs 31 teachersand other staff.

As he describes these develop-ments we understand whyAbouna Raed cannot sit still. Yethe has not forgotten his priestlyvocation. Shortly before our visitthe story of the multiplication ofthe bread (John 6, 1-15) hadbeen related during a SundayMass and Abouna Raed ex-plained that this story also pointsup one of the Church’s missionsin our own day: to give to peoplethe means to achieve what theyneed to live. But the miracle ofthe bread was only possiblethrough sharing: what wouldhave happened if the boy hadkept his five barley loaves andtwo fishes for himself? But hedid not hesitate even for a mo-ment and Jesus used that sacri-fice as the basis for His miracle.

Abouna Raed associates an-other reflection with the “lampsfor peace in the Holy Land”: hehopes that many Christians willbuy these lamps and light themas they pray for peace in theHoly Land. And he sums up hishope as follows: “If 100,000churches are united in prayingfor peace in the Holy Land Godcannot fail to hear our request –He will have no choice!”.

Otto Kaspar

quality and price. But there is an-other important fact at the heartof the matter: by their own ef-forts, the people in the HolyLand are producing somethingthat gives them an income andvalidates their dignity. What theyreceive is not a handout but a fairprice.

Peace lampsAs well as producing oil, since

2004 the local Christians havebeen making “lamps for peace inthe Holy Land” which, indeed,are lit by oil and provide employ-ment for 20 people. In fact, thetheme of peace arises again andagain as we proceed on our pil-grimage. A Palestinian Christianguide in Bethlehem told us thatshe and several other womencome together at 6.30 everyMonday evening to pray forpeace. It would be a good thingif Christians in our own areaswere to meet and pray togetherfor the same purpose and at thesame time.

An Israeli guide stated – in atrue Catholic perspective – that,looking at the situation from theviewpoint of the people today, it

is impossible to see any path topeace in the foreseeable future.“It really does need the HolySpirit to give the politicians ideason what they can and must do”.But there’s more…

Oil production has been ac-companied by the manufactureof soaps and cosmetics; then in2005 the parish priest was able tofound the “Bet Afram” home forthe elderly and later, the BetAfram Guest House for pilgrims.In the same year Holy Land Ra-dio was set up, the first Christianradio station in the Holy Land.

So many jobs Altogether these parish enter-

prises employ almost 90 people,about a quarter of all the workersin Taybeh.

Father Raed Abusahlia, among themost active priests of the LatinPatriarchate of Jerusalem, with theItalian olive press that allowed thebeginning of the economicdevelopment of Taybeh, where he wasthe parish priest. Following theproduction of the oil he promoted itssale in Europe and affirmed theinitiative of the “Lamps for peace inthe Holy Land”.

Annales 2012 - 35

In the context of the Study Weeks at Villa Cagnola sponsored by theFondazione Ambrosiana Paolo VI (the Ambrosian Paul VI Founda-tion) the one devoted to Jerusalem has an extremely special signifi-

cance. We can say that an intellectual journey lasting several decadeshas arrived at the goal par excellence of a research in religious history,the goal capable of transfiguring even a simple journey of historicalknowledge into a “holy journey” (Ps 84 [Heb. 84]:5) it is an approachto a holy reality: Jerusalem.1

However, drawing near to this unique city also means rediscoveringits significance in the history of European-Mediterranean civilizationand – owing to the spread of the religious traditions of the later on theglobal level – in the story of the whole of humanity.

Jerusalem also had a prehistory; however, it is one of preparation,preparing the way for its extraordinary and unrepeatable subsequentdestiny. The Book of Genesis itself, through the mysterious figure of theking-priest Melchisedek (Gen 14:18), seems to show the prefigurativevalue that the early era of Jerusalem takes on with respect to what devel-

Jerusalem:A City betweenEarth and Heaven

Jerusalem the city inwhich, as Scripture

says, every person wasborn, invites us to

enter into the “otherworld” dimension. The monotheistic

religions recognizethemselves in the

message of spiritualgrowth and interior re

birth that it hastransmitted throughout

the centuries, unitingindividuals in a

common desire to livehere below the values

of eternity, and in acertain sense to achieve

“heaven on earth”

Research into history of religion

oped during the conquest of theJebusite stronghold at David’shands.

In fact its transformation intothe City di David gives rise to asomething new, something whichwould cause Jerusalem to take onuniversal significance, the basis ofwhich, however, is to be found inthe fact that – because ofSolomon’s Temple – the city ofthe king became the city of theshekhinah, the place of the pres-ence of the God Most High.

That place, which the Book ofChronicles identifies with themountain in the territory of Mori-ah (2 Chronicles, 3:1) whichAbraham climbed to offer his sonIsaac to God (Gen 22:2), started

to become the center – and pro-gressively exclusively so – of Is-rael’s sacrificial worship, or in thespecific acceptance of the term,the liturgy of the Levitic priest-hood. From the reign of Josiah inthe latter part of the 7th centuryonwards, the celebration ofPassover, described in the Bookof Kings (4 Kgs 23:21-23; cf. 2Chron. 35: 1-19), was absorbedinto that process of centralizationthat made Jerusalem the onlyplace in which the children of Is-rael were allowed to eat the

Passover meal (Dt. 16:1-8).Because of that evolution, in

his day Jesus of Nazareth alsowent up to Jerusalem to celebratehis own Passover (Mk 10:32-34[Mt 20:17-19; Lk 18:31-33]; cf. Jn11:55 ff.) which, rooted in thePassover of Israel, was trans-formed into the new Passover,which for those who believe inHim is a sign – in the blood ofthe Lamb of God (Jn 1:29) – ofCovenant and expiation and – inthe Resurrection – the source ofeternal life (cf. R. CANTALAMESSA,La Pasqua della nostra salvezza,Genova-Milano, Marietti, 20072

(19711), ch. III (La Pasqua diCristo).

The centrality thus acquired

An ancient image representingJerusalem, city of peace, the spiritualheart of human history.

Annales 2012 - 37

by Jerusalem in the Hebrew andChristian world was not withoutreflection in Mohammed as well.

Jewish synagogue praxis, par-ticularly the Amidah, is character-ized by an orientation in the di-rection of Jerusalem (cf. J.HEINEMANN, Amidah, in Ency-clopaedia Judaica, II, Jerusalem,Keter, 1971, cc. 838-845). For acertain period of time that orien-tation was shared by the primitiveMuslim community until in theMedina phase after the hegira, ac-cording to what is stated in the IISura of the Q’uran, it was deter-mined that the qibla (or the direc-tion) for prayer was the HolyMosque of Mecca (Q’uran SuraII [The Cow], 142-150). Withreference to the ancient sanctu-ary, from the earliest days of Is-lam until the second half of the10th century (the 4th century ofthe Hegira), Jerusalem increasing-ly referred to as al-Quds [theSanctuary] (cf. S.D. GOITEIN, al-Quds, in Encyclopédie de l’Islam,V, curr. C.E. BOSWORTH - E. VAN

DONZEL - B. LEWIS - Ch. PELLAT

(coop. T.h. DIJKEMA - S. NURIT),Leiden-Paris, Brill - Maisonneuve& Larose, 1986, pp. 321-323).Jerusalem would later be consid-ered, especially in the Sunniworld, the place of Mohammed’smiraculous nighttime voyage inwhich the Prophet was taken upinto the contemplation of celes-tial signs (Q’uran, Sura XVII[The Nocturnal Journey], 1).

Following the dispersal ontothe various continents in the Jew-ish Diaspora and the rooting ofChristianity and Islam among amultiplicity of peoples and na-tions throughout the world,Jerusalem’s centrality and its

character as a sign marked by di-vine holiness have obtained for ita recognition of extremely greatdimensions.

What is found in Jerusalem is,therefore, a reality with precisespatial and temporal dimensions,but also a reality that transcendsthose coordinates to assume a sig-nificance that touches on the di-mension of the spirit.

It is no coincidence that thiscity, a junction point in humanhistory, would also become thesymbol of the end and transcen-dence of history.

Already in the time of Israel’sprophets they delineated an es-chatological Jerusalem in whichall nations would find theirdwelling: “In days to come themount of the LORD’S house

The article by Prof. Cesare Alzati,who kindly allowed us to publish

it, opened the 34th European week,the third on the history of religion atthe Euro-Mediterranean university,sponsored by the “Paul VI Am-brosian Foundation” in collabora-tion with the Catholic University ofthe Sacred Heart in Milan, whereProf. Alzati teaches modern andcontemporary history. He was scien-tific director of the seminar onJerusalem, “a city between Earthand heaven”, which was held from3-7 September 2012 at V i l laCagnola di Gazzada (Varese). Thereports and discourses of the aca-demics and scholars, some comingfrom outside Europe, and not onlyChristians but also Jews and Mus-lims, treated topics such as reli-gions, churches, pilgrimages, liturgy, spirituality, art, and imitations of theHoly City. Bishop Giacinto-Boulos Marcuzzo, as Docent in Bethlehem Univer-sity, spoke about the historical and pastoral aspects of the reconstitution ofthe Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem in 1847. The conclusion of the week wasentrusted to His Beatitude Fouad Twal, Latin Patriarch and Grand Prior of theEquestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem, who spoke on the“common patrimony for all Christians and the heart of the world”.

The acts of the seminar will be published by the sponsoring agencies. In-formation can be obtained from the Secretariat of the Fondazione Am-brosiana Paolo VI, whose Headquarters are at Villa Cagnola di Gazzada, e-mail: fapgazzada@tin.it

Jerusalem,common homelandof those whobelieve in one God

38 - Annales 2012

shall be established higher thanthe mountains; …and peoplesshall stream to it” (Micah 4:1). Inthis regard we can thank of whatis written in the Book of Isaiah“Many peoples shall come andsay: ‘Come, let us climb theLORD’S mountain, to the houseof the God of Jacob, that he mayinstruct us in his ways, and wemay walk in his paths’” (2:3);“On this mountain the LORD ofhosts will provide for all peoplesa feast of rich food…. He will de-stroy the veil that veils all peo-ples, the web that is woven overall nations” (25:6-7); “Nationsthat knew you not shall run toyou, because of the LORD, yourGod, the Holy One of Israel, whohas glorified you” (55:5); “Theforeigners who join themselves tothe LORD, ministering to him,loving the name of the LORD,and becoming his servants – allwho keep the Sabbath free fromprofanation and hold to mycovenant, them I will bring to myholy mountain and make joyful inmy house of prayer; … for myhouse shall be called a house ofprayer for all peoples” (56:6-7).Nor is it different in the Book ofZephaniah: “For then I willchange and purify the lips of thepeoples, that they all may call up-on the name of the LORD”(Zeph 3:9) In this context Psalm87 could well state: “Gloriousthings are said of you, O city ofGod! From Babylon and Egypt Icount those who acknowledgethe LORD. Philistia, Ethiopia,Tyre, the Lord notes in the regis-ter of the peoples: ‘This one wasborn here’” (3-4, 6).

In the Christian of Revelationsby John, the eschatological

Jerusalem which the prophets ofIsrael lauded, is placed not at theend of history, but beyond histo-ry, and described as follows:“Then I saw a new heaven and anew earth…. I also saw the holycity, a new Jerusalem, comingdown out of heaven from God,prepared as a bride adorned forher husband. I heard a loud voicefrom the throne saying, “Behold,God’s dwelling is with the humanrace. … they will be his peopleand God himself will always bewith them (as their God)” (Rev.21:1-3).

