GRAND PRIORY OF GREAT BRITAIN

Investiture 2011 - follow up

2011-12-12T22:42:00.000Z

The 2011 Investiture was caught on camera by Lancashire Life who produced a great page spread in their Christmas edition. A few images, which do justice to the great event.

Grand Master's Advent Message

2011-11-30T17:41:00.001Z

My Friends in Saint Lazarus,

The time has come for a renewal of our vows of Christianity andTradition. The seasons of Advent and Christmastide allow us to contemplate themystery and wonder of our Christ Child, remembering that it is now that ourSaviour is born. We celebrate this event as members of the Military and Hospitaller Order of Saint Lazarus ofJerusalem, and do so with faith in our fellow man and with hope for the future.In little over 12 months we have accomplished a great deal together in ourmission to follow the values of our Order. Yet, despite these phenomenalachievements since November 2010 in Orléans, our work is far from over.

I remain firm in theresolve that we should continue with a firm purpose, in the coming months andyears, to follow the example of the Saviour. As Knights and Dames of SaintLazarus, under the banner of the Green Cross, we reaffirm our vows to care forthe weak; opening our hearts with compassion to the sick, the needy, and thesuffering. Nothing will deter us from this mission.

- We havea duty to reassure society of our spotless Christian image.

- We haveto maintain our loyalty to the very Christian values and principles outlined inThe Constitutional Charter, raisingthem as our banner.

- We mustensure that respect and compassion for our fellow human beings remain at theheart of our path.

On the eve of thebirth of Our Lord Jesus Christ let us pray together for our mission, as part ofone great family. In the Spiritual and Temporal pursuits of the Order,especially on entering the New Year of 2012, our motivation and enthusiasmremains intact. We have no fear! Our dignity and courage will prevail. I praythat this wonderful season will bring Peace,Joy and Tranquility to all the members of The Order and their families.

In the name of the Lord, Our Virgin Mary, and that of Saint Lazarus, Iremain yours.

Jan Count Dobrzenskyz Dobrzenicz

50^th Grand Master Order of Saint Lazarus of Jerusalem

Investiture 2011

2011-09-30T11:18:00.004+01:00

Last weekend the Grand Priory of Great Britain held its annual Investiture in Lancashire - a hugely enjoyable and a wonderful expeience for all. Guest of honour was the Order's 50th Grand Master HE Jan Count Dobrzenský z Dobrzenicz and also HRH Prince Charles-Philippe d'Orléans, Grand Master Emeritus & Grand Prior of France. The Heads of Jurisdiction from the USA, Spain, the Czech Republic, Italy, the Netherlands and the Grand Prior Spiritual, the Patriarcal Exarch of the Catholic Melkite Church in Europe, Mgr Pierre Boz were also with us We rejoiced to welcome seven new members into the British Grand Priory and eleven Companions, as well as various promotions for some of our own members and international guests. As the Priory of Great Britain we are fortunate to be welcoming new members from England, Scotland and the Northern Ireland. The Mass on Saturday morning was in the Extraordinary Form, with Byrd's Mass for 5 voices as the setting. We offered Mass of Our Lady of Walsingham because she is the principal patron of the Order in Great Britain.

After business meetings all day on Friday a Vigil for the investiture was held, followed by a Charity Dinner.

The Schola practising before Mass,
led by Philip Arkwright from Liverpool Cathedral.
The Mass setting was Byrd's Mass for five Voices, chosen because it is an English composer and because it was used at Westminster Cathedral for the Holy Father's visit 12 months ago.
The music was excellent and really uplifted the atmosphere.

Servers and members preparing for the procession into church.
My thanks to the team of altar servers, under the MC Chris Morris,
who carried off the occasion with great aplomb.

Last but not least! The Sacred Ministers set off.
Fr Mark Lawler, SchLJ, assisting as deacon and preacher
and Fr Ian O'Shea from Liverpool Cathedral as sub-deacon.

Prayers at the foot of the altar
with the Grand Master and the Grand Master Emeritus in choir on the sanctuary.

The distinctive "stove-pipe"hat of the Grand Prior Spiritual,
the Patriarcal Exarch of the Catholic Melkite Church in Europe,
Mgr Pierre Boz.
Fr Mark Lawler proclaims the Gospel.

Fr Ian O'Shea Points to the precise place where Fr Simon is to reverence the Gospel.

Fr Mark Lawler preaches on the synchronicity of resurgence - of the Christian Faith, of the shrine of Our Lady of Walsingham,
and of the Order under the leadership of the last two Grand Masters.

The Grand Master and grand Master Emeritus are incensed.

You can get a good look here at the new vestments for the Order, sporting a discreet green Maltese Cross among the embroidery on yellow silk. They were a bespoke design from Serpone near the Vatican and we blessed them at the Vigil the night before.

In Choir - Fr Aldo Tapparo, SchLJ, our Hospitaller,
and new members Fr Michael Thompson, ChLJ, and Fr Damian McCaughan, ChLJ.

Adoro Te.

Those in Choir await Holy Communion.

The clergy receive Holy Communion.

As ever, the only sort of sacred queue that should ever form in front of an altar!

The Blessing caught in mid-flow!

The final Blessing.

Photograph above shows Member William Hacket with the Grand Master and Prince Charles-Philippe d'Orleans and below piping us into the Charity Dinner. William is the official Piper to our Grand Prior, the Baron of Fetternear. The Charity Dinner was held at Farington Lodge Hotel, next door to St Catherine's Church. We estimate that we raised £2,000, supporting a charity that looks after those suffering from leprosy in Sri Lanka. Thank you also to Peter and Bridget at "Forget Me Not" Florists in Leyland who donated the beautiful table arrangements in the order's colours. Not forgetting a host of others who worked so hard behind the scenes to make everything work.

The Grand Master addresses Mayor of South Ribble, Councillor Jim Marsh.

Prince Charles-Philippe d'Orleans & Dame Astrid Beerkens.

The Prior of Great Britain, addresses the Mayor.

Some pictures from the Charity Dinner. Thank you to everyone who attended and made it such a wonderful evening raising money for such a good cause.

The Mayor and Mayoress of South Ribble.

Some pictures of the Investiture itself:

After Solemn Mass for the Feast of Our Lady of Walsingham, the patronal Feast of Order in Great Britain, the Grand Master opened the Investiture to bring in seven new members to our Priory and eleven Companions, as well as to bestow promotions and honours.

A light-hearted moment ensued when the Grand Master managed to pin the insignia through the thumb of his glove as well as to Anthony Dickinson's jacket!

The other investitures went off without any such hitch!

Daniel Lawler, BLJ

Matthew Jackson is promoted to the rank of Knight.

Fr Damian McCaughan, ChLJ -a new priest member of the Order.

Margaret Lawler, SLJ

Eleven new Companions - those who are friends of the Order who support it in prayer and action but without becoming full members.

His Excellency Enrique Castello Soler is promoted to Grand Prior of Spain

The final prayers

Exuent omnes!

The Grand Master preceeded by the ceremonial sword.

After Mass, awaiting the Grand Master to proclaim our motto with great gusto:
Atavis et Armis!

Our Treasurer with his son, who wanted a photo to prove to his school he went away early for a good cause.

Grand Masters past and present.

Fr Simon Henry, ECLJ, Chaplain General, with the Grand Prior, the Baron of Fetternear.

Our Marshal and Treasurer getting to grips with flag poles!

The Grand Prior Spiritual with the His Excellency Lieutenant-Colonel (rt) Philippe Jourdain, the Grand Capitular.

Chatting over a glass of prosecco.

The wind starts to get up!

Fr Lawler is given a pointer on his Sermon
by H.E. Chevalier Thierry Pauquet de Villejust,
Bailiff of the United States.

Some of the new members and guests.

The Grand Secretary, HE Chevalier Matthew Jackson with the Master of Ceremonies for the Mass, Christopher Morris.

(Thanks to Mike Forbester for most of the photos and also to Confrere William Hackett, SBLJ. Mike's photos can be found here).

Who pays the piper calls the tune!

2011-08-15T10:37:00.006+01:00

Limited, signed print of William playing his pipes

Our resident piper,William Hackett, is raising funds for the charitable work of the Order by selling copies of a signed print, (a limited edition of 1000 prints) of himself playing the Irish Pipes in Regents Park, London, in 1992. (A copy of this print is held in the NPU Archives in Dublin). Prints cost £5.00 each +PP. Anyone interested in buying one of these rare prints should visit William's Ebay page. Prints are also available directly from William at haicead@aol.com.

'Information Afternoon'

2011-07-22T14:48:00.008+01:00

In keeping with the Grand Master’s mandate to "embark upon a comprehensive programme of growth of membership”, the Grand Priory recently held an 'Information Afternoon' for those interested in knowing more about the Order and our charitable work.

The Afternoon took place at St Catherine’s Catholic Church, Farington, on Sunday July 10th, and was attended by a dozen 'interested parties'.

Since the meeting took place on a Sunday Fr Mark Lawler, SChLJ, offered Holy Mass in the Usus Antiquior at 11.30am for those attending the Afternoon.

The Afternoon proper began at 1pm with a Buffet Lunch and a glass of wine, which was followed by an introduction to the Order & a presentation on the various charitable activities in which we are engaged throughout the world. There was a very lively question & answer session and the afternoon concluded at around 3.30pm with Tea & Coffee.

Everyone agreed that it was both enjoyable and fruitful, since most of those present have since expressed the desire to either join the Order or become Companions.

Birthday Greetings

2011-06-14T14:26:00.003+01:00

The Grand Priory of Great Britain

wishes the Grand Master

a very Happy Birthday.

ad multos annos

St Tropez Bravade

2011-05-25T10:45:00.006+01:00

Fr Simon Henry, ECSLJ, & Confrere Matthew Jackson, BLJ, spend last week in St Tropez for the annual Bravade.

Fr Simon:
"The 453rd annual Bravade for the Saint took place over three days. Processions, salutes, Masses and devotions took place all over the town, with many people in traditional Provencale costume. The Bravadeurs all have to be St Tropez born and bred and are technically the private soldiers and sailors of the town. The bust of St Tropez is carried with great honour around the town and saluted with exceptionally loud gun volleys at every opportunity. The Tropéziens take great pride in the Saint and the Bravade and the traditions stretch back 453 years. I was priviliged to take my turn escorting the saint along the port and through part of the town (thus giving the Curé and others a break, as the procession lasts for hours and only finishes at midnight with Benediction in the parish church."
You can read the story of the Saint and his connection with the town here.

Bravadeurs choose local dignataries and others to throw into the air three times on the way from the thanksgiving Mass. Here Fr Peter Watts, Curé of Grimaud and Fr Simon in his cassock are subjected to the tradition!

The Bravadeurs prepare to salute.

The Curé of St Tropez, Fr Michael Hayes, blesses the Bravadeurs.

Clerics processing through the gun-smoke filled square.

The procession sets off around the town.

The sailors salute the Parish Priest.

St Tropez in glory.

Mgr. Domininque Rey, Bishop of Fréjus-Toulon holds the Pax Brede as each of the Bravadeurs comes up to reverence it.

Bishop Rey and the Curé of St Tropez in procession around the town. veryone carries a little bouquet of red and white flowers - the colours of St Tropez. The visiting Bishop Riocreux was also escorted in procession by members of the Military and Hospitaller Order of of St Lazarus.

Charity Dinner

2011-05-10T20:13:00.003+01:00

The Grand Prior presenting a cheque to Col Geoffrey Cardozo

The Grand Prior of Great Britain, HE the Baron of Fetternear, hosted a Charity Dinner last Saturday at the Cavalry & Guards Club, Piccadilly, in aid of the charity Veterans Aid. A wonderful time was had by all & £1,000 was raised for the charity.

Wishing you a Blessed Easter.

2011-04-24T13:42:00.002+01:00

Christus Resurrexit sicut dixit, Alleluia!

O God, who, on this day, through Thine only-begotten Son, hast conquered death, and thrown open to us the gate of everlasting life, give effect by thine aid to our desires, which Thou dost anticipate and inspire. Through the same Jesus Christ, Thy Son, who liveth and reigneth with Thee in the unity of the Holy Ghost, ever one God, world without end. Amen.

For the honour of the Crucifix!

2011-04-12T17:14:00.004+01:00

Since its foundation in the 12th century the vocation and purpose of the Military and Hospitaller Order of St Lazarus of Jerusalem has been to defend Christendom, and to care for the weak and oppressed. From the Ottoman Turks who sacked the Holy Land, to the modern attacks upon Christian moral values in our own century, Knights of St Lazarus have taken up arms, literally and figuratively, to defend the Christian Faith.

On his website the Grand Master Emeritus, H.R.H. Charles-Philippe d'Orléans, Duc d’Anjou, has been calling us that to defend the Faith in our own day.

In Avignon, seat of the Papacy from 1309-1377, an exhibition called "I believe in miracles" has been running based around a photograph of a Crucifix immersed in urine! Posters of this blasphemous image, called "Piss Christ", are displayed publicly in the streets of the city. All this in the run up to Holy Week and Easter.

The French Ministry of Culture, the town council and the regional council are currently funding this exhibition. Among the sponsors of this blasphemy are SNFC (the French Rail Company) and the Cartier Foundation.

In the USA and Australia, this blasphemous photo, made in 1987, was banned.

However, after only 1 week an online petition against this blasphemy had 31,076 signatories. There was also vociferous opposition from such luminaries as HRH Prince Charles-Philippe d'Orleans, the Deputy Mayor of Paray-le-Monial Jean-Marc Nesme, Archbishop Jean-Pierre Cattenoz Archbishop of Avignon, Father Regis De Cacqueray, Superior District of France of the Priestly Fraternity of Saint Pius X, etc.. ..

Alain Escada, General Secretary of Civitas, a group of young French Catholics "animated by the fervent desire to initiate concrete actions contributing to the restoration of the social and political reign of Our Lord Jesus Christ in our homeland", has been at the forefront of the fight against this nastiness. As he puts it:

Is it necessary to repeat? If this show contained a "work" offensive to Muslims or Jews, this exhibition would be permanently closed and a public apology would follow. No, Catholics will no longer tolerate being treated as second class citizens.

For the honour of Christ, let us make our voices heard.

Alain Escada,

Secretary General of the Civitas Institute

If you click on the link below to sign the petition you will see that it is sponsored by a whole host of Catholic organisations (including the site of Prince Charles Philippe d'Orleans). Please click on this link & sign this petition:

"The armed men fight and God will give victory" Saint Joan of Arc.

Prince Charles & Prince Charles-Philippe

2011-04-12T14:50:00.002+01:00

The Prince of Wales on a visit to Évora

With just a few weeks to go until the Royal Wedding of Prince William & Catherine Middleton, Prince Charles-Philippe d ' Orléans, Duke of Anjou and his wife, the Princess Diane, Duchess of Cadaval, received the Prince of Wales during his official visit to Évora.

Ancien Habillement d'un Chevalier de l'Ordre de St. Lazare

2011-04-05T11:10:00.002+01:00

Ancien Habillement d'un Chevalier de l'Ordre de St. Lazare

This print, showing a Knight in the 'ancient costume of the Order', was probably from "Histoire et costumes des ordres monastiques, religieux et militaires, et des congrégations séculières des deux sexes." printed in France by Benjamin Jollivet in the middle of the 19th century.

