Page:Catholic Encyclopedia, volume 4.djvu/749

 DECORATIONS

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DECORATIONS

\Mth emblems of the order, gold spurs, oblong two- ) naked hat fringed with gold and adorned with a f^nld knob displaying papal colours, a sword whose liilt is a gilt cross and scabbard black, and finally a uilt sword belt with red fringe. All former conces- sions of noble titles, even that of count palatine to Knights of the Golden Spur, were revoked by Pope I'ius X, who desired to have the personal merit and worth of the knights their sole and only title to hiinour and respect among men.

Order of The Hob/ Sepulchre. — St. James, first Bishop t if Jerusalem, the Empress St. Helena, Charlemagne, I iiidfrey of Bouillon and Baldwin I, are among the re- lated founders of this order. According to the opinion nf critical historians, the order is a branch of the Knights of S. John of Jerusalem which was approved 1 1 13) by Pope Pascal II. Whoever may have been Its real founder, it is certain that in the twelfth cen- turj- there was another order following the Rule of St. Basil that proceeded on a line of action parallel with that of Knights of Jerusalem. Upon the fall of llii- Latin Kingdom of Jerusalem, the Knights of the Holy Sepulchre were driven out of Palestine, and some of them settled at Perugia. Gradually the order lost its prestige, and was by Pope Innocent VIII ( 1 189) imited to the Knights Hospitallers. Pope .Mi'xander VI (1496) restored (H^lyot says, insti- t utrti) this order that by offering a most desirable and li'iiiourable distinction as a reward for the great la- I'oiir, fatigue and expense of a journey to the Holy

I ind, he might incite wealthy and noble Europeans

I I ■ \isit and aid the holy places. He reserved to him- -i If and his successors the title and office of supreme I '-ad; but empowered the Franciscan Custodian of Mount Sion, the Commissary Apostolic of the Holy Land — as long, and no longer than, the Jerusalem latin Patriarchate remained vacant — to confer in the

I iiiio of the pope the Knighthood of the Holy Sep- i:l( hre upon worthy persons. Popes Alexander VII

liiiio) and Benedict XIII (1727) confinned the privi- \<i:i\ Benedict XIV ("In Supremo Militantis Ec-

■ -i:e", 17 Jan., 1746) remodelled the rules of the order, d the forms by which the Franciscan Custodian "ild he guided in bestowing the decoration, renewed lo the Golden Militia), and granted to the Knights the I'lL'lit to use the title of Count of the Sacred Palace of 1, at. ran. Pius IX, upon the restoration of the Latin t 'iisalem Patriarchate (1847), withdrew the Alexan- drine faculty, and gave it to the new patriarch and
 * - ncient privileges (similar in part, to those granted

II > successors. Tlic patriarchs alone can in future in ate Ivnights of the Holy Sepulchre, and this they 'lo not of their own right, but in the name and by virtue of the pope's authority. It was required that a knight should, except in an exceptional case, give an alms of 100 sequins in gold (equal to S200) towards the Holy Places. This money was by decree (S. C. P. F.. 1847) ordered to be turned over to the patriarch for the needs of the Holy Land. Pope Pius IX (" Cum multa", Jan. 24, 1868) remodelled and approved the ancient statutes, and divided the order into three (practically four) classes: (1) Grand Cross Knights, (2) Commanders, and (.i) Knights.

Conmianders of conspicuous ability and eminent virtue were, in rare cases, and by special papal faculty, pennitted to wear the badge on the breast, and so constituted a grade between the grand cross knight and the commander. Pius X ("Quam multa te Ordinemque", 3 May, 1907) fixed the number of grades at three, granted the priv-ilege of affixing ;i military trophy to the cross, approved the creation of patriarchal representatives in other lands, iis the good of the order may demand, prescribed the imiform for them, reserved to himself and .successors the title of grand master, and appointed the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem his lieutenant and administrator in the be- stowing of this papal decoration. He also arranged

that in the event of the death of the patriarch and the vacancy of the see, the powers of the patriarch as papal lieutenant and administrator of the Order of Holy Sepulchre should by law devolve upon the cardinal secretary of state. The decoration is a large red enamelled gold cross, with a narrow border of gold, and surmounted by a royal crown. Prior to the last century the cross was simply gold without the red enamel. The form of the cross is what is called " poten- tiate", that is, crutched or gibbet-shaped. The four extremities are shaped as the large cross and four small red enamelled crosses of simple form are attached. The ribbon is of black watered silk. A mulberry trophy connects the cross with the ribbon. The plaque or badge is an eight-pointed or rayed silver star, on whose centre is the red cross encircled by the two green enamelled branches, one oak and the other laurel. The collar, worn only on solemn occasions, is composed of little Jerusalem crosses, and rings of burnished gold. Knights of the first class wear the grand cross suspended from the wide black watered silk ribbon rmming saltier-wise from the right shoul- der to the left side, and the badge on the breast. Commanders carry the cross and ribbon fastened at the neck. Knights wear the badge on the left breast.

Patriarchal representatives, besides the usual deco- rations, are permitted to wear the grand cross promi- nently placed on the breast of the unifonn, but on the right side of the breast of the civil dress. The cos- tume is a white evening dress coat with collar, cuffs and breast facings of black velvet with gold embroid- eries, epaulet of twisted gold cord, white trousers with gold side stripes, a sword and plumed hat. Pius X added to the costume a large white woolen mantle with a red Jerusalem cross on the left breast. The knights rarely don this official robe; they content themselves with wearing the decorations on the civil dress. This decoration may be conferred upon ladies who are then styled Dames or Matrons of the Holy Sepulchre. The dames wear the insignia of their grade, no matter what grade it may be, always on the left side of the breast (Leo XIII, 3 Aug., 1888).

In addition to these principal, there are other minor papal distinctions, of which some are temporary and others permanent. Permanent minor decorations are the medals: (1) The Pro Eccle.sia et Pontifice, (2) Benemerenti, (3) The Holy Land. The medal Pro Ecclesia et Pontifice was instituted by Pope Leo XIII (17 July, 1888, "Quod Singulari") in memory of his golden sacerdotal jubilee, and bestowed on those women and men who had merited well by aiding and promoting, and by other excellent ways and means assisted in making the jubilee and the Vatican Expo- sition successful. This decoration was made a per- manent distinction only in October, 1898 (Giobbio, see below). Its object is to reward those who in a general way deser\'e well of the pope on account of services done for the Church and its head. The meflal is of gold, silver or bronze. The decoration is not subject to chancerj' fees. The medal is a cross made octangular in form by fleurs-ile-lis fixed in the angles of the cross in a special manner. The extrem- ities of the cross are of a slightly patonce form. In the centre of the cross is a small medal with an image of its foimder, and encircling the image are the words leg xiii p. m. anno x (tenth year of his pontificate). On the obverse side are the papal em- blems in the centre, and in the circle surrounding the emblems the motto pro deo et pontifice is stamped. On the obverse surface of the branches of the cro.ss are comets — which with the fleurs-de-lis form the coat of arms of the Pecci family. On the reverse side arc st.amped the words, phidie (left branch) ; kal. (top branch); .ianuar. (right branch); 1888 (at the foot). The ribbon is purple, with delicate lines of white and yellow on each border. The decoration ig worn on the right side of breast.