We can find traces of this es-chatological dimension connect-ed to Jerusalem and understooddifferently in the diverse religiousenvironments in the cemeteries ofthe Valley of Josaphat, with theMuslim tombs facing Mecca, theJewish tombs facing the Temple,and the Christian tombs alignedwith the East, (expressing theirexpectation of the glorious returnof the Lord Jesus.

Therefore any reconsiderationof the historical data regardingJerusalem cannot fail to take inthe religious meanings the cityhas acquired in the spirituality ofthe diverse religious componentswho regard it as a Holy City.

In this is the unique capacity(already mentioned in the begin-ning) of that city to transformevery approach to it, even a pure-ly intellectual one, into a “holyjourney”. In fact, anyone whodraws near to it cannot fail toconsider the words of that piousIsraelite: “Let us go to the houseof the Lord! And now our feetare standing within your gates,Jerusalem!” (Ps 122:1-2); and heor she cannot fail to hear the

echo of the prayer of ancientChristian generations: We makeour offering “to You also, OLord, for the holy places, whichYou have glorified by the divineappearing of Your Christ, and bythe visitation of Your all-holySpirit; especially for the gloriousZion, the mother of all thechurches” (as it was expressed inthe Liturgy of Saint James: ed. B.Ch. Mercier, La Liturgie de SaintJacques. Edition critique du textgrec avec traduction latine, Paris,Firmin-Didot, 1946 (PatrologiaOrientalis, XXVI, 2], p. 206 [92];nor can he or she ignore theblessing of the Q’uran in thecommon Suni interpretation:“Glory be to Him who by nighttransported His servant from theHoly Mosque [Mecca] to the dis-tant Mosque [the place of theTemple of Jerusalem” (Q’uran,Sura XVII [The Night Journey],1).

Because of these multiple reli-gious meanings of Jerusalem,studying the situation, analyzingits manifold aspects, entering intocontact with the spiritual themesrelated to it naturally also be-comes an experience of profoundsharing with the human commu-nities living there in dramaticconditions at this time, and notwithout suffering, the unique andunrepeatable reality of the Citythat is holy for all and deeplyloved by all, but a City thatthroughout the centuries (andeven to this very day) has been sopainfully contested.

Cesare Alzati

1 Ps 84 (Heb.: 84): 5: “Happy arethose who find refuge in you, whosehearts are set on pilgrim roads”.

Annales 2012 - 39

“Athousand years ago,on their journey tothe Holy Land, the

pilgrim Saints Aegidius and Ar-canus, in the face of the majorchanges taking place, began tosearch for the truth and the mean-ing of life. On their return, theybrought with them not only thestones gathered on Mount Zionbut the unique idea they hadthought of in the Land of Jesus:building on the Upper Tiber Val-ley an image of Jerusalem, a civi-tas hominis which in its veryname, recalls justice and peace”.This opening passage is fromPope Benedict XVI’s address of13 May 2012 when he joined withthe citizens of Sansepolcro in cel-ebrating the city’s great jubilee.Joining in the historic event – noPope had visited the city dedicat-ed to the Holy Sepulchre forabout 500 years – was a group ofKnights and Ladies from the

Lieutenancy for Italy CentralApennine, representing our Or-der which has a special relation-ship with Sansepolcro.

“They planned a well-struc-tured model for the city, one fullof hope for the future, where thedisciples of Christ were called tobe the engine of society in pro-moting peace by practicing jus-tice”, the Holy Father said furtherto the crowd which, despite therain, had filled Piazza Torre diBerta. An homage to the two pil-grim founders, considering thatthe prospective they opened – “tosee life as a journey to come clos-er to the ‘truth’ and the ‘just’ – isstill valid today.”

A “new public ethic” A diocesan pilgrimage without

precedent the previous month ofMarch, in which the members ofthe Lieutenancy participated, al-lowed a good preparation of the

hearts for that unforgettable daywhose success was obtained bythe efforts of Bishop RiccardoFontana of Arezzo-Cortona-Sansepolcro, and the mayor of thecity, Daniela Frullani, who hadthe honor of giving a warm wel-come to Pope Benedict XVI.

The idea of building a new lit-tle Jerusalem at the mouth of theTiber, the river that flows throughRome, expressed Arcanus andAegidius’ desire to support spiri-tually the ministry of the succes-sor of Peter, in a fidelity renewedby the missionary spirit of theapostolic times. Using the exam-ple of these two laymen, the Popehighlighted the timeliness of themessage conveyed by Sansepol-cro: “Today there is the particularneed for the service of the Churchin the world to be expressedthrough enlightened faithful laypeople, capable of working in thecity of man with the will to serve

The Millennium of Sansepolcro in the presence of Benedict XVI

A CITY BUILT IN ITALY IN THE IMAGE OF JERUSALEM

40 - Annales 2012

over and above personal interests,beyond partisan views. The com-mon good counts far more thanthat of the individual and it is upto Christians to contribute to thebirth of a new public ethic”. Evenbeyond the anniversary of thefounding of the city and its cathe-dral – which in addition to Pierodella Francesca’s famous Resur-rection contains the beautifulsculpture of the Holy Face of Je-sus – the Holy Father’s visit as-sumed an important significancewith this invitation.

Six months after the openingof the Year of Faith, BenedictXVI addressed the new genera-tions: “Christians, especially theyouth, are called to counter dis-trust of the political and socialsphere with their commitmentand love for responsibility, en-livened by the love of the Gospelwhich calls us to not to withdrawinto ourselves but to take care ofothers. I invite the youth to thinkbig: may you have the courage tobe bold! Be ready to give new

flavour to the whole of civil socie-ty with the salt of honesty and dis-interested altruism. It is necessaryto recover a strong motivation toserve the good of citizens”.

In a context of a strong Euro-pean social crisis, where despera-tion is gaining ground, the Popetold his listeners to broaden theirhorizons, turning their thoughtsto the Christians in the HolyLand who are undergoing a muchmore serious and painful crisis.The Holy Father’s words on thistopic particularly struck the mem-bers of the Order, who have had abond with the city of Sansepolcrofor a long time, so much so thatGrand Master emeritus CardinalCarlo Furno, is an honorary citi-zen. “We thank God that yourdiocesan community through thecenturies developed an ardentmissionary openness, as is wit-nessed by its twinning with theLatin Patriarchate of Jerusalemwhich I was pleased to learn hasborne fruitful collaboration andcharitable works to help the need-

iest brethren in the Holy Land”,the Holy Father noted. “Theseancient bonds led your forefa-thers to build a replica of theHoly Sepulchre of Jerusalem instone here, in order to give theidentity of the people a solid basisand to keep the devotion andprayer for the holy City alive. Thisbond continues and makes every-thing concerning the Holy Landappear as a reality that involvesyou, and likewise Jerusalem. Yourname and the presence of the pil-grims of your Diocese nourish thefraternal relationship”. He urgedthe inhabitants and all theirfriends to open up new perspec-tives of solidarity, giving a re-newed apostolic impetus at theservice of the Gospel.

Contemplation of the Holy FaceBefore this celebration of the

Millennium the Pope had visitedthe cathedral and prayed beforethe depiction of the Holy Face, inspiritual communion with theFranciscan religious family thatanimates, not far from there, pil-grimages to Mount La Verna, inthe foothills of the Apennines,where St. Francis received thestigmata in mid-September 1214.Because of the inclement weather,Benedict XVI was not able to visitthere, as was planned; thereforein Sansepolcro he entrusted theintentions of the universalChurch, in the paths of thePoverello of Assisi and his disci-ple, the great saint of these Tus-can lands, Margaret of Cortona,who knew how to unite contem-plation of the Crucified with ex-treme charity.

François Vayne

Pope Benedict XVI greets the citizens of Sansepolcro. At his side are BishopRiccardo Fontana and Cardinal Giuseppe Betori, Archbishop of Florence.On the previous page: among the festive crowd there is a group of Knights of theLieutenancy of Italy – Central Apennine.

The research of thehistorian, MordechaiLevy, Ambassador of

Israel to the Holy See,presented at an

internationalgathering of scholarswith the presence of

many Knights andLadies of the

Lieutenancy of ItalyCentral who have

made this monumentthe center of their

spiritual life

“The enigma of Ac-quapendente”, a cityinTuscia (now in the

Province of Viterbo) on the ViaRomea, that is, the medievalroute taken by pilgrims betweenCanterbury and Rome, continuesto fascinate: in fact, over the cen-

turies there have been many sup-positions and hypotheses aboutthe origin, construction and dat-ing of the city’s most preciousmonument, the copy of the HolySepulchre of Jerusalem, or rathera chapel in the Romanesquecrypt of its Basilica Cathedral.

The experts, studying the unusu-al and stratified structure of thebasilica, have established withcertitude only that the littlebuilding with a pyramid-shapedroof, like that of Jerusalem, wasa tribute to a non-extant largerreligious building from the High

Confirmation of the medieval chapel built in the crypt of the cathedral

IN ACQUAPENDENTETHE OLDEST REPLICA

OF THE HOLY SEPULCHRE

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Middle Ages. This was enoughfor the Knights and Ladies of ourOrder from the nearby Delega-tion of Viterbo to make it thecenter of their spiritual life andfor those from Lazio for it to be-come a goal of frequent pilgrim-ages Now the confirmation thatthe chapel is “the oldest replicain Europe” of the Holy Sepul-chre of Jerusalem came from thestudies of the historianMordechai Levy, Ambassador ofIsrael to the Holy See, who pre-sented his findings during an in-ternational seminar on 11 March2012 in that very Cathedral ofAcqupendente. The event, spon-sored by the local Church andmunicipality, is seen as funda-mental for its religious history bythe Bishop Lino Fumagalli ofViterbo, Prior of the Lazio Sec-tion of the Order, who encour-aged the presence of many mem-bers of the Lieutenancy for ItalyCentral and celebrated a Massfor all the seminar participants,especially the docents and acade-micians.

Mordechai Levy stated thatthe date of the “Chapel of theHoly Sepulchre” must certainlybe placed in the 10th century. Hebegan by excluding that it wascommissioned by a noblewomannamed Mathilde, as oral tradi-tion states, and so neither by theSaxon princess Saint Mathilde,wife of Henry the Fowler, Kingof Germany and mother of OttoI the Great, King of Italy from951 to 973 (who dedicated herlife entirely to works of charitysupporting the poor and build-ing churches, monasteries andhospitals) nor her niece

Mathilde, the sister of Otto II.Both of them lived in the 10th

century, but no documents indi-cate that they founded a reli-gious house in Italy. Naturally itcould not have been commis-sioned by Mathilde of Canossa,Marchessa of Tuscany, nor byMathilde of Scotland, who liveda century later. He then declaredthat he had concentrated his at-tention on the powerful and pi-ous Count Ugo of Tuscany, whoin a letter of Saint Peter Damianis mentioned as the founder ofseven monasteries. Scholars haveidentified five of them, said Levy,and the sixth should be that ofAcquapendente. In support ofthis thesis he cites the “Charter”of 993 by count Ugo (whichmany scholars consider proof ofan uninterrupted relationshipbetween the Latin West and the

Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalemfrom the time of Charlemagnethrough the beginning of theCrusades). This documentmakes mention of the donationof his large properties to twochurches in Jerusalem, that ofthe Holy Sepulchre and SantaMaria Latina, annexed to themonastery.