The interesting thing about this depiction is that the Mantle has sleeves and the knight carries a scimitar. It would seem to suggest that this was the Habit of the Order while still in the Holy Land (before the fall of Acre in 1271), though it more likely to be a flight of 19th century fancy! Still, with that sword in his hand this knight certainly means business. He couldn't, of course, be shouting "Atavis et Armis!" since that only became the motto of the Order in 1778.

Piping for St Patrick

2011-03-22T16:49:00.003Z

Confrère William Hackett BLJ looking resplendent on the Feast of St.Patrick, Patron Saint of Ireland. William was in Coatbridge, Lanarkshire, raising funds for,and promoting, the Order of St Lazarus.

Fiat justitia!

2011-03-18T15:30:00.007Z

In a judgment delivered on Tuesday, the Correctional Division of the Court of appeal of Riom acquitted Prince Charles‐Philippe d'Orléans, Duc d'Anjou, of all involvement in a case of industrial espionage.

In 2005 the Prince was falsely accused of having participated, as a former manager of a business intelligence company, in a destabilization operation which was intended to discredit the pharmaceutical company Théa.

This decision definitively puts an end to five years of unjustified court proceedings against Prince Charles-Philippe. His good name and reputation are now fully restored.

Throughout this difficult ordeal the Prince has behaved with great dignity and has sought to protect the Order of St Lazarus from any adverse criticism. The whole Order rejoices with him that his ordeal in now over and his honour restored.

Grand Priory Gift Shop

2011-03-17T14:15:00.003Z

Visit our Gift Shop to buy these great items with our logo on:

Click here to visit our Gift Shop

Island of San Lazzaro degli Armeni, Venice

2011-03-11T13:54:00.007Z

The Island of San Lazzaro degli Armeni

San Lazzaro degli Armeni is a small island in the Venetian Lagoon lying immediately west of the Lido; completely occupied by a monastery that is the mother-house of the Mekhitarist Order, the island is one of the world's foremost centers of Armenian culture.

The island's isolation, at some distance from the principal islands which form the actual city of Venice, made it an ideal location for the quarantine station and leper colony founded there in the twelfth century, receiving its name from St. Lazarus, patron saint of lepers. Abandoned in the sixteenth century, in 1717 it was given by the ruling council of Venice to a group of Armenian monks who had escaped from Turkish persecution. In 1712 they had placed themselves under the protection of the Pope, and eventually made their way to Venice. Mekhitar and his seventeen monks built a monastery, restored the old church, and enlarged the island to its present 30,000 square metres, about four times its original area.

Its founder's temperament and natural gifts for scholarly pursuits immediately set the Mekhitarist Order in the forefront of Oriental studies: the monastery published Armenian historical, philological and literary works and related material, renowned for their scholarship and accuracy as well as for the beauty of the editions, on its own multilingual presses, which shut down in 1991, although an eighteenth century printing press can still be seen in the museum. S. Lazzaro houses a 150,000-volume library, as well as a museum with over 4,000 Armenian manuscripts and many Arab, Indian and Egyptian artifacts collected by the monks or received as gifts.

The monastery, with its gardens noted for its peacocks, also has a long tradition of hospitality to scholars and students, among whom Lord Byron, who studied Armenian there during much of the year 1816, is remembered by a permanent exhibition.

In May 2005 the Monastery played host to around 200 members of the Military and Hospitaller Order of St Lazarus of Jerusalem who made their way to Venice for an international gathering comprising a number of organisational, spiritual and social events.

The 49th Grand Master of the Order, HRH Prince Charles-Philippe d'Orléans, Duc d'Anjou, presided at full day meetings of the Grand Magistry and the Governing Council of Heads of Jurisdictions on the Island of San Lazzaro, which has historical connections with the Order of St Lazarus since the first home of the Order was the hospital of St Lazarus in Jerusalem which had been established by Armenian monks. A Commandery of the Order was erected on the island in the twentieth century.

Many members of our own Grand Priory were present on 20 May 2005 when the Abbot-General, His Grace Elia Kilaghbian, was installed as Commander of the Eternal Commandery of San Lazzaro by the Grand Master during an Armenian rite Mass in the Abbey Church.

Mass in the Armenian rite during which His Grace Abbot-General Elia Kilaghbian
was installed as Commander of the Eternal Commandery of San Lazzaro.

His Grace Abbot-General Elia Kilaghbian with HRH Prince Charles-Philippe d'Orleans

and His Eminence László Cardinal Paskai, OFM.

Prince Charles-Philippe d'Orléans

2011-03-03T09:43:00.006Z

The Grand Priory of Great Britain

wishes Prince Charles-Philippe d'Orleans

a very Happy Birthday.

ad multos annos

THE LEPER IN ENGLAND: WITH SOME ACCOUNT OF English Lazar Houses

2011-02-26T16:46:00.001Z

I thought this extract from a short work by ROBERT CHARLES HOPE, F.S.A., F.R.S.L., might be of interest to members.

It is from a lecture delivered in Christ Church Schoolroom, Scarborough, on Thursday, March 5th, 1891.

---------------

There was a special order of Knights founded very early, in Jerusalem, united to the general order of the Knights Hospitallers, whose especial province was to look after the sick, particularly Lepers.... We first hear of them in England, in the reign of King Stephen, when they seem to have made their headquarters at Burton-Lazars, near Melton Mowbray in Leicestershire, where a rich and famous Lazar House was built by a general subscription throughout the country, and greatly aided by the munificence of Robert de Mowbray. The Lazar-houses of S. Leonard’s, Sheffield; Tilton, in Leicestershire; Holy Innocents’, Lincoln; S. Giles’, London; SS. Mary and Erkemould, Ilford, Essex; and the preceptory of Chosely, in Norfolk, besides many others, were annexed to it, as cells containing fratres leprosos de Sancto Lazaro de Jerusalem. The house received at least 35 different charters, confirmed by various sovereigns. Camden in his Britannia, p. 447, says that “The masters of all the smaller Lazar-houses in England, were in some sort subject to the Master of Burton Lazars, as he himself was, to the Master of the Lazars in Jerusalem.”

The rules of these Lazar-houses were very strict. The inmates were allowed to walk within certain prescribed limits only, generally a mile from the house. They were forbidden to stay out all night, and were not on any account permitted to enter the bakehouse, brewhouse, and granary, excepting the brother in charge, and he was not to dare to touch the bread and beer, since it was “most unfitting that persons with such a malady, should handle things appointed for the common use of men.” A gallows was sometimes erected in front of the houses, on which offenders were summarily despatched from this world, for breach of the rules.

The comforts in these houses varied greatly as the house was richly, or poorly endowed. At some of the smaller ones, the inmates would seem to have depended almost, if not entirely, on the precarious contributions of the charitably disposed for their very sustenance. At Beccles, in Suffolk, one of the Lepers of S. Mary Magdalene’s, was by a royal grant empowered to beg on behalf of himself and his brethren. Sometimes, these poor and wretched outcasts would sit by the roadside, with a dish placed on the opposite side, to receive the alms of the good Samaritans that passed by, who would give them as wide a berth as possible. The Lepers were not allowed to speak to a stranger, lest they should contaminate him with their breath. To attract attention, they would clash their wooden clappers together.

In the larger and richer houses, the inmates were well provided for. The account of the food supplied to the inmates of the Lazar House of S. Julian, at S. Albans, c. 1335-1349, is very curious:— “Let every Leprous brother receive from the property of the Hospital for his living and all necessaries, whatever he has been accustomed to receive by the custom observed of old, in the said Hospital, namely—Every week seven loaves, five white, and two brown made from the grain as thrashed. Every seventh month, fourteen gallons of beer, or 8d. for the same. Let him have in addition, on the feasts of All Saints, Holy Trinity, S. Julian, S. John the Baptist, S. Albans, The Annunciation, Purification, Assumption, and Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, for each feast, one loaf, one jar of beer, or 1d. for the same, and one obolus[a] which is called the charity of the said Hospital; also, let every Leprous brother receive, at the feast of Christmas, forty gallons of good beer, or 40d. for the same; two qrs. of pure and clean corn—which is called the great charity; also at the Feast of S. Martin, each Leper shall receive one pig from the common stall, or the value in money, if he prefer it.” The pigs were selected by each leper according to his seniority in having become an inmate; also, each Leper shall receive on the Feast of S. Valentine, for the whole of the ensuing year, one quarter of oats; also, about the feast of S. John the Baptist, two bushels of salt, or the current price; also, on the feast of S. Julian, and at the feast of S. Alban, one penny for the accustomed pittance; also, at Easter, one penny, which is called by them ‘Flavvones-peni’; also, on Ascension Day, one obolus for buying pot herbs; also, on each Wednesday in Lent, bolted corn of the weight of one of their loaves; also, on the feast of S. John the Baptist, 4s. for clothes; also, at Christmas, let there be distributed in equal portions, amongst the Leprous brethren, 14s. for their fuel through the year, as has been ordained of old, for the sake of peace and concord; also, by the bounty of Our Lord the King, 30s. 5d. have been assigned for ever for the use of the Lepers, which sum, the Viscount of Hertford has to pay them annually, at the feasts of Easter and Michaelmas.

At the Lazar House, dedicated in honour of “The Blessed Virgin, Lazarus, and his two sisters Mary and Martha,” at Sherburn, Durham, which accommodated no less than 65 Lepers, a more varied, and at the same time less complex dietary was in vogue. The daily allowance was a loaf of bread weighing 5 marks and a gallon of ale to each; and betwixt every two, one mess or commons of flesh, three days in the week, and of fish, cheese, and butter, on the remaining four. On high festivals, a double mess, and in particular on the Feast of S. Cuthbert. In Lent, fresh salmon, if it could be had, if not, other fresh fish; and on Michaelmas Day, four messed on one goose. With fresh flesh, fish, or eggs, a measure of salt was delivered. When fresh fish could not be had, red herrings were served, three to a single mess; or cheese and butter by weight; or three eggs. During Lent, each had a razer of wheat to make furmenty, and two razers of beans to boil; sometimes greens or onions; and every day, except Sunday, the seventh part of a razer of bean meal; but on Sundays, a measure-and-a-half of pulse to make gruel. Red herrings were prohibited from Pentecost to Michaelmas, and at the latter, each received two razers of apples. They had a kitchen and cook in common, with utensils for cooking, etc.:—A lead, two brazen pots, a table, a large wooden vessel for washing, or making wine, a laver, two ale and two bathing vats. The sick had fire and candles, and all necessaries, until they became convalescent or died.

Each Leper received an annual allowance for his clothing, three yards of woollen cloth, white or russet, six yards of linen, and six of canvas. Four fires were allowed for the whole community. From Michaelmas to All Saints, they had two baskets of peat, on double mess days; and four baskets daily, from All Saints to Easter. On Christmas Day, they had four Yule logs each a cartload, with four trusses of straw; four trusses of straw on All Saints’ Eve, and Easter Eve; and four bundles of rushes, on the Eves of Pentecost, S. John the Baptist, and S. Mary Magdalene; and on the anniversary of Martin de Sancta Cruce, every Leper received 5s. 5d. in money.

This luxurious living was not without its leaven. The rules of the House were strict, and enforced religious duties on its inmates, of a most severe and austere nature. All the Leprous brethren, whose health permitted, were required daily to attend Matins, Nones, Vespers, and Compline.

The bed-ridden sick were enjoined to raise themselves, and say Matins in their bed; and for those who were still weaker, “let them rest in peace.” During Lent and Advent, all the brethren were required to receive corporal discipline three days in the week, and the sisters in like manner.
From the rules of the Lazar House of SS. Mary and Erkemould, at Ilford in Essex, which accommodated 13 Lepers—we learn, in 1336, that the inmates were ordered “to preserve silence, and, if able, to hear Mass and Matins throughout, and whilst there, to be intent on prayer and devotion. In the hospital, every day, each shall say for morning duty a Pater-noster and Ave Maria thirteen times; and for the other hours of the day—1st, 3rd, and 6th of Vespers; and again, at the hour of concluding service, a Pater-noster and Ave Maria seven times; besides the aforesaid prayers each Leper shall say a Pater-noster and Ave Maria thirty times every day, for the founder of the Hospital—the Abbess of Barking, 1190—the Bishop of the place, all his benefactors, and all other true believers, living or dead; and on the day on which any one of their number departs from life, let each Leprous brother say in addition, fifty Paters and Aves three times, for the soul of the departed, and the souls of all diseased believers.” Punishment was meted out to any who neglected or shirked these duties.

As soon as a man became a prey to the disease, his doom on earth was finally and irrevocably sealed. The laws, both civil and ecclesiastical, were awful in their severity to the poor Leper; not only was he cut off from the society of his fellow-men, and all family ties severed, but, he was dead to the law, he could not inherit property, or be a witness to any deed. According to English law Lepers were classed with idiots, madmen, outlaws, etc.

The Church provided a service to be said over the Leper on his entering a Lazar House. The Priest duly vested preceded by a cross, went to the abode of the victim. He there began to exhort him to suffer with a patient and penitent spirit the incurable plague with which God had stricken him. Having sprinkled the unfortunate Leper with Holy Water, he conducted him to the Church, the while reading aloud the beginning of the Burial Service. On his arrival there, he was stripped of his clothes and enveloped in a pall, and then placed between two trestles—like a corpse—before the Altar, when the Libera was sung and the Mass for the Dead celebrated over him.

After the service he was again sprinkled with Holy Water, and led from thence to the Lazar House, destined for his future, and final abode, here on earth.

A pair of clappers, a stick, a barrel, and a distinctive dress were given to him. The costume comprised a russet tunic, and upper tunic with hood cut from it, so that the sleeves of the tunic were closed as far as the hand, but not laced with knots or thread after the secular fashion of the day. The upper tunic was to be closed down to the ankles, and a close cape of black cloth of the same length as the hood, for outside use.

A particular form of boot or shoe, laced high, was also enjoined, and if these orders were disobeyed the culprit was condemned to walk bare-footed, until the Master, considering his humility said to him “enough.” An oath of obedience and a promise to lead a moral and abstemious life was required of every Leper on admission. The Bishops of Rome from time to time issued Bulls, with regard to the ecclesiastical separation and rights of the afflicted.
-------------------------------------------

The whole text can be found here.

Impression from a seal matrix of Burton Lazars hospital

2011-02-19T15:30:00.003Z

Having received a gift of land from the Earl of Arundel at Wymondham, Norfolk, in c1146, the Order of St Lazarus became properly established in England somewhere around 1157 after his noble cousin, Roger de Mowbray, had returned from the Second Crusade. Mowbray must have known of the Lazarite hospital of Jerusalem, and with the support of King Henry II he granted a manor and lands to the Order for the foundation of a leper hospital in Leicestershire. The veteran crusader and patron of several monastic orders died in the Holy Land in 1188. The Preceptory he founded near Melton Mowbray became known as Burton Lazars, a name that remains to this day. It prospered and attracted further patrons, including King Edward I.

AD 1400-1500
Found in Suffolk, England

The Latin inscription on this seal refers to Burton Lazars in Leicestershire, the chief English house of the Order of St Lazarus of Jerusalem. Length: 60 mm; Width: 39.5 mm
The British Museum PE MLA 1887,0727.31

For a fascinating account of the Seal and its discovery see this article by Dr David Marcombe, Director of the Centre for Local History at the University of Nottingham, and the author of Leper Knights: the order of St Lazarus of Jerusalem in England, c.1150–1544.