However, Levy affirmed, “thedocument could be interpretedin another key”: Ugo’s “Charter”states that the donations were infavor of the monks who in

The facade of the Basilica ofAcquapendente is from a recentera, while its medieval crypthouses the most ancientreproduction of the Holy Sepulchreof Jerusalem. The monument (inthe photo on the previous andadjacent pages) is particularlyvenerated by the Knights andLadies of the Holy Sepulchre ofLazio.

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Jerusalem would be taking careof the pilgrims coming there andleaving from there. These tasks,however, could have been per-formed during the pilgrimage aswell, not at the final destination,“as if there were twoJerusalems”. Many and specificare the written examples of theuse of the term Jerusalem not somuch as a geographic place butas an expression of its spiritualimportance. We should also re-call the many churches, begin-ning with the Roman Church ofSanta Croce and the medievalmonasteries, with explicit refer-ence to Jerusalem.

Documents from 993, Levycontinued, indicate as a benefici-ary of part of Count Ugo’s dona-tions a certain abbot Farinus,that is, Guarinus of Cuxa, an im-portant religious personality

even though his biography wasnever written and none of hiswritings are extant. He is knownto have been a promoter of themonastic life, inspring Saint Ro-muald in the foundation of theCamaldolese Order and theVenetian Doge, Pietro Orsoleo,in his seeking the contemplativelife as a hermit at Cuxa. Both ofthese have been canonized andwe know of Guarino throughtheir biographies. Guarino, Levycontinued, was also a key figurein the Cluny movement, so muchso that he introduced that re-form in five monasteries of thePyrenees and Languedoc. Hewent as a pilgrim to the HolyLand several times and in 993,upon his return from a pro-longed stay, seems to have partic-ipated in the act of the founda-tion of the Monastery of the

Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem bycount Ugo. It seems that he hadbrought from Jerusalem a relicof the Holy Cross to be placed inthe chapel in Acquapendente.The marble reliquary came fromthe Holy City more than a centu-ry later, at the time of the Cru-sades, during the planning stagefor the crypt which would shel-ter it. For Levy, Count Ugo wasprobably one of the first sover-eigns in Italian territory to havefounded a hostel for pilgrims onthe way to Jerusalem, in the spir-it of Cluny.

In conclusion Levy explainedthe reason that the chapel of Ac-quapendente is an imitation ofthat of Jerusalem, an imitationthat in the medieval era – he be-gan by saying – was based onsymbolic parameters, and there-fore not a full-scale model.

The majority of the descrip-tions of the aedicule in Jerusalembefore the time of the Crusadesmention a conical roof resting ona polygonal structure, almost al-ways a pentagon, with five exter-nal columns surrounding theSepulchre. From different view-points the shape of the roofcould appear to be a cone or apyramid; viewed from the front,however, it appears to have a tri-angular form. Villibar, the Eng-lish monk who visited Jerusalemin 735, has left us a notable de-scription of the aedicule ofJerusalem: the tomb carved intothe rock, the square base, thepointed extremities surmountedby a cross. “An impressive de-scription”, says Levy. “It is as ifhe had the chapel of Acquapen-dente in front of him”. G.M.

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Jerusalem, the Basilica of the HolySepulchre. George Doty and his wife,accompanied by Monsignor RobertStern, admire the restoration of thedome of the Anastasis on the day ofits dedication. His generosity allowedthe work to be done.

We remember him inthis first volume of thenew series of Annales

with somephotographs of our

reporting on the eventand the article

dedicated to him in1996, in the first

volume of Annales

On 2 January 1997 therestoration of the domeof the Anastasis in the

Basilica of the Holy Sepulchrewas hailed as an event of un-precedented historical impor-tance. After thirty years, the scaf-folding hiding the aedicule of theResurrection was dismantled; ithad been erected for work thatwas always delayed because of fi-nancial reasons or for those of ajuridical nature; now, however,the vault appeared again in all itssplendor to the patriarchs andleaders of the Catholic, Ortho-dox and Protestant Churches of

Jerusalem, to the many authori-ties and important personages,including the Apostolic Delegatefor Jerusalem and Palestine, whowas also Nuncio in Israel and amember of the Order, Archbish-op (now Cardinal) AndreaCordero Lanza di Montezemolo;and to the limited number of in-vited guests, first of whom was

George Doty dies, leading figurein the restoration of the Anastasis

Annales 2012 - 45

Knight of the Grand CrossGeorge Doty, accompanied byhis wife and the then SecretaryGeneral of the “Pontifical Mis-sion for Palestine”, our confrereMonsignor Robert Stern.

Doty, a wealthy banker and

member of the Lieutenancy ofUnited States Eastern, had fi-nanced the whole restorationproject; Monsignor Stern had se-cretly brought to a successfulend the lengthy and difficult ne-gotiations that allowed the co-

owners of the Basilica, the GreekOrthodox and Armenian Patri-archs and the Franciscan Custosof the Holy Land, to agree onthe terms, goals and juridical as-pects of a gift that would respectthe historic rights sanctioned bythe status quo. Naturally, presentalso was the artist, Ara Normartfrom the United States (who wasintroduced by our confrereMonsgnor Denis Madden, atthat time working for the Pontif-ical Mission and currently Auxil-iary Bishop of Baltimore); he hadsubmitted several designs, thelast of which was then executedin almost three years of work.

On 24 April 2012 Doty diedin New York where he had beenborn on 15 February 1918. Hewas 94 years old. Exemplary forhis Catholic faith, he was invest-ed as a Knight of the Order on19 April 1981. Greatly esteemedas well for his “notable dy-namism” by the Archbishop ofthe metropolis, Cardinal JohnO’Connor, Grand Prior of theLieutenancy, and by Vice Gover-nor General F.Russell Kendall,on October 1990 he was calledto lead the Lieutenancy of Unit-ed States Eastern. On 19 May1997 he was given the Cross ofMerit and Gold Palm ofJerusalem by Grand Master Car-dinal Carlo Furno; on 10 Sep-tember 1993 he had received theSilver Palm of Jerusalem fromthe latter’s predecessor, Cardi-nale Giuseppe Caprio.

The father of five, he had alsovisited Rome many times in hiscapacity as one of the Patrons ofthe Arts of the Vatican Muse-ums.

A confrere, his devoted compatriot,recounts his life for the Annales and tells

how he came to “discover” the prelate’s membership in the Order: the then Archbishop of Zagreb was admitted in 1937by the Patriarch of Jerusalem during apilgrimage in the Holy Land

Blessed CardinalAloysius Stepinac,member of the Orderof the Holy Sepulchre

Aloysius Stepinac was bornon 8 May 1898 in the vil-lage of Brezariç, in the

parish of Kra‰iç, forty kilometersfrom Zagreb. He was baptizedthe following day with the nameof Alojzije Viktor. He was or-dained a priest in Rome on 26October 1930. In July of 1931 hereturned to his native Croatiawith two degrees, one each inphilosophy and theology. Yu-goslavia at that time was under astrong military dictatorship andthe government forces particular-ly tried to weaken the CatholicChurch. He served as Master ofCeremonies in the Archdiocese.On 28 May 1934 Pope Pius XIappointed him Coadjutor Arch-bishop with the right of succes-sion: only 36 years old and apriest for less than four years, he

Annales 2012 - 47

was the youngest bishop in theworld. Three years later on thedeath of Archbishop Bauer on 7December 1937, he assumed re-sponsibility for the Archdioceseand was also entrusted with thepresidency Bishops’ Conferenceof Yugoslavia.

The whirlwindof the Second World War

From the beginning of theSecond World War, consistentwith his patriotism but very faith-ful to his pastoral mission,Stepinac firmly and bravely con-demned the racial, ideologicaland political persecutions. In hispublic appearances as well as hismany courageous written inter-ventions, he demanded respectfor every person, regardless ofdifferences in race, ethnic origin,religion, gender or age. Faithfulto the Gospel, he tirelessly con-demned the crimes against hu-manity and all other injustices.Immediately after the adoptionof the racist laws in April 1941,

he strongly protested to the au-thorities. During the war hesaved many Jews, Serbians, gyp-sies, Poles and even his Commu-nist compatriots from persecu-tion. When the Croatian govern-ment was installed, he interveneddecisively, stating: “According toCatholic moral teaching, it isnever permissible to kill a prison-er for a crime committed by oth-ers”. In a sermon in the Cathe-dral of Zagreb on 25 October1942, he declared: “Every nationand every race present on theearth today has the right to live alife that respects human dignityand has the right to a treatmentworthy of human dignity. Every-one, without exception, whethergypsies or of another race,

whether black or refined Euro-peans, whether hated Jews or ar-rogant Arians, have the sameright to say, ‘Our Father who artin heaven’. And if God has giventhis right to everyone, what hu-man authority can deny it?”.

He also opposed the practiceof forced religious conversionand when he could not preventit, he gave confidential instruc-tions to the clergy: those whowere seeking conversion to savetheir life should be received intothe Catholic Church uncondi-tionally, because “when this wildtime of madness is over, thosewho were converted because oftheir own conviction will remain,while when the danger is over,the others can return to theirown confession”.

The Communistattacks after the war

After the end of the SecondWorld War, the Communist Par-ty, inspired by the Bolsheviks andespecially by militant atheism,

Zagreb, 3 October 1998 – PopeJohn Paul II in prayer in theCathedral in front of the funerarymonument to Cardinal Stepinac.Several hours before he hadpresided over the ceremony of hisbeatification in the famous shrineof Marija Bistrica.

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took power in Croatia and in allof Yugoslavia. ArchbishopStepinac was already arrested on17 May 1945 and remained inprison until 3 June. The follow-ing day the dictator Tito calledhim for a discussion in Zagreb.From this conversation, just asfrom Tito’s conversation with therepresentatives of the Catholicclergy two days earlier in Zagreb,it was clear that the new regimewanted a “national Church”, in-dependent of the Holy See. ForStepinac it was an attack onCatholic unity and indeed it soonbecame clear that the govern-ment was planning violent perse-cutions against the Church.These persecutions would not beaimed only at bishops andpriests, but also at all Catholics.

An unprecedented mediacampaign was mounted againstthe Church, especially againstStepinac, and it lasted with vary-ing intensity until the fall of theCommunist regimes on the Euro-pean political scene.

In September 1945 Stepinacconvoked a meeting of the Bish-ops’ Conference to study the newcircumstances and at its conclu-sion on the 22nd he promulgateda pastoral letter in which heminutely and courageously docu-mented the violence and injus-tices committed by the new gov-ernment during the war and afterit, and not only against religionand the Church, but also againstthe citizens’ freedom of con-science. Still harsher persecu-tions followed the pastoral letter,focused on Archbishop Stepinacpersonally. They even began at-tacks in the real, true sense,

throwing stones at him in Za-pre‰iç, near Zagreb on 4 Novem-ber 1945. The Archbishop wasno longer able to carry out hispastoral activity and in January1946 the new Communist au-thorities also began behaving inthe same way as the precedingNazi regime: they asked the HolySee to remove Stepinac from hisministry as Archbishop of Za-greb.

A farce trial Following all the vehement at-

tacks against his person, Stepinacwas arrested again on 18 Septem-ber 1946. A political trial with apredetermined outcome beganon 30 September. Memorablewere his words in his third ad-dress to the court, in October,which were not merely a defence,but even an accusation against

the legality of the tribunal. Theaddress is also a sort of creedwhich shows how the Archbish-op was ready to give his own lifefor the faith and the Church.