40th Grand Master - Philippe de Courcillon, Marquis de Dangeau

2011-02-16T16:09:00.000Z

Philippe de Courcillon, marquis de Dangeau,

Grand Master of the Order of St. Lazarus and Mount Carmel, by Hyacinthe Rigaud.

On 24 December 1693 King Louis XIV chose Philippe de Courcillon, Marquis de Dangeau as Grand Master of the united orders of St Lazarus and Our Lady of Mount Carmel. In a religious ceremony Dangeau then swore loyalty to the king on 18 December 1695. His reception as head of the Order was celebrated with great pomp on 29 January in a church in Versailles. The new Grand Master sought to raise the prestige of the order.

Louis XIV receives the oath of Dangeau as Grand Master, 18 Dec 1695, by Antoine Pesey.
(source: Ministère de la Culture, base de données Joconde.)

Dangeau's major innovation was the establishment of family (sometimes styled hereditary) Commanderies, actually called "Gradual, Masculine and Perpetual Commanderies" in an act that received royal approval on 9 December 1693. Members of the Order, with the agreement of the Grand Master and Council, were permitted to establish a family property (or donation of funds) as a Commandery. Knights who made such donations were regarded as "Founder Commanders". [Commandeur fondateur] Certain of these Commanderies could be established with the right of succession to a Commandery, and heirs of such Commanderies who could prove their Catholic faith could apply for the Cross of the united Orders with no further requirements. Inheritance of a "gradual and perpetual" Commandery did not automatically confer knighthood in Saint Lazarus as the would-be knight still had to apply for the Cross and be received as a member according to the forms required in the Statutes. Six "gradual and perpetual" Commanderies were established initially, of which one ceased to exist with the renunciation of its founder. The first was that of the des Courtils family, the Commandery of La Motte (1701), then that of Saint François, of the Bailleul family (1710), that of Saint Charles, of the Bory family (1711), the fourth that of Saint Michel de Bruxelles (1712), and the fifth that of Saint Anthony of Castille, founded in 1712 by a Spanish nobleman. That of Saint Eulalie of Barcelona, founded in 1709, converted to "gradual and perpetual" in 1711, ceased to be such when the Commander, Don Juan Graëls, renounced the right to nominate a successor in 1714.

During Dangeau's administration there were four hundred and thirty five new members received, with many being unable to make the proofs for Knight of "Justice". Dangeau was succeeded in 1720 by Prince Louis de Bourbon, Duc d'Orléans, the son and heir of the French Regent, Philippe, Duke of Chartres.

Arms of Philippe de Courcillon, Marquis de Dangeau (1693 - 1720)
He bore: Argent, a Bend lozengy Gules, in chief a Lion rampant Sable.

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2011-02-15T15:38:00.006Z

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41st Grand Master - Prince Louis de Bourbon, Duc d'Orléans

2011-02-14T11:50:00.004Z

41st Grand Master of the Order, Prince Louis de Bourbon, Duc d'Orléans,
Chartres, Valois, Nemours et Montpensier (1720-1752)

In 1720, the duc d'Orléans became Grand Master of the Order of Saint Lazarus, a title he held until his death in 1752. From 1720 to 1745 under his leadership 175 knights were appointed to the Order. As of 1741, the order had 591 members, of whom 440 were knights.

In 1742, the pious duke decided to retire to the Abbaye Sainte-Geneviève de Paris. From then on, he became known as Louis le Génovéfain and seems to have lost all interest in the management of the order, and no further appointments were made. The orders' maritime activities (around 10 ships) ceased after 1748. As he retired into private life, Louis spent his time translating the Psalms. Like his cousin, the Duke of Penthièvre, he was praised for his charitable works. After the birth of his son, Louis was often preoccupied with the education of his son.

He died in 1752, at the age of forty-eight, at the Abbaye de Sainte Geneviève, having lost most of his sanity. On his deathbed, on suspicion of Jansenist views, he was refused communion by the Abbé Bouettin of the Saint-Étienne-du-Mont church, but was given the last rites by his own chaplain. Louis d'Orléans had outlived all his siblings apart from Charlotte Aglaé, the Duchess of Modena and Reggio, and was buried at the Val-de-Grâce in Paris.

Louis was praised for his piety and his charity; in Versailles the now destroyed College d'Orléans was named after him due to his generous patronage of the college's construction. He also remodelled the gardens at the Palais-Royal as well as the Orléans country residence, the Château de Saint-Cloud (c.1735). Louis also gave generous financial aid to victims of floods in the Loire in 1731 and again 1740. In all of this he showed the true spirit of the Order of St Lazarus and proved himself a worthy Grand Master.
After the duke's death in 1752, the order was without a Grand Master for several years.

Jetton with the arms of Louis d'Orléans, Grand Master of the Royal Military and Hospitaller Orders of St. Lazarus and Our Lady of Mount Carmel. Source: Compagnie Générale de Bourse, Paris, France

Arms of Louis d'Orléans, Duke of Chartres, later Duke d'Orléans (1720 - 1752)
He bore: Azure, three Fleur de lys Or, a Label Argent.

43rd Grand Master - Prince Louis-Stanislas-Xavier de France, Comte de Provence, Duc d’Anjou

2011-02-11T15:57:00.013Z

Prince Louis-Stanislas-Xavier de France, Comte de Provence, Duc d’Anjou (1773-1814)
Brother of King Louis XVI, later King Louis XVIII (from 1814)
43rd Grand Master of the Order of St. Lazarus (and Mount Carmel)

by François Hubert Drouais. (source: Ministère de la Culture, base de données Joconde.)

I found this interesting jetton being sold by cgb.fr price €95. (The Grand Prior of Great Britain has now purchased this jetton!) It commemorates the Order's 43rd Grand Master - in fact the last Grand Master until 1930! (the Order was under the direction of the Council of Officers from 1814 - 1841 & the Melkite Greek Catholic Patriarchs from 1841 - 1930). On becoming titular king, in 1795, as Louis XVIII, the Comte de Provence became ‘Protector’ of the Order (no Grand Master was appointed). He reigned until 1824 and was suceeded by his brother Charles X. He was ousted in 1830 and died in exile.

Jetton with the arms of Louis-Stanislas-Xavier, fils de France, brother of the king, Grand Master of the Royal Military and Hospitaller Orders of St. Lazarus and Our Lady of Mount Carmel. The arms are quarterly France a bordure indented gules and argent a cross vert, cross and collar of the order, mantle, crown of a prince du sang, and the motto Atavis et Armis on a scroll.

The obverse reads: LOU. STA. XA. FILS DE FRANCE MONSIEUR FRERE DU ROY GRAND MTRE. DES ORDS. ROIX. MILRES ET. HOSP S DE ST LAZARE DE JERUSM. ET DE NTRE DAME DU MONT CARMEL - 1773.
The date 1773 refers to his installation as grand-master, not the date of the jetton which must date from after 1774. Source: Compagnie Générale de Bourse, Paris, France

Arms of the 43rd Grand Master

Louis Stanislas Xavier de France, Count of Provence
He bore: Quarterly, I and IV, France, II and III, Azure, a Fleur de lys Or, in chief a Label Gules (Provence).

Declaration of Legitimacy of the Order of Saint Lazarus of Jerusalem

2011-02-07T16:29:00.008Z

ORDO MILITARIS ET HOSPITALARIS SANCTI LAZARI HIEROSOLYMITANI
SUB ALTO PATROCINIO DOMINI PARIENSIS COMITIS, FRANCIÆ DUCIS AC DOMUS REGIÆ CAPITIS
MAGNUS L MAGISTER, CITRA ET ULTRA MARIA, PRÆCEPTOR BOIGNACI JAN COMITIS DOBRZENSKY Z DOBRZENICZ

ACTING GRAND SECRETARY

Oxford 5 February 2011

Notification n° 02/011
Declaration of Legitimacy

In accordance with the Constitutional Charter of The Military and Hospitaller Order of Saint Lazarus of Jerusalem ("The Order") and in full concordance with the Constitutional Council, the Governing Council of Heads of all national Jurisdictions wherein the Order is represented, and with the Grand Magistry of the Order hereby declare:

i. That the Constitutional Charter drawn up by the duly appointed Constitutional Council under mandate of the Governing Council of the Order, confirmed in writing by the Temporal Protector, and unanimously adopted by all members of the Governing Council entitled to vote at its meeting held in Prague on September 21 2006 is, as approved by the 2006 Chapter General, the sole Constitution Governing the Order.

ii. That the temporal protection of the Order guaranteed by H.R.H. the Count of Paris, Duc de France, Head of the Royal House of France, as its fons honorum assures the traditional and historical legitimacy of the Order, with the added grace of ensuring that The Order is not in the patrimony of the Royal House of France.

iii. That this sole and unique legitimacy of the Order is represented exclusively by the Grand Master of the Order and provides the Order, according to ancient tradition, with its sole Supreme Head.

iv. That the unanimous and lawful election by all members of the Order entitled to vote in the Chapter General held in 2004 in the Chateau Royal de Blois of H.R.H. Prince Charles-Philippe d'Orléans, Duc d'Anjou, as the legitimate and legal 49th Grand Master of the Order.

v. That according to The Constitutional Charter Article 20, paragraph 20.1 and to article 24, paragraph 24.6 H.E. Jan Count Dobrzenský z Dobrzenicz was lawfully elected by all members entitled to vote in the Chapter General held in November 2010 in the Chateau La Ferté near Orléans and installed in the Cathedral of Orléans as the 50th Magnus Magister circa et ultra maria, Praeceptor Boignaci.

vi. That the Order professes and continues to maintain its historic ties with the Roman Catholic Church and its Spiritual Protection, thus ensuring the authentic ecumenical character of the Order, whose members are drawn from the Catholic, Orthodox and Protestant traditions as a Christian Brotherhood.

vii. That all members of the Order remain free to practice their Christian Faith according to the ecclesiastical tradition of their choice, in ecumenical harmony with their fellow brothers and sisters, and for the greater glory of God and the service of the Order.

viii. That all who are loyal to their investiture oath of obedience to the hierarchy of the Order remain honourable members, fulfilling the spiritual, charitable, and traditional aims of the Order.

In Consequence of the above, The Military and Hospitaller Order of Saint Lazarus of Jerusalem neither authorises nor has any relation with any association or self-styled Order which, though representing itself with similar names, customs, or symbols, is not under the jurisdiction of the sole legitimate Grand Master of the Order, H.E. Jan Count Dobrzenský z Dobrzenicz, 50th Grand Master.

A list of such associations, which sow confusion in the public perception and thus bring themselves and the Order into disrepute, is maintained by the Grand Secretariat. They, and they alone, bear the full responsibility of their acts.

The Order, its Officers, and Members strongly condemn those who under the pretext of the Green Cross indulge in words and actions that, in the end, replace the true raison d'etre of the Order of Saint Lazarus of Jerusalem, which is to assist the Poor, the Sick, the Needy, and especially those who are in need of a Compassionate Heart.

Proclaimed in the month of February in the year of Our Lord 2011.

The Constitutional Council -- The Governing Council -- The Grand Magistry -- The Membership

ATAVIS ET ARMIS

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2011-02-07T15:32:00.003Z

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Papal Bull of Pope Innocent III

2011-02-06T20:18:00.001Z

Members may be interested in this Papal Bull, dated June 8, 1216, promulgated by Pope Innocent III (1160-1216). The manuscript on vellum concerns the rights of the Order, and was donated to Washington State College, U.S.A., by the Friends of the Library in 1951.

(The following is quoted from the documentation by Paul Philemon Kies accompanying the papal bull, on file in Manuscripts, Archives, and Special Collections)

"This bull was executed at Perugia (Italy), where the great Pope died only thirty-eight days later (July 16, 1216). It confirms the rights and property of the order of St. Lazarus, which 'was a religious and military order founded in Jerusalem about 1150 A.D. Its primary object was the tending of the sick, especially lepers, of whom Lazarus was regarded as the patron saint. In the 13th century the order made its way into various countries of Europe--Sicily, Lower Italy, Germany, and esp. France. In 1253, Louis IX gave the members the lands of Boigny near Orleans and a building at the gates of Paris, which they turned into a lazar-house for the use of the lepers of the city. A papal confirmation was obtained from Alexander IV in 1255.' (Ency. Brit.)

"Being dated June 8, 1216, the present bull seems to indicate an earlier papal confirmation than at present known to historians. The particular house whose possessions and rights were confirmed by this document evidently was at Caen, France--if the first word of the second line (an abbreviation) is correctly interpreted as 'Caenensis.'

"Because some of the words are practically obliterated and abbreviations are freely used, this document was hard to decipher. Special thanks are due to Dr. F. F. Potter and Prof. Louis McNew for assistance in the task."

INNOCENTIUS, episcopus, servus servorum Dei, dilectis filiis, magistro et fratribus domus leprosariae Sancti Lazari a cruce

Caenensis, salutem et apostolicam benedictionem. Cum a nobis petitur quod iustum est et honestum tam vigor aequitatis

quam ordo exigit rationis, ut id per sollicitudinem officii nostri ad debitum perducatur effectum. Eapropter, dilecti in Domino filii, vestris iustis precibus inclinati, personas et domum vestram cum omnibus bonis quae impraesentiarum rationabiliter possidetis aut infuturum iustis modis praestante Domino poteritis adipisci sub beati Petri et nostra protectione suscipimus. Specialiter autem possessiones et alia bona vestra sicut ea omnia iuste ac pacifice possidetis, vobis et per vos eidem domui vestrae auctoritate apostolica confirmamus, et praesentis scripti patrocinio communimus. Nulli ergo omnino hominum liceat hanc paginam nostrae protectionis et confirmationis infringere vel ei ausu temerario contraire. Si quis autem hoc attemptare praesumpserit, indignationem omnipotentis Dei et beatorum Petri et Pauli apostolorum eius, se noverit incursurum.

Datum Perusii vi idus Junii pontificatus nostri Anno Nonodecimo

INNOCENT, bishop, servant of the servants of God, [sends] greetings and the apostolic blessing to the beloved sons, the abbot and brothers of the leper house of St. Lazarus of the Cross at Caen [?]. Since a thing just and honorable is asked of us, not only the power of justice but also the order of reason demands that it be led to its proper conclusion through the care of our office. Wherefore, beloved sons in the Lord, being swayed by your just prayers, we take under the protection of St. Peter and ourselves your persons and your house with all the goods which you reasonably possess or in the future will be able to possess in a just manner in the presence of God. And especially the possessions and all your other goods such as you possess justly and peacefully we confirm to you and through you to your house by our apostolic authority, and we fortify this confirmation with the protection of the present document. Let it be permitted to no man to violate or, in rash daring, to act contrary to this page of our protection. If anyone, however, will presume to attempt this, he will know that he will incur the wrath of Almighty God and of Blessed Peter and Paul, His apostles.

Given at Perugia on the 8th day of June in the 19th year of our pontificate [1216].

The Order of St. Lazarus in the Latin East

2011-02-04T12:04:00.005Z

By Natalie Kohout

Natalie has kindly allowed us to post this interesting piece on the history of the Order. It was the "Grand Prize winning article of the 2005 Grand Medieval Historian Competition".

Natalie Kohout is originally from southern California, but now lives in Michigan. She graduated in 2005 from the California State University of Fullerton with a Bachelor of Arts in history and a minor in anthropology, and in 2010 completed a Masters of Arts in history at Wayne State University. After completing her masters, she began teaching history at Baker College of Clinton Township. Medieval Europe is her chosen area of study with a special interest in lepers and their interaction with medieval society.

The First Crusade culminated with the capture of Jerusalem in 1099, and within decades new institutions military orders were founded in the newly claimed Latin East.(1) These orders consisted of members who lived according to rules which resembled existing monastic regulations. The defining feature of these orders was that this religious way of life was combined with fighting.(2) They existed as the only authority to hold an always ready standing army. These orders also had many rights of exemption and often pursued their own policies, in effect making them a state within a state.(3) The Knights Templar, the Knights of St John and the Teutonic Order are all examples of military orders which were born out of the Latin East. However, one military order stood unique above the rest. Nowhere else in Christendom had anyone conceived of forming a military organization which allowed lepers to join and fight. The Order of St. Lazarus was a military order similar to the aforementioned ones, but it was very different in that it allowed lepers to take up military duties in its name.

Lepers have existed as a marginalized group for hundreds, if not thousands, of years and this phenomenon in the Latin East is worthy of attention when one considers the medieval attitudes concerning the affliction. In Europe, a stigma with negative moral implications and severe social consequences was attached to leprosy.(4) Leprosy was seen by many, including the church, as a punishment for moral failing.(5) Those diagnosed as lepers were often segregated from society for the rest of their lives and in many areas were declared legally dead.(6) There was another view of lepers which pervaded the medieval landscape in which the leper was seen as someone enduring purgatory on earth as a special reflection of Christ's suffering.(7) Overall, most medieval thinkers appeared to regard the disease of leprosy as something which degraded the individual in both a physical and a moral sense.(8) Keeping these ideas in mind, one should be able to appreciate the exceptionality of a military order of leprous knights within the crusader states, the home of Christendom's holiest city, Jerusalem. A brief history of the order, an examination of the leper hospital from which the order grew out of, and an exploration of the known military exploits shall be tackled in an attempt to illuminate the history of the only military order of leprous knights.

Any account of the Order of St. Lazarus must begin with a brief look at the leper hospital from which it sprang. The origins of the leper hospital in Jerusalem are controversial and ambiguous.(9) Empress Eudoxia, wife of Arcadius (383-408), was known to have instituted a leper hospital at Jerusalem. However, this particular hospital cannot be concretely linked to the crusading period.(10) Others claim that St. Basil founded the hospital in the 4th century(11), and even other possibilities such as Judas Maccabeus have been suggested.(12) The hospital existed under the protection of the Greek patriarchs of Jerusalem from 629 until 1054. From 1098 until 1187 it was under the authority of the Latin patriarchs.(13) At the time of the First Crusade, it stood as one of three hospitals in the city. Collectively these hospitals, St. Mary Latin, St. John the Almoner and St. Lazarus were known as the Hospital of Jerusalem.(14) Pilgrim accounts contemporary to the time of the crusades place the leper hospital near the northwestern corner of the city, between the Tower of Tancred and St. Stephen's Gate.(15) The hospital had a wide range of benefactors, even noble and royal patrons, these supporters included King Fulk, Queen Melisende, Baldwin III and Amalric I. (16)

The military order of St. Lazarus was established sometime in the 12th century(17) to accommodate those who were diagnosed with leprosy in the crusader states.(18) By 1255 the order is known to have followed the Augustinian rule. However, it is unknown which rule the order followed prior to that.(19) Another important landmark in 1255 included recognition of the order's existence by Pope Alexander IV.(20) Their habits were black and resembled those of St. John. The green cross associated with the Order of St. Lazarus was not adopted until the 16th century.(21) While this order is unique in that it consisted of lepers, healthy men did serve alongside the leprous knights, as noted by Pope Alexander IV in 1255.(22) These knights with leprosy often came from other military orders after they were diagnosed.(23) The Templars decreed that a member who developed leprosy should join the Order of St. Lazarus.(24) The Hospitallers stated in their rules that a member who is a leper cannot remain amongst their order.(25) Instead of simply ostracizing these leprous knights, those in the crusader states continued to utilize them, through the conduit of the Order of St. Lazarus.

The Order of St. Lazarus remained primarily a Hospitaller order, but did take part in several battles, albeit, not very extensively nor very successfully.(26) It is uncertain when exactly the order took up military duties.(27) Most contend that the first solid evidence of military activity can be found in 1244(28), although there is a contention that a small detachment may have been present at the Battle of Hattin.(29) In October of 1244, the order participated in the battle at La Forbie. The battle was a disastrous loss for the crusaders and especially for the Order of St. Lazarus since every one of its knights perished.(30) During the crusade of Louis IX, knights of the order were present at the debacle at Marsuna in 1250 in which the king was captured by the Egyptians.(31) In Acre, the new capital since 1191 after Jerusalem had been lost in 1187, the Order of St. Lazarus was reported to have been entrusted with the defense of a tower and a section of the wall.(32) Later, when the city found itself under siege by the Mameluks under al-Ashraf, a force of 25 knights was provided for the city's defense. Again, all of the participants of the order perished, as did the crusaders' last stronghold in the East.(33) Overall, the order's military contribution to the crusader states was nominal compared to the other military orders, although this hinged mainly on a lack of resources such as land and manpower.(34)

After the fall of Acre in 1291 the Order of St. Lazarus was compelled to return to the properties they held in Europe.(35) Slowly the order disengaged itself from active crusading and the disease of leprosy.(36) The image of knights afflicted by leprosy, surely in some cases literally falling apart from the ravages of the disease, was never again to be seen. In what were the crusader states archeological evidence of the order's life is nearly nonexistent. A mosque covers the site where the leper hospital stood and in Acre almost everything was destroyed. Documentation of the order's history is only sketchy at best.(37) Despite these handicaps a basic history of the Order of St. Lazarus is still discernable and speaks to larger questions of the status of leprosy in the Latin East. Several theories of contributing factors concerning this special treatment of lepers in the Order of St. Lazarus have been debated. The dire, persistent shortage of manpower in the crusader states may have been an aspect to take into consideration.(38) To simply ostracize a knight who happened to develop leprosy may have been argued as something unthinkable and so a role was created for them.(39) To accommodate such an environment which was so drastically different from their homeland, the crusaders had to reconcile their own customs to the new situations posed to them in the East.(40) Leprosy, in and of itself, may have even been viewed differently by those dwelling in the Latin East.(41) At any rate, the Order of St. Lazarus is important to take note of because of its unique contribution to history as the only order of leprous knights who performed military duties in the crusader states.

Endnotes
1 Hans Eberhard Mayer, The Crusades, trans, John Gillingham (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1990), 77.

2 Alan Forey, "The Military Orders 1120-1312," in The Oxford Illustrated History of the Crusades, ed. Jonathan Riley-Smith (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1995), 184.

3 Hans Eberhard Mayer, The Crusades, 78.

4 Saul Nathaniel Brody, The Disease of the Soul: Leprosy in Medieval Literature (London: Cornell University Press, 1974), 197.

5 Alexandri III Romani pontificis Opera omnia, id est epistolae et privilegia, ordine chronologico digesta, ed. Jacques-P. Migne, Patrologia Latina, vol. 200 (Paris: n.p., 1855), col. 1294C-D; Peter Richards, The Medieval Leper and His Northern Heirs (Cambridge: D.S. Brewer, 1977), 45.

6 Piers D. Mitchell, "The Evolution of Social Attitudes to the Medical Care of Those With Leprosy Within the Crusader States," Lepreux et sociabilite du Moye aux Temps modernes 11 (2000): 21.

7 David Marcombe, Leper Knights: The Order of St Lazarus of Jerusalem in England, c.1150-1544 (Woodbridge: The Boydell Press, 2003), 6.

8 James, Brodman, Charity and Welfare: Hospitals and the Poor in Medieval Catalonia (Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 1998), 74.

9 David Marcombe, Leper Knights, 6; Adrian J. Boas, Jerusalem in the Time of the Crusades: Society, Landscape and Art in the Holy City Under Frankish Rule (London : Routledge, 2001), 28.

10 David Marcombe, Leper Knights, 7.

11 Gerard A. Lee, Leper Hospitals in Medieval Ireland: With a Short Account of the Military and Hospitiller Order of St Lazarus of Jerusalem (Dublin: Four Courts Press, 1996), 65; Adrian J. Boas, Jerusalem in the Time of the Crusades, 28.

12 David Marcombe, Leper Knights, 7.

13 Gerard A. Lee, Leper Hospitals in Medieval Ireland, 66.

14 Adrian J. Boas, Jerusalem in the Time of the Crusades, 28.

15 Anonymous, The City of Jerusalem, trans. C.R. Conder, The Library of the Palestine Pilgrims' Text Society Vol. VI (New York, AMS Press, 1971), 16; Theoderich, Description of the Holy Places, trans. Aubrey Stewart, The Library of the Palestine Pilgrims' Text Society Vol. V (New York: AMS Press, 1971), 43.

16 Adrian J. Boas, Jerusalem in the Time of the Crusades, 29; David Marcombe, Leper Knights, 10.

17 David Marcombe, Leper Knights, 12; Hans Eberhard Mayer, The Crusades, 80; J.M.Upton-Ward, trans., The Rule of the Templars: The French Text of the Order of the Knights Templar (Rochester: Boydell Press, 1997), 115.

18 Piers Mitchell, "The Archaeological Approach to the Study of Disease in the Crusader States, as Employed at Le Petit Gerin," in The Military Orders. Volume 2, ed. Helen Nicholson (Aldershot: Ashgate Publishing Ltd., 1998), 49.

19 David Marcombe, Leper Knights, 9.

20 Gerard A. Lee, Leper Hospitals in Medieval Ireland, 68; David Marcombe, Leper Knights, 12; J.M.Upton-Ward, trans., The Rule of the Templars, 115.

21 Desmond Seward, The Monks of War: The Military Religious Orders (London: Eyre Methuen, 1972), 33.

22 David Marcombe, Leper Knights, 14.

23 Adrian J. Boas, Jerusalem in the Time of the Crusades, 29; David Marcombe, Leper Knights, 13.

24 J.M.Upton-Ward, trans., The Rule of the Templars, 118.

25 E.J. King, The Rule Statutes and Customs of the Hospitallers 1099-1310, With Introductory Chapters and Notes, London: Methuen & CO. LTD., 1934.

26 David Marcombe, Leper Knights, 247; Desmond Seward, The Monks of War, 33.

27 Jonathan Phillips, "The Latin East 1098-1291," in The Oxford Illustrated History of the Crusades, ed. Jonathan Riley-Smith (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1995), 186.

28 Hans Eberhard Mayer, The Crusades, 80.

29 Desmond Seward, The Monks of War, 45.

30 David Marcombe, Leper Knights, 13-14; Desmond Seward, The Monks of War, 67.

31 David Marcombe, Leper Knights, 14.

32 Piers D. Mitchell, "The Evolution of Social Attitudes to the Medical Care of Those with Leprosy within the Crusader States," Lepreux et sociabilite du Moye aux Temps modernes 11 (2000): 25.

33 David Marcombe, Leper Knights, 15, Desmond Seward, The Monks of War, 81.

34 David Marcombe, Leper Knights, 30.

35 Ibid., 247.

36 Ibid., 22.

37 Ibid., 25.

38 Ibid., 13.

39 Ibid., 11.

40 Jonathan Phillips, The Oxford Illustrated History of the Crusades, 119.

41 David Marcombe, Leper Knights, 6.

Sources Cited
■Primary sources:

■Alexandri III Romani pontificis Opera omnia, id est epistolae et privilegia, ordine chronologico digest. Ed. Jacques-P. Migne, Patrologia Latina, vol. 200. Paris: n.p., 1855.

■Anonymous. The City of Jerusalem. Trans. C.R. Conder. The Library of the Palestine Pilgrims' Text Society Vol. VI. New York, AMS Press, 1971.

■King, E.J. The Rule Statutes and Customs of the Hospitallers. London: Methuen & CO. LTD., 1934.

■Theoderich. Description of the Holy Places. Trans. Aubrey Stewart. The Library of the Palestine Pilgrims' Text Society Vol. V. New York: AMS Press, 1971.
■Upton-Ward, J.M.Trans. The Rule of the Templars: The French Text of the Order of the Knights Templar. Rochester: Boydell Press, 1997.

Secondary sources:

■Boas, Adrian J. Jerusalem in the Time of the Crusades: Society, Landscape and Art in the Holy City under Frankish Rule. London: Routledge, 2001.

■Brodman, James. Charity and Welfare: Hospitals and the Poor in Medieval Catalonia. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 1998.

■Forey, Alan. "The Military Orders, 1120-1312." In The Oxford Illustrated History of the Crusades, ed. Jonathan Riley-Smith, 184-216. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1995.

■Lee, Gerard A. Leper Hospitals in Medieval Ireland: With a Short Account of the Military and Hospitiller Order of St. Lazarus of Jerusalem. Dublin: Four Courts Press Ltd., 1996.

■Marcombe, David. Leper Knights: The Order of St Lazarus of Jerusalem in England, c.1150-1544. Woodbridge: The Boydell Press, 2003.

■Mayer, Hans Eberhard. The Crusades. Trans. John Gillingham. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1990.

■Mitchell, Piers D. "The Evolution of Social Attitudes to the Medical Care of Those With Leprosy Within the Crusader States," Lepreux et sociabilite du Moyen aux Temps modernes 11 (2000): 21-27.

■Mitchell, Piers. "The Archaeological Approach to the Study of Disease in the Crusader States, as Employed at Le Petit Gerin." In The Military Orders. Volume 2, ed. Helen Nicholson, 43-50. Aldershot: Ashgate Publishing Ltd., 1998.

■Phillips, Jonathan. "The Latin East, 1098-1291." In The Oxford Illustrated History of the Crusades, ed. Jonathan Riley-Smith, 112-140. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1995.

■Richards, Peter. The Medieval Leper and His Northern Heirs. Cambridge: D.S. Brewer, 1977.

■Seward, Desmond. The Monks of War: The Military Religious Orders. London: Eyre Methuen, 1972.

Facebook

2011-02-03T17:27:00.004Z

The Order now has a presence on Facebook. Click here to visit the site: http://www.facebook.com/LazarusOrder

Prince Charles-Philippe also has a Facebook page:http://www.facebook.com/ducdanjou

'Leaders Magazine' article about Grand Master

2011-02-01T20:17:00.006Z

Prague-based 'Leaders' magazine has published an article with pictorial coverage of the election of the Grand Master in November last year in Orleans, France. Download in PDF format here or on the magazine's website here.
"Leaders Magazine focuses on lifestyle, interviews, business, culture and luxury products. Our readers are people from diplomatic society, government officials, decision makers in business, Czech citizens with higher income and tourists".

Three heroes in the fight against leprosy

2011-02-01T11:36:00.006Z

Archbishop Zygmunt Zimowski

President of the Pontifical Council for the Pastoral Care of Health Care Workers

The stark contrast between a cult of the body in some regions and a lack of the most basic health care in others is something that particularly affects lepers, says Archbishop Zygmunt Zimowski.