Based on forced statementsand false testimony, even on falsi-fied documents, on 11 October1946 the innocent Archbishopwas condemned to 16 years offorced labour and a further fiveyears of deprivation of civilrights. Witnesses who wanted totestify in favour of him were notallowed into the courtroom.Their written testimony was nev-er used. These testimonies havesurvived and today they are onexhibit in the Aloysius StepinacMuseum at the Kaptol in Zagreb.

After an impressive amount ofprotests from the civilian world,the Archbishop was transferredto house arrest in Kra‰iç for the

Martyr ofcommunisttotalitarianismfounded on lies,MonsignorStepinac underwent aniniquitous trial in1946 and wascondemned to 16years in prison.Pope Pius XIIcreated him acardinal in 1953,an act that led to abreak indiplomaticrelations betweenYugoslavia andthe Holy See.

Annales 2012 - 49

rest of his sentence. On 12 Janu-ary 1953, when he was still inprison, Pope Pius XII createdhim a Cardinal. Because of thisthe Yugoslavian government sev-ered diplomatic relations withthe Holy See. Stepinac, con-vinced that he would not havebeen allowed to return to hishomeland, decided not to go toRome to receive his Cardinal’sbiretta nor to participate in theconclave at the death of Pius XII.He wanted to remain with hispeople at all costs, to be a guid-ing light for his faithful through-out those dark times.

Prison and death While in captivity, in the

harshest isolation, he carried onhis apostolate by writing. Hewrote thousands of pages of ser-mons and other spiritual works.He sent more than five thousandletters to bishops, priests andfaithful (approximately 700 ofthe letters are still extant) inwhich he, a man of faith, firmhope and total abandonment toGod, encouraged and comfortedhis correspondents, especiallyurging them to persevere in thefaith and in the unity of theChurch. In these letters, as hedid throughout his trial and im-prisonment, he demonstrated asincere love even for those indi-viduals who had persecuted andunjustly accused him. Prayer forhis enemies and asking forgive-ness for all are the constantthemes of his statements, his let-ters, and of the three testamentsthat he wrote.

Beginning in the spring of1953, the illnesses he contracted

at the time of his imprisonmentin Lepoglava worsened. Hewould have needed systematichospital care and the doctors,closely watched by the regime,could not do anything. He re-fused any care that would meanthat he would have to bow be-fore biased judges who wereslaves of the regime, or whocould intimidate the clergy andother persons. His pain became apart of his life as a prisoner, buthe bore it patiently until hisdeath.

Death found him on 10 Feb-ruary 1960, while he was stillserving his unjust sentence. Hedied a martyr, as the dictionarysays, “ex aerumnis carceris” – be-cause of “hardships in prison”,but on his lips he had a prayerfor his persecutors and theLord’s words: “Father, may yourwill be done!”.

The virtuous life and the

death of Cardinal Stepinac wererecognized and honored by thepeople even during his lifetimeand especially after his death, de-spite the efforts of and persecu-tions by the Communists. Hewas beatified by Pope John PaulII at Marija Bistrica on 3 October1998. The beautiful area behindthe main altar in the Cathedral ofZagreb, where his earthly re-mains are kept, is continuouslydecorated with an abundance offlowers, candles and notes ofthanksgiving for prayers an-swered through his intercession.Many pilgrims acknowledge himas their personal protector and apatron of the Croatian people.

The testimonyof a Jewish historian

Confirmation of the greatnessof Cardinal Stepinac has comefrom an American Jewish histori-an, Ester Gitman. She lived inZagreb for two years while work-ing on her doctoral dissertation,studying thousands of docu-ments about the Second WorldWar. She had never heard ofAloysius Stepinac before thattime. However, from the very be-ginning of her research she con-tinuously ran into his name andso she could not but try to findout more about him. Developinga great admiration for his personand his action, she expressed it inher work “A Question of Judg-ment: Dr. Alojzije Stepinac andthe Jews” (Review of CroatianHistory 2/2006, no. 1, 47, 58)and in the book, When CouragePrevailed: The Rescue and Sur-vival of Jews in the IndependentState of Croatia 1941-1945. (Saint

Portrait of Blessed Stepinac with theinsignia of the Equestrian Order of theHoly Sepulchre of Jerusalem (Detailof a painting by Davor Zovko).

50 - Annales 2012

Paul, Paragon House Publishers)and in a documentary dedicatedto him (Kad istina pobijedi, byJadranka Jure‰ko-Kero). Git-man’s work demolished the insin-uations and lies about the pre-sumed ties between the Arch-bishop and the dictator, AntePavelic, head of the regime, aCroatian ustasha faithful to theanti-Nazis, documenting how his

life was in immediate danger sev-eral times, she illustrated andlauded Stepinac’s aversion to theracial laws and his defense of hu-man dignity; she showed how hewas personally involved in savinghundreds of Jews, even statingthat she was surprised that hehad not yet been recognized asone of the “Righteous among theNations”.

In October 2008, Mr. SandroBarieviç wrote to tell me that hehad seen a cross of the Equestri-an Order of the Holy Sepulchreof Jerusalem among the personaleffects of Blessed AloysiusStepinac on display in the Aloy-sius Stepinac Museum at theKaptol in Zagreb. He also sentme a picture of the distinctionwhich I immediately recognizedas belonging to a Knight Com-mander with Star of the Order. Iimmediately understood thatBlessed Aloysius Stepinac wasone of our confreres! Severaldays later Mr. Barieviç foundconfirmation of that in a coupleof biographies, maintaining greatdiscretion but informing theChurch authorities in Croatia.The confirmation came from theregistry of the members of theOrder (see photo), that I re-ceived from the Latin Patriar-chate.

Archbishop Aloysius Stepinacwas made a Knight of the HolySepulchre of Jerusalem in 1937,during the Croatian pilgrimageto the Holy Land which he led,by Latin Patriarch Luigi Barlassi-na who at that time exercised therole of Grand Master of the Or-der. As a Coadjutor Archbishop,he had the rank of Commanderwith Star (Grand Officer) .

I am one of the many pilgrimswho visit the tomb of BlessedAloysius and ask his intercession.As a member, and now secretary,of the Lieutenancy for Sweden, Irecognize that this great saint ofour times has sustained me andmy family in all of life’s impor-tant events.

Davor Zovko

The register of new members of the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchrepreserved in Jerusalem in the archives of the Latin Patriarchate shows thatMonsignor Stepinac was listed on 116 July 1937. It also notes his title ofTitular Archbishop and Coadjutor to the Archbishop of Zagreb with the rightof succession. (The Archbishop died six months later, on 7 December).

from thelieutenancies

AUSTRALIA – VICTORIA

New investiture in Melbourne

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52 - Annales 2012

The Knights and Ladies of the Lieutenancygather periodically for Mass, the recitation

of the Rosary, and other moments of thespiritual life. The most important momenttook place in Melbourne in October, with theinvestiture of new members in St. Patrick’sCathedral, with the Grand Prior, ArchbishopDennis Hart (center of the photo), presiding.The ceremony was preceded by the Vigil ofArms in the Carmelite Monastery of Kew, led

by Mons. Carlo Portelli and distinguished bythe warm welcome the sisters gave to themany participants.

The annual dinner was enlivened by con-frere Frank Costa and his accounts of an im-migrant childhood, his career as a success-ful businessman, and his management ofthe Geelong Football Club, marked threetimes with the team’s victory in the champi-onship.

Annales 2012 - 53

Lieutenant Kar lLengheimer presented

to our Tyrolean confrereOtto Kaspar, Lieutenant ofHonor for Austr ia andmember of the GrandMagisterium, the GoldPalm of Jerusalem, whichhad been conferred onhim by Grand Master Car-dinal Edwin O’Brien for hismerits as a member ofthe Grand Magisterium,and in particular for hisefficient renewal of the in-ternational informationalbulletin published by the Order. During hisaddress of homage the Lieutenant affirmedthat Doctor Kasper deserved this great hon-our not only because of his authority, found-ed upon a solid faith, his fidelity to the au-thorities of the Order in the tasks entrustedto him and his sensitivity to the needs of thetimes, but also so that his work may be anexample for the Knights and Ladies of theOrder. Doctor Lengheimer expressed a wishfor much strength and God’s blessing in thefuture. (The photo above recalls the ceremo-ny).

In recognition of his various extraordinarymerits Knight of the Grand Cross Otto Kas-par also received a great pontifical distinc-tion: Pope Benedict XVI named him a Com-mander of the Order of Pope St. Sylvester.

THE INVESTITURE IN BADENWIENER NEUSTADT

Friday, 21 September 2011, the Vigil ofArms for a new investiture was celebrated inthe ancient Cistercian Abbey of Heil i-genkreuz, which has existed without interrup-tion since 1133 and where more than 80monks live today. The abbey is also known

beyond Austria for its philosophical-theologi-cal athenaeum that bears the name of PopeBenedict XVI (who visited there in 2007)and since this year is of pontifical right. ItsGrand Chancellor, Abbot Maximilian HeimO.Cist., a very active member of the Order,ended the long procession bearing the relicof the Holy Cross, which was then exposedon the main altar. The celebration waspresided over by the Grand Prior of the Lieu-tenancy, Archbishop Alois Kothgasser S.D.B.,while the homily was given by the Prior ofthe Baden-Wiener Neustadt section, FatherAmadeus Hörschläger O.Cist.

The investiture the following day beganwith a solemn chapter at Mödling. MemberGerhard Engelhardt greeted the members ofthe Order, led by the Chancellor of the Order,Ivan Rebernik, by the Lieutenants of theNetherlands, Luxembourg, Slovenia andHungary, by the Chancellor of Switzerlandand the German Chancellor; also presentwas a large group of English and Scotchconfreres. The Austrian Knights and Ladieswere led by Lieutenant Karl Lengheimer andGrand Prior, Alois Kothgasser.

During the celebration of the Mass of In-vestiture 21 candidates (17 Knights, 2

AUSTRIA

The Gold Palm of Jerusalemgiven to brother Otto Kaspar

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from the lieutenancies

54 - Annales 2012

Ladies, 1 priest and 1 deacon) weresolemnly received into the Order by theGrand Prior, Archbishop Alois Kothgasser(photo above).

On 23 September the Sunday Mass ofthe Order was celebrated, respecting theAustrian tradition, together with the commu-nity of St. Stephan’sparish in Baden; thechurch, which is alsothe section’s place ofworship, this year cele-brated 700 years ofparochial independ-ence.

CHRISTMASBAZAARS

For about 10 yearsthe various sections ofthe Lieutenancy havebeen organizing Christ-mas bazaars. They sell

handicrafts made of olive wood as well asoil and incense from Christian producers inthe Holy Land. The purpose of these Christ-mas bazaars (see photo) is to give work toChristians in Palestine, but their proceedssupport the Order’s projects in the HolyLand.

Annales 2012 - 55

The Mass for the deceased of the Order istraditionally the first gathering of the Litur-

gical Year. It is held on 24 March and is fol-lowed each year by the General Assembly ofthe Association of the Members of theEquestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre ofJerusalem, which directs the Belgian Foun-dation for the Holy Land, the activities ineconomic support of the Holy Land .

In the month of April the members of theOrder participated in the celebrations ofHoly See (Palm Sunday, Holy Thursday, GoodFriday, the Easter Vigil and Easter Sunday) inthe capitular church of Notre Dame deSablon. They participated in the Te Deum onthe National holiday, 21 July, and on theking’s feastday, 15 November.

The big event of the year, naturally, was

that of the investitures. On Friday, 14 June,the Chapter met, followed by a lunch andthe Vigil of Arms. The following day the Patri-arch of Jerusalem, Fouad Twal, Grand Prior ofthe Order, presided over the investiture often new members (four Knights, one Lady,one bishop and four priests). A brief cere-mony marked the installation of the newLieutenant, Jean-Pierre Fierens. This was fol-lowed by a dinner with a discourse by HisBeatitude. The Order’s liturgical year con-cluded with the celebration of the feast ofOur Lady of Palestine on 27 October. Arch-bishop Joseph Jules Zerey, Auxiliary of theGreek Melkite Patriarch of Jerusalem, wasthe main celebrant and he spoke at the din-ner following the Mass.

The annual retreat, which was held from

BELGIUM

The investiture presided overby the Patriarch of JerusalemIntense activity in the dioceses – Confrere Julien Ries created a Cardinal

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CANADA - TORONTO

Increased distributions and donations

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56 - Annales 2012

15–18 November in France in the CistercianAbbey of Notre Dame du Mont des Cats,was directed by an experienced preacher,our confrere Father Christian van Zeebroeck,OSB. Approximately 50 members participat-ed. The Lenten day of recollection, it whichabout 40 of our brothers and sisters partici-pated, some of them coming from theNetherlands, was held as it is every year inthe Cistercian Abbey of Westmalle and wasdirected by the Ecclesiastical Ceremonial Of-ficer, Canon Rijckenqui, who had alsopresided at the retreat for the aspirant mem-bers of the Order in the Benedictine Abbeyof Maredsous.

The series of conferences held in Brusselsduring the year was opened on 17 Januaryby Grand Prior Bishop Jean Kockerols al-lowed the members of the Lieutenancy,many of whom participated, to reflect onand delve deeper into the problems of pres-ent concern in the light of faith. Particularlyinteresting was the conference by the juristEtienne Montéro, Professor at the CatholicUniversity of Louvain, on the topic of “Eu-thanasia and Ethics”, which demonstratedthe urgency of a general involvement in thepublic debate on respect for life from con-ception to natural death (the practice of eu-thanasia is being performed in Belgiumwithout the consent of the patient).

In the dioceses also many were the gath-

erings and spiritual activities. On 21 MarchBishop Jozef De Kesel of Bruges spokeabout the situation of the local Church; on14 November Bishop Lucas Van Looy ofGand celebrated the Eucharist in his privatechapel, followed by refreshments; on 16 MayFr. Dominique Collin, OP spoke to the confr-eres of the Dioceses of Liege and Limburgon how Christianity can still be credible to-day. In the Diocese of Namur and the Vicari-ate of Brabant on 9 October Lebanese Fa-ther Francesco el Kouri of the Maronite Anto-nine Order illustrated the history of theChristian presence in his country. On 29 No-vember our confrere Bishop Guy Harpigny ofTournai analyzed various current problem ar-eas in the local Church.

An important moment for the Lieutenancywas the Consistory on 18 February becausePope Benedict XVI created a cardinal notonly our Grand Master Edwin O’Brien, but al-so our confrere Bishop Julien Ries , profes-sor emeritus of the Catholic Universities ofLouvain and Milan, anthropologist and reli-gious historian of international renown. Theconference he gave on 24 November atLessines, in the Diocese of Tournai, organ-ized by Notre Dame à la Rose Hospital, wasattended by a great number of people.

The annual pilgrimage to the Holy Landtook place from 11-14 November with ap-proximately 30 participants.

The memory of the September investitureof 17 new members of the Lieutenancy in

St. Michael’s Cathedral in Toronto will remainalive for a long time. The ceremony, withGrand Prior Archbishop Thomas Collins pre-siding, was particularly suggestive whenArchbishop James Weisgerber of Winnipeg(Manitoba), as he expressed in his addressduring the gala dinner, described his joy andemotion upon entering the Order of the Holy

Sepulchre of Jerusalem.Among the more significant events of the

year, there was the celebration of the EasterVigil by our confrere Fr. Allan Hood, in theAugustinian Monastery of Marylake, nearToronto. It was attended by more than 60Knights and Ladies gathered in the splendidchurch dedicated to Our Lady of Graces,with its impressive architecture; they thenproceeded to a meeting with a reception

Annales 2012 - 57

and supper in the monastery’s dining room.The Lieutenancy continued fostering the

spiritual life of its members during Advent,with Lenten days of reflection, Easter medi-tations, special conferences, and parish vis-

its. One of the latter was marked by the cel-ebration of Sunday Mass in Corpus ChristiChurch in Toronto, at which more than 70Knights and Ladies participated.

The speaker at the dinner that followed

Ladies andKnights who hadjust been investedin the Order inSaint Michael’sCathedral,Toronto, Toronto,Ontario.

Celebration of theEaster Vigil in theChurch of OurLady of Grace, atMarylake.

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was Sir Hugh Mac Kinnon, a member of theLieutenancy Council and of the BethlehemUniversity Foundation, who spoke about theactivities and needs of this precious institu-tion of the Holy Land and encouraged all tonot allow it to lack support.

The Lieutenancy’s program, which beganin 2007, continues to develop with dona-tions and distributions which reached arecord level in 2011 and particularly benefit-ed two institutions in Bethlehem: the Crèche(a day care) and the Catholic University.

Lieutenant SirClare Beingessner

explains theannual report ofthe Lieutenancy

during the annualgeneral gathering

in Le Parc,Toronto.

IRELAND

The Lieutenancy mobilizes for the 50th Eucharistic Congress

There were five main events this year, oc-casions for the members of the Lieu-

tenancy to meet and pray, and they all hadthe Eucharist as their center: a nocturnalvigil was held at the Marian shrine of Knockin County Mayo; the “springtime Mass” inGalway in which the postulants were accept-

ed; the procession for the feast in honor ofSaint Oliver Plunkett at Drogheda CountyLouth; the Vigil of Arms and the investiture ofnew members at Saint Patrick PontificalSeminary in Maynooth, with Governor Gener-al Agostino Borromeo present. Lastly, theyear was brought to a close in November

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with a reflection day.However, from 8-18 June this year Ireland

hosted the 50th International EucharisticCongress, with the city of Dublin at its cen-ter; it was an exceptional event prepared forby a special day led by its Secretary Gener-al. Many Knights were involved in variousways for the whole of the time, in particularby chauffeuring ecclesiastical dignitaries, in-cluding our own Cardinal Grand Master, fromtheir arrival at the airport to their departure,often dedicating themselves from dawn tolate at night. The Lieutenancy contributed fi-nancially to the pilgrims’ travel expenses toIreland. The Council welcomed 34 of themcoming from the Holy Land; others werelodged in the homes of the Knights andLadies.

Two Knights participated in the openingceremony, carrying the banners of the Order.On the feast of Corpus Christi, a solemnityenhanced by the presence of more than 10thousand faithful, approximately 50 mem-

bers in mantle participated in the proces-sion. Some of them took care of the standswhere religious articles were displayed, oth-ers gave conferences or interviews in varioussessions of the Congress. In his homilyon the Solemnity of the Sacred Heart, theGrand Prior of the Order, Patr iarch ofJerusalem Fouad Twal, said, among otherthings: “Recalling our communion in suffer-ing, I come to you as the pastor of Christ’slittle flock (Lk 12:32) which suffers in theLand of Promise, the Land of the new andmodern promises and international resolu-tions that have never been fulfilled. It is theLand that first saw the fulfillment of God’splan to redeem His creation in the incarna-tion, passion, death, resurrection and as-cension of the Son of Mary, our Mother andVirgin”.

Many Knights and Ladies in mantle par-ticipated in the closing ceremony of the“Statio Orbis” at Croke Park, the generalheadquarters of the Gaelic Association.

Pilgrims from theHoly Land inDublin. Leadingthe procession is aFranciscan friar(left) and a priestof the LatinPatriarchate(right).

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Rome Section –Pilgrimage to

Santiago diCompostela and

Fatima (16-21June 2012).

Jerusalem – HolySepulchre:

Pilgrimage of theRome Section (1-8 October 2012).

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During the course of the year the Lieu-tenancy began a rich program of signifi-

cant events that met with a great and in-volved response for all the sections and del-egations.

We recall the Holy Mass in the Basilica of

St. Mary Major on 13 January celebrated bythe then Pro-Grand Master Edwin O’Brien forthe “month’s mind” of the death of CardinalJohn Patrick Foley, Grand Master Emeritus.After that we had the joy of participating inthe Consistory in which our Grand Master

ITALY CENTRAL

Intense spiritual activity marked by pilgrimagesand by First Friday gatherings in Rome

Annales 2012 - 61

Pilgrimage to theMarian shrine of“Madonna dellaQuercia” -Viterbo 27-28October 2012.

was created a Cardinal and his taking pos-session of the Church of St. Sebastian onthe Palatine, his titular church as Cardinal.

On 19 January the Lieutenancy suffered agreat loss: the death of Archbishop GiovanniDe Andrea, Grand Prior of Honor. His memo-ry shall remain a blessing and will be con-served in the hearts of all for all the goodthat each of us received from his assiduousand precious closeness.

We must make particular mention of thepilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela andFatima, from 17 to 21 June and the pilgrim-age to the Holy Land from 1 to 8 October,both of them with Lieutenant Saverio Petrillopresiding, with the participation as well ofthe Grand Prior, Bishop Franco Croci, andthe expert leadership of the Prior of theRome Section, Monsignor Natalino Zagotto.All the participants, particularly the newKnights and Ladies, returned from this expe-rience with a great satisfaction and a deepsense of spiritual enrichment.

As is customary, on the occasion of theSolemnity of Our Lady Queen of Palestine,the Lieutenancy made a pilgrimage to thebeautiful Shrine of the Madonna della Quer-cia in Viterbo on 27-28 October.

At the end of the year there were twosolemn investitures, the first in Rieti on 12and 13 October for the Knights and Ladiesof the Lazio Section, presided by the GrandPrior, and the other on 14 and 15 December

in Rome in the Basilica of St. John Lateran,with the Grand Master Cardinal EdwinO’Brien presiding, and in the presence of theGovernor General Agostino Borromeo, theAssessor, Archbishop Giuseppe De Andrea,and other dignitaries of the Grand Magisteri-um

Particular attention was given to the or-

The Eucharisticcelebration in thesanctuary ofSantuario“Madonna dellaQuercia”,represented in theicon.

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Hundreds of Knights and Ladies partici-pated in the first national pilgrimage to

the shrine of Saint Pio of Pietrelcina in thetown of San Giovanni Rotondo. Every yeartens of millions of faithful come from all overthe world to this place in southern Italy, onMount Gargano, to venerate the miracle-working Capuchin friar who was privilegedwith the Stigmata and left behind a magnifi-cent charitable activity, the Casa Sollievodella Sofferenza [Home for the Relief of Suf-

fering], a hospital and scientific researchcenter par excellence. Next to it, in com-memoration of his canonization, the Ca-puchin friars have built a monumentalchurch, designed by the famous architect,Renzo Piano, embellished with importantworks of art, including the mosaics by theequally famous Jesuit Father Marco Rupnik.In every continent “Padre Pio Prayer Groups”memorialize his beatification and canoniza-tion celebrated by Pope John Paul II, who

had known him personally and hadbeen his devoté.