The president of the Pontifical Council for Health Care Ministry affirmed this in his statement for the occasion of World Leprosy Day, celebrated last Sunday.

The archbishop cited Benedict XVI in referring to the lack of basic health care, saying this is a problem that "touches in a profound and special way the world of lepers."

Though leprosy can now be treated it continues to cause suffering

He said that "ignorance, inequality and discrimination" flourish around this disease, particularly in a failure to understand the need for timely treatment, deficiency in rehabilitation of those who are disfigured by the disease, and a lack of understanding that those who are healed no longer present a risk for spreading the infection.

The archbishop turned his appeal to past and present victims of leprosy, asking them to commit themselves in solidarity with those who suffer, and also to pray for those who "distance themselves calling you 'lepers!' without knowing or wanting to know your name, to recognize your dignity and your story."

Three Heroes

Archbishop Zimowski noted how in the history of the Church, there have been people committed to caring for lepers, to the point of sacrificing their own lives. He mentioned three notable persons in this group.

The first is Cardinal Paul-Émile Léger (1904-1991).

Archbishop Zimowski noted Benedict XVI's reference to the cardinal in his review of his trip to Cameroon, Africa, at the general audience of April 1, 2009.

"A powerful sign of the humanizing action of Christ's message is certainly the Cardinal Léger Centre in Yaounde, destined for the rehabilitation of disabled people. Its founder was the Canadian Cardinal Paul-Émile Léger, who chose to retire after the Council of 1968, to work among the poor," the Pope said on that occasion.

Next, Archbishop Zimowski spoke of Belgian Saint Damian de Veuster (1840-1889).

St. Damian worked with lepers in Hawaii until he himself contracted and died from the disease. (See earlier post)

Finally, the Vatican official recalled Polish Blessed Jan Beyzym (1850-1912).

He worked among the lepers in Madagascar, "and even succeeded in building a specialized hospital on the island still active and able to house 150 patients," the archbishop said.

He cited Pope John Paul II's reflection in Krakow at the beatification of Blessed Beyzym: "The charitable work of Blesssed Jan Beyzym was an integral component of his fundamental mission: bringing the Gospel to those who do not know it. This is the greatest gift of mercy: bringing people to Christ and giving them the opportunity to know and savour his love."

Prince Charles-Philippe & Princess Diane, Duchesse de Cadaval.

2011-01-30T15:58:00.007Z

The Grand Master Emeritus Prince Charles-Philippe d'Orleans and his wife Princess Diane, Duchesse de Cadaval, recently granted a private tour of their home in Évora, the palace of the dukes of Cadaval and its superb chapel, to the travel guide ViaMichelin. (See here)

The website says:
"It's not every day that we visit a historical monument with his owners. In Évora, the palace of the dukes of Cadaval belongs to the family of Diana Alvares Pereira de Melo, Duchess of Cadaval. Built on top of Évora, facing the famous Roman temple, this building was a gift in 1390 to an ancestor of Diana, Martim Afonso de Melo, by King John I. Protected by two towers topped with battlements, the palace, whose facade was rebuilt in the 17th century, adopts a pentagonal shape. The galleries house works of art, pieces of furniture and documents relating to the history of the families of both spouses."

Prince Charles-Philippe and Princess Diana were married in 2008 in the Cathedral of Évora by Père Claude Giraud, Dean of Orleans Cathedral and Assistant Chaplain General of the Grand Priory Of France.

Princess Diane is the 11th Duchess of Cadaval, a title confirmed by Dom Duarte Pio, Duke of Braganza, Head of the Royal House of Portugal, and a decendant of Blessed Nuno de Santa Maria Àlvares Pereira, O. Carm. (1360-1431), the Condestável (“Constable,” meaning General) known in Portugal as “the Father of the Nation.” (See this previous entry)
The Duchesse is the author of a best-selling historical novel about Queen Maria Pia of Portugal.

Prince Charles-Philippe d'Orleans, Duke of Anjou, son of Prince and Princess Michael of France and nephew of the Count of Paris, has tried to show "the image of a modern prince, dynamic, courageous and determined."

As recent events have shown, the Prince inspires loyalty and is greatly loved and admired in the Grand Priory of Great Britain and indeed throughout the Order.

Pope Benedict Affirms Solidarity With Lepers

2011-01-30T13:42:00.004Z

The Holy Father mentioned today's commemoration after he had prayed the midday Angelus with those gathered in St. Peter's Square. Speaking in Italian he said:

Si celebra in questa domenica la “Giornata mondiale dei malati di lebbra”, promossa negli anni ’50 del secolo scorso da Raoul Follereau e riconosciuta ufficialmente dall’ONU. La lebbra, pur essendo in regresso, purtroppo colpisce ancora molte persone in condizione di grave miseria. A tutti i malati assicuro una speciale preghiera, che estendo a quanti li assistono e, in diversi modi, si impegnano a sconfiggere il morbo di Hansen. Saluto in particolare l’Associazione Italiana Amici di Raoul Follereau, che compie 50 anni di attività.

My unofficial translation:

This Sunday we celebrate "World Leprosy Day " promoted in the 1950's by Raoul Follereau and officially recognized by the UN. Leprosy, although declining, still unfortunately affects many people in conditions of extreme poverty. I assure all those who suffer of my special prayer, which I extend to those who assist them and, in different ways, are committed to defeating Hansen's disease. I greet in particular the Italian Association Amici di Raoul Follereau, which has completed 50 years of it's activity.

World Leprosy Day 2011

2011-01-30T08:43:00.003Z

"Our thoughts immediately turn to Father Damien de Veuster, who gave his life for these brothers and sisters. To his heavenly protection I entrust all those people who, unfortunately still today, suffer from this disease, and all those health workers and volunteers who give themselves for the sake of a world without leprosy."

(Pope Benedict XVI's Angelus message on World Leprosy Day 2010.)

Father Damien (1840-1889) was a Belgian priest who volunteered to minister to the leper colony in Molokai, in Hawaii. He eventually contracted the disease and died a leper. He was canonised in 2009.

The Grand Priory & World Leprosy Day

2011-01-24T15:45:00.005Z

This Sunday marks the 58th World Leprosy Day.

World Leprosy Day was created in 1954 by French journalist and philosopher Raoul Follereau “so that people affected by leprosy could be cared for like all others who are ill and so that that those in good health could be cured of their absurd and often criminal fear of this disease and those who are affected by it”.

Since its foundation the Military and Hospitaller Order of St Lazarus of Jerusalem has cared for those suffering from leprosy. Indeed it began by welcoming knights from other Orders who had been stricken by this disease. Those suffering from leprosy, or Hanson's Disease as it is now known, have always been at the heart of the mission and prayers of the Order and the newly-erected Grand Priory of Great Britain intends to continue helping those who suffer from this disease.

At the Canonisation of St Damien De Veuster, the Leper Priest, the Holy Father said:
"Let us remember before this noble figure that it is charity which makes unity, brings it forth and makes it desirable. Following in St Paul's footsteps, St Damien prompts us to choose the good battle, not the kind that brings division but the kind that gathers people together. He invites us to open our eyes to the forms of leprosy that disfigure the humanity of our brethren and still today call for the charity of our presence as servants, beyond that of our generosity."

The Holy Father urged us all to pray and help those involved in the battle against leprosy and "other forms of leprosy that are due to lack of love because of ignorance and cowardice".

As members of a noble Order of chivalry let us all recommit ourselves to that "charity which makes unity, brings it forth and makes it desirable" and let us continue, with the help of St Lazarus and St Damien, "the good battle" "that gathers people together".

St Damien of Molokai,

pray for all those afflicted by leprosy

and for the Order of St Lazarus.

Volo. Mundáre. "I will it. Be thou made clean"

2011-01-23T15:50:00.006Z

The Gospel of the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite for today, the Third Sunday after the Epiphany, included the moving account of the Lord healing a man suffering from leprosy:

Sequéntia sancti Evangélii secúndum Matthæum (Ch. 8)

In illo témpore: Cum descendísset Jesus de monte, secútæ sunt eum turbæ multæ: et ecce leprósus véniens, adorábat eum, dicens: Dómine, si vis, potes me mundáre. Et exténdens Jesus manum, tétigit eum, dicens: Volo. Mundáre. Et conféstim mundáta est lepra ejus.

At that time, when Jesus was come down from the mountain, great multitudes followed Him; and behold a leper came and adored Him, saying: Lord, if Thou wilt, Thou canst make me clean. And Jesus stretching forth His hand, touched him, saying: I will it. Be thou made clean. And forthwith his leprosy was cleansed.

-----------------------------------------------------

The Lord's words "I will it. Be thou made clean" should inspire all members of the Order of St Lazarus to continue the work of our forebears in serving those who still suffer from leprosy. As the Grand Master said in his inaugural address:

"Our fundamental raison d’être is to help the poor, the sick, the needy and all those who are unable to help themselves. This will be our priority and everything will be done to refocus the entire Order for this objective."

Holy Mass to mark the feast of St. Basil the Great

2011-01-04T16:48:00.005Z

On Monday, 3 January 2011 a solemn Mass was held in the fabulous St. Wenceslas Chapel of the Cathedral of St Vitus in Prague to mark the feast of St. Basil the Great, Patron Saint of the Order of St. Lazarus. St Basil, who died on January 1, 379AD, was not only an excellent writer, preacher and theologian, but in the 4th century founded an exemplary hospital, the Basilias, for lepers, whom he cared for, “not even neglecting to kiss them in defiance of contagion”, we are told. In this he was an example to the Order of St Lazarus, which continued his saintly efforts. A wonderful relic, the skull of the saint, was brought from St. Vitus treasury, where it is reserved.

The Bailiff, the Chancellor and members of the Prague Commandery assisted at Mass which was offered by Fr. Pavel Porochnavec, SChLJ, assisted by Fr. Jan F. Beránek, ChLJ.

This beautifully decorated Chapel, the masterpiece of Czech Gothic, is dedicated to the patron of Czech lands, St Wenceslas, a Bohemian Prince from the Premyslid dynasty assassinated by his own brother. The chapel was built on the site of the Romanesque rotunda where Wenceslas was buried and still houses the holy relics of the saint. The Chapel is not open to the public, but visitors can look in through the door.

Every Czech coronation started in this Chapel, as the kings went to pray there. It is said that whenever the Czech nation was in danger or suffering hard times special night Masses were offered in this Chapel. Mass is still offered here but usually only on the Feast of St Wenceslas (28th September), so this Mass was a wonderful occasion for our noble Order since our new Grand Master, Count Dobrzenský z Dobrzenicz, is not just Czech, but a descendant of St Wenceslas himself. May this Holy Mass usher in not just a New Year, but a new era in the long history of the Order of St Lazarus.

St Wenceslas, Pray for us.

St Basil the Great, Pray for us.

St Lazarus, Pray for us.

Unto us a child is born

2010-12-25T00:01:00.001Z

Deus, qui nos redemptiónis nostræ ánnua exspectatióne lætíficas: præsta; ut Unigenitum tuum, quem Redemptórem læti suscípimus, veniéntem quoque júdicem secúri videámus, Dóminum nostrum Jesum Christum Fílium tuum: Qui tecum.

O God, who makest us glad with the yearly expectation of our redemption, grant that we who now joyfully receive Thine only-begotten Son as our Redeemer, may also without fear behold Him coming as our Judge, the same our Lord Jesus Christ Thy Son: Who with Thee and the Holy Ghost livest and reignest, world without end. Amen.

May the coming of the Christ-Child
bring true peace and joy to our troubled world.

May God grant you a happy and holy Christmas!

ATAVIS ET ARMIS

Advent "O" Antiphon December 23rd

2010-12-23T09:35:00.000Z


	Emmanuel, our King and our Law-giver, Longing of the Gentiles, yea, and salvation thereof, come to save us, O Lord our God! O Emmanuel, Rex et legifer noster, exspectatio gentium, et Salvator earum: veni ad salvandum nos Domine Deus noster.

Isaias 7:14
Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign. Behold a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son and his name shall be called Emmanuel.

Advent "O" Antiphon December 22nd

2010-12-22T10:02:00.004Z

King of the Gentiles, yea, and desire thereof! O Corner-stone, that makest of two one, come to save man, whom Thou hast made out of the dust of the earth!

O Rex Gentium, et desideratus earum, lapisque angularis, qui facis utraque unum: veni, et salva hominem, quem de limo formasti.

Isaias 9:7

His empire shall be multiplied, and there shall be no end of peace: he shall sit upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom; to establish it and strengthen it with judgment and with justice, from henceforth and for ever: the zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this.

Isaias 2:4

And he shall judge the Gentiles, and rebuke many people: and they shall turn their swords into ploughshares, and their spears into sickles: nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they be exercised any more to war.

Advent "O" Antiphons

2010-12-21T16:26:00.006Z

In the Church's Liturgy of the Hours, Evening Prayer, also know as Vespers, always includes the great prayer of Our Blessed Lady known as the Magnificat. Each day, the Magnificat is preceded by a short verse or "antiphon" that links the prayer to the feast of the day or the season of the year. In the last seven days of Advent (December 17-24), the antiphons before the Magnificat are very special. Each begins with the exclamation "O" and ends with a plea for the Messiah to come. As Christmas approaches the cry becomes increasingly urgent.

These moving "O Antiphons" were apparently composed in the seventh or eighth century when monks put together texts from the Old Testament, particularly from the prophet Isaiah, which looked forward to the coming of our salvation. They form a rich, interlocking mosaic of scriptural images. The great "O Antiphons" became very popular in the Middle Ages when it became traditional to ring the great bells of the church each evening as they were being sung.

Each of the O Antiphons highlights a different title for the Messiah: O Sapientia (O Wisdom), O Adonai (O Lord), O Radix Jesse (O Root of Jesse), O Clavis David (O Key of David), O Oriens (O Rising Sun), O Rex Gentium (O King of the Nations), and O Emmanuel. Also, each one refers to the prophecy of Isaiah of the coming of the Messiah. A particularly fascinating feature of the O Antiphons is that the first letter of each invocation, when read backwards, forms an acrostic in Latin: the first letters of Sapientia, Adonai, Radix, Clavis, Oriens, Rex, and Emmanuel in reverse form the Latin words: ERO CRAS. These can be understood as the words of Christ, responding to his people's plea, saying "Tomorrow I will be there."

The Antiphon for today, December 21st, is:

O Oriens, splendor lucis aeternae, et sol justitiae: veni, et illumina sedentes in tenebris, et umbra mortis.

O Oriens (Is. 9:1): O Rising Sun, you are the splendor of eternal light and the sun of justice. O come and enlighten those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death.

Just as the natural sun gives light and life to all upon whom its rays fall, so Christ, the Rising Dawn, dispels darkness and brings eternal life and light.

Saying the O Antiphons as a family, whether during grace at meals, in front of the Crib, or even in front of the Christmas tree, is a wonderful Advent devotion and a fitting way to prepare for the great events of Christmas.

Fr. Mark Lawler, SChLJ

The Grand Master's Advent Message

2010-12-09T21:03:00.004Z

To my friends in the name of Saint Lazarus,
The end of 2010 is now approaching and we can all sigh with relief, "What a year!"

With Christmas close at hand it is significant to note that, with the birth of Our Lord Jesus Christ, the Order of Saint Lazarus of Jerusalem is moving forward into a brighter future. Yes, our faith in our Almighty Lord will spur us on in our mission to help the sick, the needy, and the poor. In this, we will not be wavered in the defence of the Christian values so close to our hearts.

Let us be guided by that bright star that leads us towards Bethlehem and pay homage to our creator with humility and joy. Our motivation is intense and the mission presented in Orléans will be fulfilled. No, there are no dark clouds over the horizon. Our dignity is intact and we will continue to conduct ourselves as charitable and chivalrous Christians.

And for this advent season, let us pray for our fellow brothers and sisters throughout the world. Take up our tendered hand and let us join together as one great family.

For you my dear friends, for your families and loved ones, I wish you all a very happy and holy Christmas.

Yours in the name of Saint Lazarus,

Jan Count Dobrzenský z Dobrzenicz
50th Grand Master

Chapter General

2010-12-01T13:33:00.004Z

The Italian Grand Priory has created an excellent YouTube video of photographs from the recent Chapter General.

The Grand Priory of Italy under it's Grand Prior, H.E. Chev. Giovanni Ferrara, does wonderful work in the service of the needy. Their website is:http://www.oslj-italia.it/

William Hackett - Member of Merit

2010-11-28T14:15:00.001Z

The Grand Priory of Great Britain is very proud of Confrere William Hackett BLJ who has received a Medal of Merit from the Grand Master in recognition of his tireless fundraising for the Order's charities.

William added both colour and sound to the Installation Mass at Orléans last weekend by playing his pipes during Communion.

Although William has only recently become a member of the Order he has been actively supporting the charitable work of the Order for some time.

The Grand Master declared that: "we shall embark upon a comprehensive programme of growth of membership. This growth of membership will bear the slogan of ‘Quality Christians’". As the newest member of our Priory William epitomises what the Grand Master meant and we all wish him our heartiest congratulations on this well-deserved award.

Grand Officers appointed

2010-11-25T14:14:00.011Z

Grand Treasurer, Chev. Nigel Sterland, GRAND MASTER, H.E.Chev. Martin Thacker,

Vice President of the Governing Council, and Acting Secretary General, Confrère Matthew Jackson.

ATAVIS ET ARMIS

As prescribed by the Constitutional Charter the newly elected Grand Master established the three juridical governing bodies of the Order; the Grand Magistral Council, the Constitutional Council and the Governing Council.
These governing bodies were given the mandate to work together for the good of the whole Order.

The Grand Officers appointed were:

CONSTITUTIONAL COUNCIL (Which oversees the legal responsibilities of the Order)
Chev. Rolf Leenhoust, Spain
Chev. Jan Anema, The Netherlands
Chev. Count Paolo Vandelli-Bulgarelli, Italy
Confrère Zdenek Kucera, Bohemia

GOVERNING COUNCIL (Which represents the views of each jurisdiction to the Grand Master)
President
H.R.H Prince Charles-Philippe d Orléans, Duc d Anjou, Grand Prior of France.
Vice-President
The Much Hon. Baron of Fetternear, H.E.Chev. Martin Thacker, Grand Prior of G.B.

H.E. Chev. Charles Beke, Grand Prior of the Netherlands.
H.E. Chev. Giovanni Ferrara, Grand Prior of Italy.
Chev. Bailliff Ondrej Vanke, Acting Head of Jurisdiction of Bohemia.
Chev. Rolf Leenhoust, Commander and Head of Jurisdiction of Spain.
Chev. Bailliff M.A. Huot, Acting Head of Jurisdiction of France.
Chev. Thierry Pauquet de Villejust, Commander and Head of Jurisdiction of USA.

GRAND MAGISTRAL COUNCIL
Grand Prior Spiritual H.E. Mons. Pierre Boz, France
Grand Capitular, H.E. Chev. Lt. Col. Philippe Jourdain, France
Grand Hospitaller, H.E. Chev. Giovanni Ferrara, Italy
Acting as Grand Treasurer, Chev. Nigel Sterland, Great Britain
Acting as Grand Secretary, Confrère Matthew Jackson, Great Britain
Communications, Chev. Petr Rehor, Bohemia
Special Envoy, Chev. Bruce Sebree, USA
------------------------------------------------------
The members of the Grand Priory of Great Britain are delighted that three of our number have been asked to serve the Order at the highest level and are extremely pleased with the direction that the new Grand Master is taking in insisting that all members must involve themselves in communication and decision making. Indeed he assured us in his opening address that "I, and my officers, will never forget that we are elected by the membership." These new appointments and new structures should ensure that there will be no return to the "greed, personal ambition and the conflict of interest so devastating to our reputation in the past". The future looks very bright indeed.

Address of the Grand Master

2010-11-25T12:29:00.001Z

Immediately after his election last weekend as the 50th Grand Master of the Military and Hospitaller Order of St Lazarus of Jerusalem Count Jan Dobrzenský z Dobrzenicz addressed the whole Order:

Monseigneur,
Your Excellencies and Dear Confrères,
My Friends,

From the bottom of my heart I thank you for entrusting me with your confidence and loyalty. It is an honour to serve you as the 50th Grand Master of our beloved Order of Saint Lazarus of Jerusalem.

Who would have imagined that after almost 1000 years of its history, a young Czech boy would accede to supreme command of our Order and become the successor to so many brilliant and prominent personalities? I draw my roots from the Czech lands and, therefore, dedicate this election to our great and proud Czech Nation.

After 35 years of service to our great Order I will never forget my oath of loyalty to the fundamental principles of tradition and Christian values so dear to all our hearts. I will uphold these principles throughout my entire tenure as Grand Master.

Thanks to the legitimacy provided by the protection of H.R.H Prince Henri d'Orléans, Head of the Royal House of France, I am able to legally assume my office in respect of our Constitutional Charter.

With the help of our Lord Jesus Christ, I will preside over the destiny of The Order of Saint Lazarus of Jerusalem and take the full moral responsibility of my office as Grand Master. In turn, I salute the great courage of many of my fellow brothers and sisters who came here to Orléans under difficult circumstances.

Let it be known that I will never forget this expression of loyalty which proves that we continue to act as one great family. As a family, we will continue to proceed together with humility, modesty and with the greatest of dignity. Now, it is time for me to give you an insight on my vision of the future of The Order of Saint Lazarus and how my mission is to be carried out.

First and foremost, we are a brotherhood of Christian faiths and we all profess our commitment to Our Lord Jesus Christ. This means that we will reinforce our communion as an oecumenical Order; praying together, working together and communicating within this Christian spirit.

Our fundamental raison d’être is to help the poor, the sick, the needy and all those who are unable to help themselves. This will be our priority and everything will be done to refocus the entire Order for this objective.

We shall reach out to all our brothers and sisters throughout the world. I shall embark on a personal crusade with a Reunification strategy for the best interests of the entire Order of Saint Lazarus. This does not mean that we shall be practising an open door policy, but there will be no prerequisites attached to Reunification.

Since we are living in the year 2010 and in a world of rapid communications, I have every intention of putting together an organization based on broad communication amongst our officers and members as well as to the general public. We must be creative in enhancing our message to the entire world.

There are many professional and dedicated people who have volunteered to serve the Order and we owe it to them to provide them with an efficient and modern tool to work with.

Regarding communication, our organization will create a matrix of communication and decision making from the bottom to the top. We must listen to what our membership is telling us and cater our efforts to their requirements. All our members should know that I, and my officers, will never forget that we are elected by the membership. Living in a bubble is now part of the past.

There will be a great effort undertaken to put into place a legal international structure best adapted to our activities, in line with the principles of tradition and aligned with the Constitutional Charter. This legal structure will be necessary to reinforce our global strength and international credibility.

Last but not least, we shall enhance our promotion of Growth. Our system of communication will contribute to the increase and enhancement of awareness of The Order of Saint Lazarus and its activities. Furthermore, we shall embark upon a comprehensive programme of growth of membership. This growth of membership will bear the slogan of ‘Quality Christians’.

Today I take as my solemn charge the defence of all the moral and Christian values, so dear to our hearts. I urge you all to follow me and to:

- Reach out with compassion in your hearts to our neighbours, our brothers and sisters, and those who really need our help.
- Open our minds to the reality of the world around us.
- Behave at all times as true and humble Christians.
- Act at all times as model citizens of the country and society we live in.
- Do away with greed, personal ambition and the conflict of interest so devastating to our reputation in the past.

Today we profess together our faith in the future because WE are the Order of Saint Lazarus of Jerusalem. By showing the example of Christian morality we will pay homage to the legitimacy of our actions and respect for the Constitutional Charter.

Let us move forward in the name of our Almighty Lord, the Virgin Mary, and Saint Lazarus.

I take this solemn charge, avec l’aide de Dieu. So help me God.

Jan Count Dobrzensky y Dobrzenicz, 50th Grand Master

Grand Priory of Great Britain

2010-11-24T12:05:00.009Z

H.E.Chev. Martin Thacker, the Much Hon. Baron of Fetternear,
Grand Prior of Great Britain
and
The Grand Master Emeritus, Prince Charles-Philippe d' Orléans, Duc d’Anjou,
Grand Prior of France.

One of the first official acts of the new Grand Master, His Excellency Count Jan Dobrzensky z Dobrzenicks, was to raise the Commandery of Great Britain to the status of a Grand Priory with the Much Honoured Baron of Fetternear duly installed as Grand Prior and promoted to the rank of Knight Grand Cross. The Grand Master stated that this was done "In recognition of Great Britain's fidelity and growing strength" within the Order.

This was wonderful news for the members in these lands, who have remained steadfast in their fidelity to the aims of the Order under the inspiring leadership of the Baron of Fetternear. We are delighted that he will now lead our Grand Priory.

Due to the personal ambitions of some within the former Grand Magistery many former members of the Commandery of Great Britain broke away from the Temporal Protection of the Royal House of France to form their own Green Cross Organisation, leaving our numbers diminished. Our new status is all the more welcome since it may help those who have left us to reconsider and return to the Order. The new Grand Master has made such reconciliation a priority as do we in the Grand Priory of Great Britain.

General Chapter - Orléans

2010-11-24T11:18:00.008Z

Members from France, the Czech Republic, the Netherlands, the USA, Spain, Italy and Great Britain gathered for the Chapter General of the Order at the Château de la Ferté Saint-Aubin, near Orléans, last weekend for the election and Installation of the 50th Grand Master of the Military and Hospitaller Order of St Lazarus of Jerusalem.

The duly elected Grand Master is Count Jan Dobrzenský z Dobrzenicz, Grand Prior of Bohemia, and cousin of HRH Henri, Comte de Paris, Duc de France, the Temporal Protector of the Order.

The Grand Master Emeritus, Prince Charles-Philippe de Orléans, Duc d’Anjou, Grand Prior of France, was present representing the Royal House of France, under whose protection, as the royal fons honorum, the Order exists. Our own Chaplain General, Fr Simon Henry, had the honour of proclaiming the Comte de Paris' declaration of his continuing protection of the Order under its new Grand Master and confirming the legality of his election.

The Installation Mass took place in the medieval splendour of Orléans Cathedral. After the impressive procession into the Cathedral Holy Mass was presided over by the newly appointed Grand Prior Spiritual of the Order Mgr Pierre Boz, Patriarchal Exarch of the Melkite Greek Catholic Church for Western Europe, and we were warmly welcomed by the ebullient Rector of the Cathedral, Fr Claude Girault, the newly appointed Chaplain General of the Grand Priory of France.

It was a wonderful occasion for all present and we have now definitively moved on from the difficult situation of the last few months. We now have a new Grand Master and a new Grand Council legitimated by the Constitutions and confirmed by the Temporal Protector. We can leave behind the events and personalities of the recent past and give witness to the world of our adherence to Christian values and the service of the poor.

Here are a few photos of the Investiture Mass. More will be posted when possible.

Chapter General

2010-11-12T14:29:00.008Z

Le Château de la Ferté Saint-Aubin

T he Commandery of Great Britain will be well represented at the Château de la Ferté Saint-Aubin, near Orléans, next weekend as members of the Order gather for the Chapter General which will see the appointment and installation of our 50th Grand Master.

The Military and Hospitaller Order of St. Lazarus of Jerusalem has been truly blessed by the leadership of the 49th Grand Master, now Grand Master Emeritus, HRH Charles-Philippe d'Orléans, Duke of Anjou, and is is a special joy to meet in 'his city'.

The programme of events begins with a Welcome Dinner on Friday evening. Providentially, Friday is the liturgical Feast Day of Blessed Raymond du Puy de Provence, 7th Grand Master of the Order.

Blessed Raymond de Puy

Blessed Raymond was head of the Order of St John of Jerusalem and became Grand Master of the Military and Hospitaller Order of St. Lazarus of Jerusalem when he contracted leprosy. He led the Order from 1157-1159.

It is indeed providential that we begin our Chapter General in France on the feast of this holy French Knight of our Order. Let us ask the prayerful intercession of Blessed Raymond, 7th Grand Master, as we elect his successor.

Atavis et Armis

Lest we Forget

2010-11-11T08:59:00.003Z

In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved and were loved, and now we lie,
In Flanders fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.

John McCrae

Animae omnium fidelium defunctorum

per Dei misericordiam requiescant in pace. Amen.

The Faithful Departed

2010-11-03T14:45:00.002Z

Rev Mark Lawler, SChLJ, offering Holy Mass yesterday

November is the month of the Holy Souls, when we remember before the Lord all those of our family, friends and benefactors who have gone before us to their eternal reward.

The holy sacrifice of the Mass was offered yesterday, the Feast of the Holy Souls, for all deceased members of the Order, their families and friends, and all those countless benefactors who have supported the Order over the centuries. May the Lord grant them eternal rest in His heavenly Kingdom.

Pie Iesu Domine, dona eis requiem. Amen.

Animae omnium fidelium defunctorum per Dei misericordiam requiescant in pace. Amen.

St Damien of Molokai - Apostle of the lepers

2010-10-27T12:56:00.004+01:00

Fr Damien De Veuster (1840-1889)
photographed three months before his death,
at the age of 49, after 16 years serving the lepers of Molokai

Just over a year ago,on Sunday 11th October 2009, Pope Benedict XVI during Mass in St. Peter’s Basilica gave the entire Church a new Hero of Faith, when he canonised Father Damien De Veuster, the Leper Priest.

Father Damien, also known as the apostle of the lepers, was born in Belgium in 1840. At 33 he went to the island of Molokai, Hawaii, where lepers were sent and lived in isolation.

Depriving himself of everything, the priest stayed there serving, catechizing and administering the sacraments to those who had contracted this disease. He himself contracted it and died in 1899. He once said:

“Without the constant presence of our Divine Master upon the altar in my poor chapels, I never could have persevered casting my lot with the lepers of Molokai.”

The Holy Father began the homily at the Canonisation Mass by asking the question posed to Christ by a rich young man in the Gospel: “What must I do to inherit eternal life?”

“The Divine Master looks at him with love,” the Holy Father continues, “and proposes the qualitative leap, he calls him to the heroism of sanctity, he asks him to abandon everything and follow him: ‘Sell what you own and give the money to the poor…then come, follow me!’”