Promoted and organized by theLieutenancy for Italy – Southern Adri-atic, which is at work in this region,Apulia, through many very activesections and delegations, the pil-grimage took place from 29 June to1 July with the significant presenceof the Assessor of the Order, Arch-bishop Giuseppe De Andrea repre-senting the Grand Master CardinalEdwin O’Brien, and the participationof the Governor General AgostinoBorromeo, of the Lieutenants forItaly Northern Giuseppe Vecchio, forItaly Central Appennine Giovanni Ri-casoli- F ir idolf i , for Italy South

ITALY – SOUTHERN ADRIATIC

Knights and Ladies of Italy at the sanctuary of Saint Pio of Pietrelcina

ganization of the First Fridays of the month.The Lieutenancy gathered around the altar inthe historic Roman Church of St. Praxedes,with the Grand Prior Franco Croci presiding.On 1 December Cardinal Giuseppe Bertellopresided at the Mass and on 7 Decemberthe Grand Master, on the first anniversary ofthe death of Cardinal Foley.

During the course of the year the Lieu-tenancy prepared two publications: one ofthem, a Quaderno di spiritualità [Notebook

of spirituality], is a collection of the GrandPrior’s homilies on devotion to the SacredHeart, which he gave during the Masses onthe First Friday of the month in 2011; thesecond work, with the title Cenni storici ecompiti attuali [Historical notes and today’stasks] is a brief presentation of the Order’shistory and its noble aims, for the purposeof facilitating and promoting a more thor-ough and correct understanding of the Orderfor those aspiring to become a part of it.

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Annales 2012 - 63

Tyrrhenian Giovanni Napolitano. To them andall the pilgrims a greeting was given on Sat-urday morning, 30 June, in the Basilica’s au-ditorium, by Lieutenant Rocco Saltino, byArchbishop Michele Castoro of Manfredonia-Vieste-San Giovanni Rotondo and by friarMariano Di Vito, in the name of the Rectorand his confreres (in the photo on the pre-ceding page the presidency of thegathering).

Lieutenant Saltino highlighted the ideathat the secret of the widespread devotionto Padre Pio should be sought “in his being‘a friar of the people’, a miracle worker, butfirst and foremost a religious sincerely en-amored of Christ Crucified; therefore, in themystery of the Cross that he lived with theStigmata as well. Indeed, with his thoughtsturned to the Holy Land, he loved to join theglory of Mount Tabor to the mystery of thePassion of the Lord.”

Governor General Agostino Borromeo de-voted his address to the pilgrims on thetheme of “Christian pilgrimage” in which, asa professor and historian, he reconstructedand described its expressions over the cen-turies. He made particular mention of theprotection, defense and assistance of pil-grims to the Holy Land offered by the Eques-trian Orders who in that way joined it to thedevotional visit and veneration of the holyplaces of the Redemption. Over time it ma-tured in their ongoing support of all theChristian institutions in the Holy Land.

Archbishop De Andrea reflected on thetheological meaning of pilgrimage, not onlyon the idea of going to and returning fromthe holy places, but also of departing anddeparting anew from the earthly Jerusalem,having always the heavenly Jerusalem as ourgoal. Recalling, then, some episodes of hislife as a diplomat, Papal Nuncio in variousparts of the world, he urged each Knight andLady to reconsider their own Christian voca-tion in the light of a journey of pilgrimage,devotion and conversion, an “occasion forre-energizing one’s own faith and hope”, insuch a way as to attend fully to the works ofcharity, without which the other virtues wouldlack meaning or fulfilment.

The pilgrimage had begun in the after-noon of the previous day, Friday the 29th,with a visit to the basilica, the masterpieceof architect Renzo Piano, and a processionto the crypt for the veneration of the mortalremains of Saint Pio, which are enclosed ina silver and glass urn. The splendid mosaicsalong the walls of the corridor present a par-allel of the life of St. Francis and that of St.Pio, with citations that are not so much his-torical as they are theological and pastoral.

On Saturday afternoon on the slope ofMonte Castellano, a moving Via Crucis washeld based on the meditations of our con-frere Monsignor Carmine La Dogana at eachStation of the journey, which is enriched bythe monumental sculptures of FrancescoMesina. Particularly symbolic was the FifthStation in which (see photo above) the Cyre-nean was depicted as Saint Padre Pio. Thecross was carried by the Lieutenants in thelast section and up to the Fifteenth Station,the Resurrection, where after receiving the fi-nal blessing, the group posed for their pho-to-record.

The pilgrimage concluded in the Basilicaon Sunday with Archbishop De Andrea pre-siding at the solemn celebration of theMass, which was made more memorable byhis homily. The Lieutenants led the Prayers ofthe Faithful and at the end the GovernorGeneral recited the prayer of the Knights andLadies of the Holy Sepulchre.

ITALY NORTH

With the Pope the Festival of the Family

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64 - Annales 2012

In the beginning of June the great dioceseof Milan, with its millions of faithful, hosted

the Seventh World Meeting of Families, withBenedict XVI presiding. Many Knights andLadies, not only from this Lieutenancy, par-ticipated in the event with their families inthe context of their ecclesial involvement,particularly at the parish level.

At the gathering on Saturday 2 June inBresso Park during the “Evening of Witness”,the Holy Father dialogued with the families,responding to the few testimonies expressedin the name of the whole assembly. He in-sisted on the necessity of joining reason,sentiment and will with the goal of achievingthat “forever” of the sacrament of Matrimony.“I often think of the wedding-feast of Cana”,he said. “The first wine is very fine: this is

falling in love. But it does not last until theend: a second wine has to come later, it hasto ferment and grow, to mature. The definitivelove that can truly become this ‘second wine’is more wonderful still, it is better than thefirst wine.” He also invited divorced and re-married to offer their suffering of not beingable to participate in the Sacrament of theEucharist, a suffering that can truly help theChurch if it is intimately accepted. At theSunday Mass the next day in the same parkBenedict XVI urged the families to “believe ...in authentic love, the kind that comes fromGod and unites us to him”. Among the otherimportant events of the Lieutenancy wewould mention the feast of the Patroness ofthe Order, the pilgrimage to the Holy Land,and the annual ceremony of investiture.

On 28 October2012 in the

Church of SanBernardino in

Crema the feast ofthe Patroness, the

Blessed VirginQueen of

Palestine wascelebrated, withthe Grand Prior,

Bishop OscarCantoni presiding,

and theEcclesiastical

CeremonialOfficer,

MonsignorGiordano Ronchi

and the Prior ofthe Delegation of

Torino,Monsignor

Ottorino Girotti,concelebrating.

Annales 2012 - 65

The ceremonies of investiture of new Knights and Ladies were celebrated on 23 June and 20 October at Milanin the church of Santa Maria della Pace; both were presided by the Grand Prior Oscar Cantoni, Bishop ofCrema, in the presence of Lieutenant Silverio Vecchio and civil and military authorities.

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After a period of organization and theovercoming of some initial difficulties,

the Lieutenancy now experiences a spirit offraternal collaboration, thank to a generalcommitment and the active collaboration ofthe Grand Prior, Cardinal Paolo Romeo, andall the Bishop Priors of the sections and del-egations. The Lieutenancy now numbers 669members: 398 Knights, 182 Ladies and 89ecclesiastics.

The Council of the Lieutenancy decidedon a slight increase in the dues for 2012, asmall step towards the fulfillment of the di-

rectives of the Consulta, but a significantmove because it was taken at the time of anoticeable economic and financial crisis. Thesections of Palermo and Catania made pro-vision for the extraordinary collection of out-side funds: the first through the manage-ment of the ancient Church of San Catalod;the second through the 8th annual Lentenconcert that allowed a collection of funds,and other initiatives. The Lieutenancy alsobrought its expenses into line with what isindicated in the Statutes and made provi-sion for sending the money coming from do-

In the photos, theceremony of

investiture in theCathedral of

Catania.

ITALY - SICILY

Growth in the spiritual life, in engagement for the Holy Land and in the field of communications

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Annales 2012 - 67

nations and other initiatives to the HolyLand through the Grand Magisterium for theends determined by the Patriarchate. Nextyear there are plans to support some ROACOprojects, in particular the restoration of thehouse of the Daughters of St. Anne at EinKarem and the remodeling of the Church ofSt. John the Baptist at Rafidia; there are al-so plans for the awarding of an annualscholarship to a seminarian from the HolyLand, whose name will be chosen by the Pa-triarch, and renewed until the time of hispriestly ordination.

From 29 April to 4 May the Lieutenancy’spilgrimage to Lourdes was held, incorporat-ed into the pilgrimage of the Diocese ofCatania and led by the Metropolitan Arch-bishop Salvatore Gristina, Prior of the Sec-tion. There was great participation in the Eu-charistic celebrations and the candlelightprocessions, during which the Knights andLadies carried the cross or the statue of OurLady. The Lieutenancy’s pilgrimage to theHoly Land is planned for April 2013.

On 19 May the ceremony of investiturewas held in the Cathedral Basilica of Cata-nia, preceded by the Vigil of Arms and prayerin the capitular Church of Saint Julian,Headquarters of the Order. The Chancellor ofthe Order, Ivan Rebernik, participated in

both events.In the field of communication an internet

site was activated (www.santosepolcrosicil-ia.it), and is followed with great interest notonly by members of the Lieutenancy; it hasintensified participation in the various semi-nars and round tables in all the dioceses.Still within the perspective of imparting bet-ter knowledge of the Order, the Lieutenancysponsored the publication of a volume on“S. Andrea a Piazza Armerina, Priorato del-l ’Ordine del Santo Sepolcro. Vicendecostruttive, cicli pittorici e spazio liturgico”.(St. Andrew’s at Piazza Armerina, Priorate ofthe Order of the Holy Sepulchre. History ofits construction, painting cycles and liturgi-cal space.)

In the context of the ongoing formation ofthe Knights and Ladies, in agreement withthe Grand Prior for the year 2011-2012, thesections and delegations were encouragedto study and discuss with the assistance ofecclesiastics Pope Benedict XVI’s Exhorta-tion, “Verbum Domini”. Furthermore, follow-ing the indications in his Apostolic Letter“Porta Fidei”, they delved deeper into thegreat topic of the faith, on the 50th anniver-sary of the Second Vatican Council “so thatthe Lord may grant each of us to experiencethe beauty and joy of being Christians”.

The Lieutenancy’s activities are always fo-cused on the spiritual development of the

members and support for our Christianbrothers and sisters in the Holy Land. A goodrelationship among the members con-

tributes to the achievement of these objec-tives. Therefore, the three foundational pil-lars are: spirituality, charity and brotherhoodand on these this year’s program allows for abroad reflection.

MEXICO

The Pope urges resistance toand reaction against fear

HOLLAND

An experience, meeting with a Sisterwho has contributed greatlyin raising aid to the Holy Land

68 - Annales 2012

Great was the joy of the Knights andLadies of the Lieutenancy upon the visit

of the Holy Father, Pope Benedict XVI, to thatnation from 23 to 26 March, which was fol-lowed by a visit to the island of Cuba.

The war between the drug cartels in Mexi-co, which also involves the police forces, hasclaimed more than 50 thousand victims infive years, a de facto civil war. For this rea-son there was much expectation about thePope’s message. He revived the Christianhope of its population of 108 million inhabi-tants, 90 per cent of whom are Catholic, im-

mersed, however, in a political situation of adistinct separation between Church andState, the result of a strong anticlerical tradi-tion. Replying to the welcoming address ofthe Federal President, Felipe Calderón, andat the homily during Mass in León, at themonument of Christ the King, which saw theparticipation of approximately six thousandfaithful, the “pilgrim of hope” who had comefrom Rome encouraged all Mexicans to re-sist the fear that helps the gang warfare toflourish and “boldly to promote peace, har-mony, justice and solidarity”.

The Lieutenancyof Mexico

generouslymobilized to givea warm welcome

to the Pope,gathering aroundLieutenant, JoséMaria Carracedo

Bolinaga andGrand Prior

CardinalNorberto Rivera

Carrera.

The spiritual activities are related to theceremony of Investiture and the celebrationsof advent, Holy Week and the Exaltation ofthe Cross. These events allow personal en-counters and fund-raising initiatives. This iswhat happens as well in the meetings thatthe Lieutenancy sponsors in its eight re-gions. The feelings of fraternity develop bet-ter in a group with a smaller number of per-sons. The deepening of faith requires a spiri-tual education and to that end the Lieu-tenancy is promoting and organizing cours-es, retreat days and meetings, giving prefer-ence to small group gatherings in every re-gion.

The “Caritas” Commission is charged withcollecting aid not only from the members ofthe Order, but also from foundations outsidethe Order, thus establishing relationshipswith Catholic institutions and individualswho are sympathetic to our objectives. Thefunds raised help support the life of theLatin Patriarchate of Jerusalem and con-tribute to the realization of projects of otherCatholic institutions.

The political and religious situation in theHoly Land is complicated. During journeys tothe Holy Land and through publications inthe media, the members of the Order facethis complex situation and the problems re-lated to it. Special public lectures help togive the most balanced possible picture ofthe situation.

All the Christians in the Holy Land offertheir services to persons of other confes-sions as well. Children belonging to the Mus-lim religion attend Christian schools. In thehospitals patients are cared for without con-sideration of their religion or philosophy oflife. It is important that these Christian insti-tutions give people the possibility to enjoy amore decent life and show in practice whatis meant by love of God and love of neigh-bor.

Through its internal publications the Lieu-tenancy tries to motivate the members tosponsor fund-raising activities, as much aspossible. However, personal contact is moreeffective than any publication and for thisreason, on the occasion of its pilgrimages to

the Holy Land, they visit one or more institu-tions of the Latin Patriarchate, such as theseminary, the schools, parish institutionsand other humanitarian institutions conduct-ed by religious congregations. Often theseinstitutions given agonizing impression ofthe complexity of life for Christians in theHoly Land, but also of the wonderful human-itarian work they perform. They meet priests,religious and laity who are attractive exam-ples of faith put to work in love. In the con-viction that meeting people is more effectivethan any publication, we sometimes inviteindividuals who work in the Holy Land to vis-it Holland to give them an opportunity for aricher knowledge and experience.

In 2012 Sister Maria Rosa di Toro, of theCongregation of the Hortus Conclusus, wasour guest; she works in the village of Ortas,near Bethlehem, in a totally Muslim area.Adjacent to the beautiful Marian shrine sheconducts a day-care that is extremely re-spectful of the religion of the children en-trusted to their care. The members of theLieutenancy who visited Ortas were im-pressed by the sentiments of faith thatemerged in their meeting with Sister MariaRosa (in the photo) and her sisters.. And theKnights and Ladies who met Sister MariaRosa in Holland had the same experience.Thus Sister Maria Rosa’s visit to our countryhas doubtlessly contributed much to thesupport of our aid programs.

Annales 2012 - 69

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70 - Annales 2012

PORTUGAL

A pilgrimage to the Holy LandThat began in Rome near the Pope

Various activities in the spiritual, socialand cultural field were sponsored by the

Lieutenancy, all of them aimed at promotingthe spiritual growth of the members, increas-ing their knowledge of the Order, and sensi-tizing them in their support of the Holy Land.

There was great participation in the tradi-tional religious celebrations of the Order andthe Church for the feasts of Our Lady Queenof Palestine and the Exaltation of the HolyCross, for Holy Week, Corpus Christi andChristmas. A spiritual retreat on the theme ofPorta Fidei was led by the EcclesiasticalCeremonial Officer, Father Gonçalo Portocar-rero de Almada. In Lisbon a Mass for peacein the Holy Land was celebrated, with Mon-signor João Seabra, Canon of the HolySepulchre, presiding, and with the participa-tion of a delegation from the Lieutenancy forFinland, which included the Lieutenant Ma-tias Sarimoe, the Lieutenant of Honor, LauriJuhani Gorki and the Archbishop of Helsinki,Teemu Sippo.

A conference organized in collaborationwith the Catholic University, was given byProfessor Miguel Ayuso, President of theUnion of Catholic Jurists. Three other confer-ences, each preceded by social gatherings,permitted the collection of funds for the HolyLand: the first conference, by the Ambas-sador of Hungary, Norbert Konkoly, was onthe topic of his nation’s constitution; thesecond, on the social marginalization ofChristians, was given by Monsignor Duarteda Cunha, Secretary of the Commission ofthe Bishops’ Conferences of Europe; lastly,Father Gonçalo Portocarrero de Almadaspoke on the Year of Faith. Other financialcontributions were raised on the occasion ofthe second annual Christmas Bazaar, whichwas a great success.

Among the year’s most important eventswere: the February consistory in which theHoly Father created the Grand Master, Edwin

F. O’Brien, a Cardinal, at which a delegationfrom the Lieutenancy was present; and from25 September to 4 October the pilgrimageto Rome and the Holy Land, with 75 partici-pants, led by Lieutenant Gonçalo Figueiradode Barros. At the general audience grantedby the Holy Father on 26 September, thegroup of 41 Knights and Ladies, wearingtheir capes and the insignia of the Order,were seated in a reserved section at the leftof the altar in St. Peter’s Square. Before im-parting his Apostolic Blessing, Pope Bene-dict XVI greeted them in Portuguese. Then heblessed a composition of azulejos (ceramictiles) depicting Our Lady of the ImmaculateConception, Patroness and Queen of Portu-gal, offered by the Lieutenancy to the Sanc-tuar y of the Annunciation in Nazareththrough the contribution of two of itsKnights.

The pilgrimage to the Holy Land wasmarked in the beginning by a visit to Aboudto the Convent of the Rosary Sisters, whichhad been restored with contributions fromthe Lieutenancy; two days (2 and 3 October)were spent in Jerusalem for the Vigil of Armsin the Co-Cathedral of the Latin Patriarchateand the investiture of 10 new Knights andLadies in the Basilica of the Holy Sepulchre,both celebrations presided by Mons. WilliamShomali, Auxiliary Bishop of Patriarch FouadTwal, who then conferred the “pilgrim’s shell”on all those who were making their first pil-grimage. In the evening, during a dinner of-fered in the Patriarchate to the Lieutenantand the members of the Lieutenancy Coun-cil, they presented a statue of Our Lady ofFatima, produced by the historic factory ofVista Alegre, a gift for Patriarch Twal from theBishop of Leira-Fatima, Antonio Marto, whoaccompanied it with an invitation to presideon 13 May of next year at the ceremoniescelebrating the apparition of the Virgin. Last-ly, on 4 October, before setting out on their

Annales 2012 - 71

The 75Portuguesepilgrims withBishop WilliamShomali and thePortugheseambassador toIsrael (HolySepulchre, 3October 2012).

return flight to Portugal, the group of pilgrimsvisited the shrine of the Patroness, Our Ladyof Palestine, at Deir Rafat and participatedin the celebration of the Mass, gladdened bythe singing of the Correja de Campos family,who had also participated in all the otherevents. We should also recall the valuablepilgrim’s guide book prepared for the occa-sion by Father Miguel d’Aguiar and the sou-

venir DVD which was distributed to all theparticipants.

The recent investiture ceremonies in theHoly Land, which combined the periodicones held in various cities in Portugal, had avery positive and significant impact on thespiritual life of the members of the Orderand a gave them greater awareness of theirstatutory commitments.

SWDEN

Initiatives to raise awareness about the Order and to support the work in the Holy Land

During the course of 2012 the Lieutenan-cy conducted various activities. “The

Days of the Order” were held regularly; theDiocese of Marielund hosted a spiritual re-treat for the Knights and Ladies, which was

also open to their friends; pilgrimages to theHoly Land were organized in collaborationwith other Lieutenancies.

The fifth issue of the periodical ActaLocumtenentiae Sveciae contained a study

from the lieutenancies

72 - Annales 2012

of the history of the Order by Lieutenant CarlFalck. Another member, Biblical studies Pro-fessor Tord Fornberg, wrote an article inwhich, on the basis of the data acquiredfrom many scientists, confirms that theplace we venerate as the Holy Sepulchre isprecisely the empty tomb of Our Lord. An ar-ticle about the Holy Land was sent by Fr. Fi-ras Aridah of St. Joseph’s Parish in Jifna.

To support the Order’s activities and pres-ent these activities to the Swedish publicthe Lieutenancy, in collaboration with theCroatian Catholic Mission in Sweden, pub-lished two postcards with paintings by con-frere Davor Zovko, an expert in heraldry: thefirst card shows a detail of the portrait ofBlessed Cardinal Aloysius Stepinac working

the mozzetta and insignia of the EquestrianOrder of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem(see the article on page 46); the secondcard shows the coat-of-arms of the GrandMaster, Cardinal O’Brien. In this way theycelebrated the 75th anniversary of the Arch-bishop of Zagreb’s admission into the Orderand the Consistory at which the Grand Mas-ter was created a Cardinal, and at the sametime they raised funds for their works ofcharity: a project, which they were able tocomplete thanks to the contribution of somedonors and the assistance of the Lieutenantfor Canada Atlantic, Stewart LeForte. BrotherZovko, who is also a talented baritone, gavea benefit Christmas concert to publicize thegoals of the Order and raise funds for its ac-tivities.

In September the Feast of the Exaltationof the Holy Cross was celebrated togetherwith Cardinal Gianfranco Ravasi, a guest inSweden at that time because of his evange-lization initiative, “The Courtyard of the Gen-tiles”. The central event of the year was thefeast of Our Lady Queen of Palestine, cele-brated with a solemn Mass in St. Erik’sCathedral in Stockholm and conferences bytwo illustrious speakers: Ulla Gudmundsson,Ambassador of Sweden to the Holy See andDouglas Brommesson from the University ofLund.

Since the Feast of All Saints, the newLieutenant is our confrere Stefan Ahrenstedt(in the photo), a noted psychiatrist, who hasbeen working for 17 years in his clinic inStockholm. Married, he is the father of three.He has the rank of Major in the Swedisharmed forces, is involved in the Arcticforestry service and in hyperbaric medicalemergency care. A Knight since 2004, he isCommander since 2009; he served as sec-retary of the Lieutenancy from 2004 to2008 and treasurer from 2008 to 2012.

Annales 2012 - 73

review

Musical Compact Disc – Edited by the Lieutenancy for Italy Central Appe-nine, 2012

The project of Umberto Lorenzetti and Cristina Belli Montanari, authorsof the important book L’Ordine Equestre del Santo Sepolcro diGerusalemme. Tradizione e rinnovamento all’alba del Terzo Millennio

(which I reviewed in the periodical “AD” 2012), has now been completed withthe production of a musical compact disc, this too with the approval of theLieutenancy of Italy Central Appenine, of which they are very active members,and with the same scope, that of “making known the charitable mission of theOrder for the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem and to collect funds for the Chris-tian brothers and sisters who are living today in the tormented Land of the Re-deemer”.