“This is the Christian vocation that flows from a proposal of love by the Lord, and that can be realized only thanks to our loving reply,” he said. “Jesus invites his disciples to the total giving of their lives, without calculation or personal gain, with unfailing trust in God.

“The saints welcome this demanding invitation and set about following the crucified and risen Christ with humble docility. Their perfection, in the logic of a faith that is humanly incomprehensible at times, consists in no longer placing themselves at the centre, but choosing to go against the flow and live according to the Gospel.”

Fr Damien “left his home in Flanders to proclaim the Gospel on the other side of the world, the Hawaiian Islands,” the Pontiff recounted. “His missionary activity, which gave him so much joy, reaches its summit in charity.

“Not without fear and repugnance, he chose to go to the Island of Molokai to serve the lepers who were there, abandoned by all; thus he exposed himself to the disease they suffered from. He felt at home with them. The Servant of the Word thus became a suffering servant, a leper with lepers, during the last four years of his life.”

"Let us remember before this noble figure that it is charity which makes unity, brings it forth and makes it desirable. Following in St Paul's footsteps, St Damien prompts us to choose the good battle, not the kind that brings division but the kind that gathers people together. He invites us to open our eyes to the forms of leprosy that disfigure the humanity of our brethren and still today call for the charity of our presence as servants, beyond that of our generosity."

Following the Mass of Canonisation, the Holy Father went out into Saint Peter's Square to greet some forty thousand additional faithful who could not fit inside the basilica. He urged them to pray and help those involved in the battle against leprosy and "other forms of leprosy that are due to lack of love because of ignorance and cowardice".

St Damien's dedication to the outcasts of Molokai, his efforts to introduce new medical techniques, showed that he deeply valued the material side of life and bodily health. Yet he was more than a social worker. He shared his very life with those pariahs on the margins of the world, treating them with his own hands, not hesitating to touch them with love, until finally he became a leper himself and died from the disease.

With his life, and the celebrity that came his way, he put leprosy on the map. His contribution has been important in generating the energy needed to conquer the disease and eradicate it—a battle that still has not been entirely won. Above all, it showed something universal, something essential in Christianity: namely, that in love for the poorest, lived as self-giving until death, lies a road to salvation. Neither Islam nor Buddhism produces this kind of saint.

As we prepare to elect our 50th Grand Master next month, let us remember the origins of our noble Order and ask the intercession of the Apostle of the Lepers.

St Damien of Molokai pray for us and for the Order of St Lazarus.

The Order and the battle of Lepanto

2010-10-07T19:45:00.008+01:00

Today is the Feast of Our Lady of the Rosary, formerly the Feast of Our Lady of Victory.

In 1571 Pope St. Pius V instituted "Our Lady of Victory" as an annual feast to commemorate the victory of Lepanto. The victory was attributed to the Blessed Virgin Mary, as a rosary procession had been offered on that day in St. Peter's Square in Rome for the success of the battle.

The Battle of Lepanto took place on 7 October 1571 when a fleet of the Holy League, a coalition of Spain (including its territories of Naples, Sicily and Sardinia), the Republic of Venice, the Papacy, the Republic of Genoa, the Duchy of Savoy, the Knights Hospitaller and others, decisively defeated the main fleet of the Ottoman Empire.

The five-hour battle was fought at the northern edge of the Gulf of Patras, off western Greece, where the Ottoman forces sailing westwards from their naval station in Lepanto met the Holy League forces, which had come from Messina. Victory gave the Holy League temporary control over the Mediterranean, protected Rome from invasion, and prevented the Ottomans from advancing further into Europe. Lepanto was the last major naval battle fought almost entirely between oar-powered galleys, and has been assigned great symbolic importance since then.

This is of interest to us because among the armada of the Holy League was a squadron of galley ships of the Military and Hospitaller Order of St Lazarus of Jerusalem. The picture below shows a Galley ship (in the middle) flying the standard of the Order of St. Lazarus at the Battle of Lepanto in a detail from a painting “Madonna della Flotta” by A. Riccio which is in the Malta Maritime Museum.

As an Order of Christian chivalry we can be proud of the defence of Christendom which has been, and remains the aim of our noble Order.It was around this time that the Order adopted the motto ATAVIS ET ARMIS, still in use by the Order today.

New Members

2010-10-07T17:34:00.018+01:00

Last weekend we had the joyful, and gracefilled, opportunity to welcome two new confreres into the Order. It was an honour for all the members to have the Grand Master Emeritus, HRH Charles-Philippe d'Orléans, Duc d'Anjou, preside over the service of Investiture.

Confrere Matthew Jackson BLJ

Matthew has been an esquire of the Order for several years. Among his many services for the Commandery, Matthew has been acting as the Secretary to the Commandery Council since 2008. He has also in the past helped to strengthen our International relations within the Order by representing the Great British Commandery on the OSLJ Pilgrimage to Lourdes in 2009 - in partnership with French Esquires and Demoiselles from the Commandery of Orléans. Having now "come of age" he has adopted the mantle as a Brother of the Order.

Confrere William Hackett BLJ

For some time now William has been actively suporting the charitable work of the Order by his tireless fundraising in Scotland. As a respected companion of the Commandery we are now delighted to welcome him to our ranks.

Both Confreres will be a great asset to the Order as we move forward in the coming years.

ATAVIS ET ARMIS

October Investiture 2010

2010-10-05T09:14:00.004+01:00

This has been a difficult year for the Order of St Lazarus. Internal tensions within the former Grand Magistery have resulted in many good members breaking away from the Temporal Protection of the Royal House of France to form their own Green Cross Organisation. This has been a cause of great sadness to us all and we must continue to pray that this rift can be healed and our noble Order made whole again.

In the light of recent events, many members of the Commandery of Great Britain arrived in Oxford last weekend for the investiture of postulants unsure of the way forward for the Order in the UK.

However, the weekend was wonderfully productive and helped to solidify the direction in which the Commandery wishes to go. We are hugely grateful for the continuing support of the Grand Master Emeritus HRH Charles-Philippe d'Orléans, Duke of Anjou, who came to Oxford to perform the Investiture ceremonies. His inspiration and his genuine friendship have greatly enlivened our Commandery and were a timely reminder of the true values of the Order.

The Grand Master Emeritus reminded us that the Order of St Lazarus is not a social grouping, or an excuse to dress-up and wear medals, but is rather a noble Order of Christian Chivalry – we seek to build up the Kingdom of God through our charitable work. We seek to support one another in our efforts to live the Beatitudes. We seek to bring Christ to the world. As always, these values were expressed in our prayerful liturgies. The Vigil took place in the Church of St. Thomas the Martyr and the Investiture was held in the Oxford Oratory Church of St. Aloyosius. These occasions are a powerful reminder to all members of the duty “to embrace the values of chivalry and to participate in corporal works of mercy” which are the foundation of the Order. In our recent troubles this duty has often been overlooked. This weekend members have resolved to move beyond the unpleasantness of the past few months and the whole Commandery recommitted itself to the Order and it’s aims.

The presence of Prince Charles-Philippe was also a physical reminder of our strong relationship with the Royal House of France. It is of vital importance that the Order remains under the Temporal Protection of the Royal House of France. This historical link with our past is necessary to preserve the unity of the Order. Indeed, it is this Protection, first granted in 1308 by King Philippe IV, lost in 1830, and graciously restored in 2004 by HRH the Count of Paris: “guaranteeing as we do, in terms both of the law and of tradition, the authentic and unique character of this ancient Institution.” Without this Protection we would be but one among many groups styling themselves ‘the Order of St. Lazarus’. The Commandery of Great Britain has no wish to separate itself from “the authentic” and “unique” “ancient Institution.”

Following our Investiture weekend the Commandery of Great Britain could not be in better spirits. We are truly united under the inspiring leadership of the Baron of Fetternear. We are steadfast in our commitment to remain under the Temporal Protection of the Royal House of France, and are immensely proud of our deep friendship with the Grand Master Emeritus HRH Charles-Philippe d'Orléans, Duke of Anjou.

Most members of the Commandery will be travelling to the Chapter General, to be held in Orléans on 19-21 November 2010 when the 50th Grand Master will be appointed and installed. As with all international gatherings, it will be a time to strengthen the bonds of unity within the Order. Truly, the future looks very bright indeed for the Commandery of Great Britain and the whole Order as we enter a new chapter in the glorious history of the Military and Hospitaller Order of St. Lazarus of Jerusalem.

The Way Forward

2010-07-19T14:20:00.005+01:00

I am pleased to inform you that on Saturday 17 July the Council of the Commandery of Great Britain met to discuss, in the light of recent events, the way forward for the Order in the UK. This was a very productive meeting which helped to solidify the direction that the Commandery wishes to go. From it we made the final preparations for the October investiture - to take place in Oxford. These also included discussion about our continuing support for the Grand Master Emeritus HRH Charles-Philippe d'Orléans, Duke of Anjou . At the request of the council, he has agreed to travel to Oxford in October to perform the Investiture ceremonies.

With this in mind the council also considered new projects for the Commandery to undertake in the comming year, namely supporting charities in the UK and adopting an international charity to support. further information will be forthcoming.

All members are invited also to the Chapter General, which will be held in Orléans on 19-21 November 2010. Here the 50th Grand Master will be appointed and installed. Again, as with all international gatherings, it will be a time to mix business and pleasure.

Chapter Meeting and Charity Dinner 2010

2010-05-10T11:54:00.002+01:00

The Chancellor and the Council of the Commandery of Great Britain ask all Members to attend the annual Chapter Meeting on the 5 June 2010 at 4.00 p.m. in the Church of St. Margaret Lothbury, City of London. It is important that you (individually and collectively) contribute to the life of the Commandery. After which the Commandery will be holding a Charity Dinner at 8 pm, in the President's Room at the Royal Air Force Club.

The dinner will be in aid of the Burkina Faso Project, one of the Order's most important charities. All confrères and consoeurs are bidden to attend and are encouraged to bring guests. This enables the Commandery to not only increase its charitable donation but it also brings the Order to the notice of a wider audience, which could lead to increasing our membership.

If you are unable to attend the Dinner, you are urged to make a donation to the Burkina Faso Project. Please download and complete the dinner application and reply proforma, which can be found by following the link.

Burkina Faso Project

2010-05-05T10:11:00.007+01:00

Burkina Faso is one of the poorest countries in the world and suffers from an ineffective governmental infra structure. It is a landlocked West African country, north of Ghana and formerly known as the Republic of Upper Volta. There are no valuable and natural resources to be exploited in the country and 90% of the population work in some form of agriculture and cattle raising. But agricultural activity is constantly threatened by drought. This is exacerbated by the scarcity of agricultural land, (18% of the total territory), which is situated mainly in the south of the country, creating an increasing burden of poverty. Closely linked with these problems is a progressive degradation of the climate, growing desertification of the scarce productive land. Frequent droughts and the increasing population migration from the country to the cities further complicate these difficulties.

Moreover, there is a continuing severe epidemic of measles in the country, mainly amongst children under 5 years old, and malaria is endemic. These major economic, climatic and health problems are made worse by a lack of basic sanitation, poor environmental and personal hygiene, dysfunctional management systems, illiteracy, ignorance and a lack of community participation in managing health problems.

The Order of St Lazarus’s involvement in providing positive and sustainable aid to Burkina Faso was inspired by Cavalieri Giovanni Ferrara GCLJ, Grand Prior of Italy, after seeing a TV documentary on the country. An aid project was subsequently developed by the Italian Grand Priory’s National Hospitaller Dr Nella Bucciero, as a joint Italian and French venture

The aims of the Order of St Lazarus Burkina Faso Project are the construction of a health centre with diagnostic equipment, a dispensary, a section for general surgery, in-patient care and first aid, together with a school of nursing. It is hoped to complete the project by 2012. At the same time, the project also identifies a need to educate the population into a healthy culture of hygiene.

Northwest members

2010-04-14T21:46:00.001+01:00

Members of the Order from the Northwest met again this week to discuss fundraising events for the future. A good deal of enthusiasm came from the direction of our younger members with proposals both to raise funds in innovative ways and to raise the profile of the good work the Order does for those in need. We want to draw on the wealth of different talents and areas of expertise that we have between us to put into action the task of reaching out to help those Our Lord singled out as blessed in the Beatitudes. We asked that God's grace give fruit to our endeavours and look forward to enjoying the companionship of all the members at the General Chapter on 5 June 2010.

Local Meetings

2010-02-22T11:15:00.002Z

After Stations of the Cross on the first Thursday in Lent there was an informal gathering at the parish of St Catherine Labouré in Leyland, Lancashire of members from the Northwest of England and with the presence of the Grand Secretary. After a light supper there was enthusiastic discussion of how we might together and individually raise some extra funds for the many good causes that the Order supports, most especially Bluebell Wood Children's Hospice and our international project of providing the basic resource of water for those who suffer so much from its lack in so many places in the world. The suggestions of how we might get together and raise the profile of what we do were many and varied, to say the least, and we agreed to some definite projects that we hope wil bear fruit in due course. May God bless those endevours with fruitfulness.

Rev. S. Henry SChLJ

Evora

2009-06-15T18:39:00.009+01:00

Basking under the warm glow of the Iberian sunshine, the General Chapter met in the historic setting of Évora in the Alentejo region of Portugal in the beautiful Cadaval Palace - the ancestral home of the dukes of Cadaval and home now to the Grand Master and his most charming and gracious wife, Princess Diana Álvares Pereira de Melo, Duchess of Cadaval and Duchess of Anjou.

While the sunshine warmed our corporeal presence, the companionship of the members warmed our hearts and souls as we broke bread with friends both new and old in the pretty Patio of the Palace as well as the grand setting of the marquee for the final dinner.

At Mass in the romantic 13th century Cathedral, presided over with great aplomb by His Eminence Laszló Cardinal Paskai, twenty six candidates processed with the members through the streets and made their solemn promise to commit themselves to the Order and its great work of Charity throughout the world. Our Grand Master, HRH Prince Charles-Philippe d’Orléans, Duc d’Anjou, made this work of Charity the centre-piece of his message for the week, encouraging all members to give themselves wholeheartedly and without stint to that noble cause. He reminded us that every member must play an active part for we are not simply members of an exclusive club but rather Christians who are called to the noble work of Charity within the Order and so no-one can leave that work to others.

The more prosaic and yet necessary work of meetings to organise and promote how the Order goes about that great work of Charity were also part of the week as were the excellent workshops on the nature and functioning of the Order - its history and spirituality.

Fr Simon Henry, SChLJ

Chaplain General

Blessed Saint George's Day

2009-04-23T09:44:00.005+01:00

St George is usually depicted killing a dragon to prevent a maiden being sacrificed. After killing the dragon he then held forth with a magnificent sermon, and converted the locals for Christ. He was given a large reward by the king, which he distributed it to the poor before riding away. Popularily the dragon stands for wickedness and the maiden stands for God's holy truth. St. George was a brave martyr who was victorious over the devil.

He was a soldier in the army of the Roman Emperor Diocletian, a pagan and a bitter enemy to the Christians. He put to death every Christian he could find. George was a real soldier of Christ. Without fear, he went to the Emperor and sternly scolded him for attacking Christians. He gave up his position in the Roman army, and was tortured before being beheaded.

So boldly daring and so cheerful was St. George in declaring his Faith and in dying for it that Christians felt courage when they heard about it. Many songs and poems were written about this martyr. Soldiers, especially, have always been devoted to him. Because of his chivalrous act, dependence on faith and largesse to the poor, devotion to Saint George became popular in the Europe throughout the 10th century. A shrine built for his relics at Lydda, Palestine was a popular point of pilgrimage for centuries.

Faithful servant of Godand invincible martyr, Saint George; favoured by God with the gift of faith, and inflamed with an ardent love of Christ, thou didst fight valiantly against the dragon of pride, falsehood, and deceit. Neither pain nor torture, sword nor death could part thee from the love of Christ. I fervently implore theefor the sake of this love to help me by thy intercession to overcome the temptations that surround me, and to bear bravely the trials that oppress me, so that I may patiently carry the cross which is placed upon me; and let neither distress nor difficulties separate me from the love of Our Lord Jesus Christ. Valiant champion of the Faith, assist me in the combat against evil, that I may win the crown promised to them that persevere unto the end. Amen.

Happy Easter - The Unity of Christian belief

2009-04-19T16:17:00.004+01:00

Easter is not based on a myth, a theory or a fairy tale, but rather on the very real historical event of Christ's death and resurrection, says Benedict XVI. The Pope said this during the Easter message he delivered from St. Peter's balcony before he imparted his blessing "urbi et orbi". He began with the question: "What is there after death?" The message of Easter is that "death does not have the last word, because Life will be victorious at the end." "This certainty of ours is based not on simple human reasoning," the Pontiff continued, "but on a historical fact of faith: Jesus Christ, crucified and buried, is risen with his glorified body."He continued: "Ever since the dawn of Easter, a new Spring of hope has filled the world; from that day forward our resurrection has begun, because Easter does not simply signal a moment in history, but the beginning of a new condition."Jesus is risen not because his memory remains alive in the hearts of his disciples, but because he himself lives in us, and in him we can already savor the joy of eternal life."The Holy Father affirmed that the Resurrection "is not a theory, but a historical reality": "It is neither a myth nor a dream, it is not a vision or a utopia, it is not a fairy tale, but it is a singular and unrepeatable event: Jesus of Nazareth, son of Mary, who at dusk on Friday was taken down from the Cross and buried, has victoriously left the tomb."

Light in darkness

"The proclamation of the Lord’s resurrection lightens up the dark regions of the world in which we live," Benedict XVI reflected. "I am referring particularly to materialism and nihilism, to a vision of the world that is unable to move beyond what is scientifically verifiable, and retreats cheerlessly into a sense of emptiness which is thought to be the definitive destiny of human life.""It is a fact," he continued, "that if Christ had not risen, the 'emptiness' would be set to prevail. If we take away Christ and his resurrection, there is no escape for man, and every one of his hopes remains an illusion."The Pope said Easter Sunday is the day when "the proclamation of the Lord’s resurrection vigorously bursts forth," and it is the answer to the question put forth in the Book of Ecclesiastes: "Is there a thing of which it is said, 'See, this is new?’" On this day, he said, Christians answer "yes": "On Easter morning, everything was renewed. " The Pontiff lamented, however, that in the world today "there still remain very many, in fact too many signs of [death's] former dominion."

Helpers needed

"Even if through Easter, Christ has destroyed the root of evil, he still wants the assistance of men and women in every time and place who help him to affirm his victory using his own weapons: the weapons of justice and truth, mercy, forgiveness and love," he said."The Holy Father said that this was his message he carried to Africa last month during his visit to Cameroon and Angola, and the message he wishes to carry to the Holy Land in May."Africa suffers disproportionately from the cruel and unending conflicts, often forgotten, that are causing so much bloodshed and destruction in several of her nations, and from the growing number of her sons and daughters who fall prey to hunger, poverty and disease," he said. And in the Holy Land, he said, "reconciliation -- difficult, but indispensable -- is a precondition for a future of overall security and peaceful coexistence, and it can only be achieved through renewed, persevering and sincere efforts to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.""My thoughts move outward from the Holy Land to neighboring countries, to the Middle East, to the whole world," Benedict XVI continued. "At a time of world food shortage, of financial turmoil, of old and new forms of poverty, of disturbing climate change, of violence and deprivation which force many to leave their homelands in search of a less precarious form of existence, of the ever-present threat of terrorism, of growing fears over the future, it is urgent to rediscover grounds for hope."Let no one draw back from this peaceful battle that has been launched by Christ’s resurrection."He added, "Christ is looking for men and women who will help him to affirm his victory using his own weapons: the weapons of justice and truth, mercy, forgiveness and love."

(source: Zenit, VATICAN CITY, APRIL 12, 2009)

Commandery Charity Support Project

2009-04-18T00:26:00.007+01:00

After months of research and discussion the Commandery Council has decided that the first Charity to recieve our support will be Bluebell Wood Children's Hospice. The Hospice provides a 'community palliative care service' for children and their families in South Yorkshire, North East Derbyshire, North Nottinghamshire and parts of North Lincolnshire. Whilst the annual costs of running the Hospice are high, OSLJ will provide funding for specific events/equipment/projects - such as funding the annual 'Siblings' Day Out'.

Bluebell Woods provides care for over 200 children and families suffering from life limiting and life threatening conditions. The 8 children's rooms and 7 family rooms allow the Hospice to provide specialist care - from sensory, music and hydrotherapy. As well as the 'hospice at home service' which allows the care team to go into children's homes to provide one to one care or appropriate support. For more information see http://www.bluebellwood.org/

Confraternally Yours,

Baron of Fetternear

Chancellor

AD MULTOS ANNOS Pope Benedict XVI

2009-04-16T12:23:00.004+01:00

Today is the 82nd birth anniversary of Pope Benedict XVI. Born Joseph Alois Ratzinger on April 16, 1927, in Bavaria, Germany. His father was a policeman, and his mother was the daughter of artisans from Rimsting. Joseph was born on a Holy Saturday and was baptized the same day during the Easter Vigil.

In 1939 he entered minor seminary in Traunstein. Life in the seminary at that time was not that easy, especially because of the harsh treatment they all received during the Nazi regime. Although he was opposed to the Nazis, he and the others were forced to join the German anti-aircraft troops. Soon after the war ended in 1945, he reentered the seminary along with his brother Georg, finally being ordained priests on the Solemnity of Saints Peter and Paul – June 29, 1951.

Two years after his ordination, Joseph earned his doctorate in theology at the University of Munich. He began teaching theology at the University of Bonn in 1959 with his inaugural lecture, “The God of Faith and the God of Philosophy.’’ This teaching stint paved the way for his distinguished career as professor of theology in several theological schools in Germany. He became widely known as a theologian in and out of his country. During the Second Vatican Council, at the age of 35, he was appointed chief theological advisor of Cardinal Joseph Frings, then Archbishop of Cologne.

Pope Paul VI appointed him Archbishop of Munich and Freising on March 25, 1977. He was made cardinal on June 27, 1977. Pope John Paul II designated Cardinal Ratzinger in 1981 as the Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, President of the Pontifical Commission, and President of the International Theological Commission. He was elected Supreme Pontiff of the Catholic Church on April 19, 2005.

We pray for Pope Benedict XVI on his 82nd Birth Anniversary. We thank the Lord for giving him to us as father, teacher, and guide on our journey of Faith. Provided with a strong example of Christian Charity and devotion, working together as fellow Christians we must fulfill our mission of proclaiming faith, hope, and love with sincere devotion and with utmost self-giving.

A national hero of Portugal will be canonized on April 26 in Rome by Pope Benedict XVI.

2009-04-16T09:35:00.018+01:00

On April 26 in St. Peter’s Square, Pope Benedict XVI will canonize a Portuguese national hero who toward the end of his life became a Carmelite monk and served the poor, Nuno de Santa Maria Àlvares Pereira, O. Carm. (1360-1431), the Condestável (“Constable,” meaning General) known in Portugal as “the Father of the Nation.”

In the April issue of Inside the Vatican, the Portuguese woman whose blind eye was healed after praying to Blessed Nuno, speaks for the first time on her tragic accident and the moment of her healing.

Almost a century ago, Pope Benedict XV beatified Nuno (January 23, 1918), and proposed him as a model for the Catholic soldiers then engaged in combat during World War I. So one Pope Benedict, the 15th, beatified Nuno, and a second, Benedict XVI, will canonize him.

Nuno is considered the founder of the Bragança Royal Family Dynasty of Portugal which ruled from 1640 until 1910. (Nuno’s daughter, Beatriz, married Alfonso, son of John I, whom he helped bring to power, starting the Aviz Dynasty.) The majority of Catholic royal families in Europe and Brazil claim lineage from him, including the recently beatified Charles of Austria, the last Hapsburg Emperor. Queen Isabella of Spain was one of Nuno’s granddaughters.

Nuno even had descendants in the British royal family: Isabella’s daughter (his great-granddaughter) was Catherine of Aragon, the first wife of Henry VIII, and her daughter (his great-great-granddaughter) was Queen Mary Tudor ... Another descendant was Catherine of Bragança, wife of King Charles II (all his children were illegitimate to mistresses) who conversely became a Catholic on his deathbed in 1685.

Blessed Nuno is most highly regarded in his country for masterminding the Battle of Aljubarrota in 1385. There, Portugal, in concert with England, stopped an invasion by Castile. Both allied nations were then in obedience to Pope Urban VI in Rome, whilst Castile and France followed the Antipope of Avignon, Clement VII (1378-1394).

Nuno fought and won many other battles between 1383 and 1411, and, after peace was established with Castile, Nuno participated in the expedition in 1415 to Ceuta in North Africa, an action that was considered the first European missionary effort ... [M]onuments to him are scattered throughout Portugal and in many former Portuguese ... colonies.

He was made the 3rd Count of Ourém in 1383, and his main feudal castle was in Ourém, the county where Fátima is located. He believed prayer, penance and commitment to the poor and needy, to be the true calling of nobility and, following the death of his wife, Nuno entered a Carmelite monastery he had established, taking the religious name Friar Nuno of Saint Mary.

He was renowned for his devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary and is considered the Founder of the Secular Order because the secular Confraternity of Our Lady of Mount Carmel, better known as the Confraternity of the Holy Constable, which he founded in Lisbon to support his work with the poor with contributions from its noble members, eventually evolved into the present Carmelite Third Order. This original Confraternity was re-established last year on November 6 (Nuno’s Feast Day) and hopes to be an active branch of the Secular Order providing funds for work with the poor and homeless of Lisbon in remembrance of Dom Nuno.

When fighting the Castilians, he was renowned for his fairness to his enemies, and three times crossed the border to feed the peoples in the neighboring kingdom during famines, and to provide for the widows and orphans of the war. Pope Pius XII was on the verge of canonizing him by decree in 1940, but was dissuaded by Salazar (the leader of Portugal at the time). Blessed Nuno’s cause then remained at a stalemate. The rediscovery of his original grave site in 1996 in Lisbon by archaeologists proved that he had received a burial suitable for the last great knight of medieval Christendom. John Haffert, co-founder of the Blue Army of Our Lady of Fatima, regarded Nuno as the peacemaker who went to war and the precursor of Fátima, and promoted [sincere] devotion until his death in 2001.

The Blessed Nuno Society (www.blessednuno.org) founded in Ourém Castle by Timothy Heinan and Blue Army Protector Bishop Constantino Luna, OFM, was later headquartered in the Diocese of Duluth, Minnesota (USA) as a Private Association of the Faithful, continuing to promote devotion to Nuno and, by engaging in works of charity on behalf of orphans and the homeless, being faithful to his example. The association administers orphanage projects in Portugal, Mexico and the Carib bean.

The miracle of canonization took place in the Jubilee Year 2000, when a devotee of Blessed Nuno and volunteer at Ourém Castle, Guilhermina de Jesus, was blinded in her left eye as a result of boiling oil splashing on it, when she was frying some fish and chips. After all medical treatment proved unsuccessful, Guilhermina and her family prayed several novenas to Blessed Nuno, and her sight returned in that blinded eye inexplicably. On July 3, 2008, alongside a decree of heroic virtue, the Holy Father approved this healing as a miracle obtained through Blessed Nuno’s intercession.

This will be the first canonization of a Portuguese saint since that of St John de Brito, SJ, Jesuit missionary and martyr, in 1947. As a member of the Carmelites of the Ancient Observance, it will be the first canonization in this branch of the family since that of St Mary Magdalen de’ Pazzi in 1669. The significance of two Popes named Benedict elevating Nuno to the last two stages of sainthood cannot be overstated. St Benedict of Nursia, the founder of Christian monasticism, from time immemorial has been considered the Father of Christian Europe, and so often Pope Benedict has lamented the continent departing from its Christian roots. The canonization of Nuno is a call to the whole of Europe to rediscover its soul, by imitating a man whose Catholic faith shone in both his public and private life.

Nuno’s feast day is obligatory among Carmelites of the Ancient Observance on November 6 and optional among the Discalced Carmelites on April 1, who have also a Portuguese cause impending, that of Fatima seer, Sister Lucia dos Santos, whose family had a great devotion to the Condestável. Having been a Prior of the Hospitaller Order of Saint John (Order of Malta) and Commander of the Minor Religious Military Orders under the observance of the Cistercians of Alcobaça’s rule, such as Saint Benedict of Aviz and Saint Michael of the Wing, Dom Nuno will also be venerated as a Saint or Protector of these Orders.

His official name will be Saint Friar Dom Nuno de Santa Maria Àlvares Pereira, O.Carm, but for the Portuguese he will always be fondly regarded as the Holy Constable or Beato Nuno.

(source: Andrew Rabel of "Inside the Vatican" Magazine)

Fr Simon Henry, SchLJ

Chaplain General

The Italian Earthquake

2009-04-14T11:04:00.009+01:00

Confreres and Consoeurs,

You will all be aware of the terrible tragedy which struck l’Aquila in Italy, on 6th April. According to the Italian Red Cross at least 260 people are dead, 1,000 injured and 30 missing. The earthquake has left around 28,000 people homeless in the city, which has a population of 70,000.

Whilst the immediate relief work has been finished, there will be much to do in caring for the physically, emotionally and psychologically injured over the coming months. It is also critical that these people, many of whom have lost everything, get shelter, food and water.

Whilst a number of appeals have already been raised, should you feel called to provide financial assistance to the victims of this terrible disaster, then you may care to make a donation via the Commandery of Great Britain. Our Order already has an international relief team working in the l’Aquila area, and any funds which we are able to raise will be gratefully received by the Order in Italy to help them in the challenge which lies ahead. This will not be over quickly for them.

I do feel that this is a very worthwhile cause, not only in assisting those who are injured, distraught or homeless, but also in supporting our brothers and sisters in the Order who are working hard in difficult and trying circumstances. It is always comforting to know that, although others cannot be there to help in person, they are at least able to assist in whatever way is possible. I am sure that we will all remember both the victims and aid workers in our prayer.

If you do feel able to help, then please make your cheques payable to “OSLJ – Commandery of Great Britain”, and forward them to me at my address. I will acknowledge all donations, and thank you in advance for your compassion and generocity.

With confraternal best wishes,

Dr Nigel Wilson KLJ

Hospitaller

Grand Master's Easter Message

2009-04-12T11:09:00.003+01:00

For all that have not yeat seen the Message view, http://www.oslj.org/Forum/viewtopic.php?t=317