But why have recourse to music? Because “in the art of sounds one finds areflection of the sovereign beautiful of God”, they explain in the booklet thataccompanies the CD. And why with Gregorian liturgical chant? Because “it isconsidered the most elevated expression of prayer, thanksgiving and praise ofGod”. Therefore it is a gift offered to all listeners – but first and foremost to ourconfreres – “capable of arousing sentiments of devotion and disposing the spirit

Redempionem misit Dominus in populo suo

74 - Annales 2012

to receive the fruits of divine grace”. An intention that is even more laudable inthat, they point out, “profane influences have penetrated into sacred music, ren-dering it unadapt for the ministerial function that belongs to it”.

The work is of the highest quality. The planner and artistic director is Mae-stro Gabriele Gravagna, renowned teach of musical philology and Chair of or-gan and Gregorian chant at the “Conservatorio Gioachino Rossini”, the presti-gious musical school of Pesaro (the composer’s birthplace). Performers aremembers of the two formations, men and women, of the choir Gravagna found-ed twenty years ago for the philological recovery of Gregorian chant pursuedthrough the study of the most authoritative codices of the 12th, 11th and 12th

centuries. With the title of Redemptionem misit Dominus in populo suo, the pro-gram follows an itinerary of liturgical chants planned “for meditation on themystery of the Redemption, that supreme manifestation of God’s love for hu-manity”, and to facilitate meditation on the texts of the chants, which are natu-rally sung in Latin, the booklet contains Italian and English translations.

The program is also accompanied by three of the Huit pièces modales pourorgue , compositions for the organ, by the Frenchman Jean Langlais (1907-1991), exquisitely performer by Giovanna Franzoni, professor of organ and or-

gan composition at the Conservatory ofPesaro. And – SURPRISE! – it is complet-ed and brought to closer with the Choir’srendition of the Inno dei Cavalieri del San-to Sepolcro, the unforgettable compositionof Riccardo Pick-Mangiagalli (1882-1949).The composer and pianist, born in Bo-hemia and a naturalized Italian citizen,from 1936 until his death he directed theConservatory of Milan, alternating histeaching and concert work. The text of thishymn, a beautiful lyric poem by LuigiOrsini, (in the adjacent box) deserves to bereproduced here [in an unofficial Englishtranslation].

There are no better statements of esteem and pleasure for this project createdand executed by Umberto Lorenzetti and Cristina Belli Montanari, than thoseof the Lieutenant for Italy Central Appenine Giovanni Ricasoli-Firidolfi (whocalls it a “fortuitous instrument” for promoting the patrimony of faith, historyand the finality of the Order) and of the Grand Prior of the Lieutenancy, BishopLuciano Giovannetti. He says that he is certain that “in listening to this sacredmusic one will experience what Saint Augustine said, that is, that ‘Whoeverprays singing is praying twice’. And so that the beauty of this prayer may be au-thentic, my wish is that it may have a profound effect on one’s existence, as thatsame great doctor of the Church recommended, “And with your life you mustkeep singing without ever ceasing”.

Graziano Motta

HYMN OF THE KNIGHTSOF THE HOLY SEPULCHRE

God of pardon, God of salvation,Ray that enkindles heavenly dawns,

Light of grace, flame of valour,Temper us all with your strength.

You, font of every good and gladness,Burning sun, mystical dew,

In the sign of the cross and the sword,Keep us worthy of your service.

Annales - 75

ARGENTINALUGARTENENCIAAv. 25 de Mayo 267 - 8°1385 BUENOS AIRES - Argentina

AUSTRALIA - NEW SOUTH WALESLIEUTENANCYPO Box 1203SIDNEY SOUTH - NSW 1235 -Australia

AUSTRALIA - QUEENSLANDLIEUTENANCY90 Henderson St.BULIMBA / BRISBANE - Queensland -Australia 4171

AUSTRALIA - SOUTH AUSTRALIALIEUTENANCY448 Kensington RoadWATTLE PARK - SA - 5066 - Australia

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BELGIQUELIEUTENANCEDamhertenlaan, 5B-1950 KRAAINEM - Belgique

BRASIL - RIO DE JANEIROLUGAR-TENENCIAAv. Rio Branco, 128 - 17° - CentroCEP 20040-002 - RIO DE JANEIRO – RJ- Brasil

BRASIL - SÃO PAULOLUGAR-TENENCIABanco Luso Brasileiro S/ASA Av. Cidade Jardim, 400 - 22° AndarCEP 01454-901 São Paulo BRASIL

BRASIL – SÃO SALVADOR DA BAHIADELEGAÇÃO MAGISTRALMosteiro de São Bento da BahiaC.P. 113840001-970 SALVADOR, BA - Brasile

CANADA - ATLANTICLIEUTENANCY851 Tower RoadHALIFAX, NS B3H 2Y1

CANADA - MONTRÉALLIEUTENANCE4399 King Edward AvenueMONTREAL - QC - H4B2H4 -Canada

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CANADA - VANCOUVERLIEUTENANCY3952 Westridge Ave.WEST VANCOUVER, BC V7V 3H7 -Canada

COLOMBIALUGARTENENCIACalle 125 n° 70D – 4111001 BOGOTÁ D.C. - Colombia

DEUTSCHLANDSTATTHALTEREISteinfelder Gasse 17D - 50679 KÖLN - Deutschland

ENGLAND AND WALESLIEUTENANCY68 Goldington AvenueGB - BEDFORD MK40 3DA - UnitedKingdom

ESPAÑA OCCIDENTALLUGARTENENCIAC/ Alonso Heredia, 5- 1° AE - 28028 - MADRID - España

ESPAÑA ORIENTALLUGARTENENCIAc/ Rivadeneyra, 308002 BARCELONA - España

FEDERAZIONE RUSSAMAGISTRAL DELEGATE:Shosse Entuziastov 21 post box 39111024 MOSCOW - Russia

FRANCELIEUTENANCE8 rue d’OuessantF - 75015 PARIS - France

GIBRALTARLIEUTENANCY: 25-7-2013P.O. Box 554 - Gibraltar

GUAMMAGISTRAL DELEGATIONDulce Nombre de Maria Cathedral-Basili-ca (Chapel of St. Therese)207 Archbishop Flores StreetHAGATNA, Guam USA 96910

IRELANDLIEUTENANCY“Bye Ways”, 27 Old Galgorm RoadBALLYMENA - Co. Aantrim BT41 1Al -Northern Ireland

ITALIA CENTRALELUOGOTENENZAPiazza S. Onofrio al Gianicolo, 2I - 00165 ROMA - Italia

ITALIA CENTRALE APPENNINICALUOGOTENENZAVia dei Servi, 34I - 50122 - FIRENZE - Italia

ITALIA MERIDIONALE ADRIATICALUOGOTENENZAVia Argiro, 8I - 70122 BARI - Italia

the Lieutenancies in the world

GRAND MAGISTERIUM00120 VATICAN CITY

gmag@oessh.va

76 - Annales

ITALIA MERIDIONALE TIRRENICALUOGOTENENZA: Via Capodimonte, 13I - 80136 - NAPOLI - Italia

ITALIA SARDEGNALUOGOTENENZAVia Roma, 69I - 09124 CAGLIARI - Italia

ITALIA SETTENTRIONALELUOGOTENENZAVia San Barnaba, 46I - 20122 MILANO - Italia

ITALIA SICILIALUOGOTENENZAVia Gabriele D’Annunzio, 38I - 90144 PALERMO - Italia

LETTONIA/LATVIJALUOGOTENENZA“Ilzëna” Ik‰˙iles nov.LV - 5052

LUXEMBOURG (GRAND DUCHÉ DE)LIEUTENANCE21, rue CentsL - 1319 Luxembourg

MAGYARORSZAG- HUNGARIAHELYTARTÓSÁGSzent Istvan TarsulatVeress Pálné u. 24.H - 1053 BUDAPEST - Magyarország

MALTALIEUTENANCY“La Dorada”Triq il-MigbedSwiegi, St. Andrew’sSWO - 3240 - Malta

MEXICOLUGARTENENCIAMontanas Rocallosas Ote. Num. 416LOMAS DE CHAPULTEPEC - MexicoD.F. 11000

NEDERLANDLANDSCOMMANDERIJE NEDERLANDPost-box 78681081 KM - AMSTERDAM - Nederland

NORGEMAGISTRAL DELEGATIONVon der Lippes gt 17N - 0454 OSLO - Norge

ÖSTERREICHSTATTHALTEREIDr. Oscar-Schmid-Gasse 1A - 2763 - PERNITZ - Österreich

PHILIPPINESLIEUTENANCYPlanters Development Bank3/F, Plantersbank Building314 Sen. Gil Puyat AvenueMAKATI CITY 1200 - Philippines

POLSKAZWIERZCHNICTWOUl. Kretonowa 18 m 2PL - 02-835 - WARSZAWA 31 - Polska

PORTUGALLUGAR-TENENCIARua do Alecrim, 72, R/C DT.°P - 1200-018 LISBOA - Portugal

PRINCIPAUTÉ DE MONACOLIEUTENANCE10, rue de BosioMC - 98000 - MONACO - Principauté deMonaco

PUERTO RICOLUGARTENENCIA1320 Costa Caribe Resort VillasPONCE, PR 00716 - Puerto Rico

SCOTLANDLIEUTENANCY120 Brackenbrae Avenue BishopbriggsGLASGOW G64 2DU - Scotland

SLOVENIJANAMESTNI·TVOc/o Îupnijski urad sv. NikolajaDolniãarjeva 1SI - 1000 LJUBLJANA - Slovenija

SOUTHERN AFRICAMAGISTRAL DELEGATION93 Upper Orange StreetORANJEZICHT - CAPE TOWN -South Africa

SUISSELIEUTENANCELe Ménestrel - Avenue des Alpes, 10/ACH - 1006 LAUSANNE - Suisse

SUOMI FINLANDKÄSKYNHALTIJAKUNTASiltatie 3 A 1400140 - HELSINKI - SUOMI FINLAND

SVERIGE - SWEDENSTÅTHÅLLERIETAstrakangatan 4, 12 trSE-165 52 HÄSSELBY - Sweden

TAIWANLIEUTENANCYSuite 1710, No. 333 Keeling Road, Sec. 1TAIPEI 110 - Taiwan

USA EASTERNLIEUTENANCY1011 First Avenue - 7th FloorNEW YORK, NY 10022 - USA

USA MIDDLE ATLANTICLIEUTENANCY11622 Hunter Run DriveHUNT VALLEY, MD 21030-1951 - USA

USA NORTH CENTRALLIEUTENANCY939 Longmeadow CourtLAKE BARRINGTON, IL 60010

USA NORTHEASTERNLIEUTENANCY340 Main Street, Suite 906WORCESTER, MA 01608 - USA

USA NORTHWESTERNLIEUTENANCYEquestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchreof JerusalemNorthwestern Lieutenancy USAOne Peter Yorke Way SAN FRANCISCO, CA. 94109 - USA

USA NORTHERNLIEUTENANCY1715 N. 102nd StreetOMAHA, NE 68114-1141 - USA

USA SOUTHEASTERNLIEUTENANCY4533 Transcontinental DriveMETAIRIE, LA 70006 - 2133 - USA

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USA WESTERNLIEUTENANCY5194 Edgeworth Rd.SAN DIEGO, CA 92109 - USA

VENEZUELALUGARTENIENTEAvenida Los Pinos Quinta n° 45Urbanización la Florida (abitacion)CARACAS - República Bolivariana deVenezuela