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LIFE OF THE ORDERCHRISTMAS MESSAGE FROM THE GRAND MASTERThis Christmas may be like no other we have experienced. We come to the end of a year when so many have endured so much suffering in so many ways brought on by the Covid 19 pandemic. Let us pray for...
read more CHARITABLE ACTIVITIESChristmas Christmas Carol Concert 2020This week would have been much loved Carol Concert held at St Catherine's Church but sadly, with Covid 19 restrictions, it has not been possible to go ahead with it this year. However, the Octavius C...
read more CHRISTIANITYSOLEMNITY OF THE EPIPHANY OF THE LORD - HOMILY OF POPE FRANCISThe Evangelist Matthew tells us that the Magi, when they came to Bethlehem, “saw the child with Mary his mother, and they fell down and worshiped him” (Mt 2:11). Worshipin...
read more WORLDWIDE ALERTPatriarch Rai: "mysterious explosion" in Beirut. We ask everyone for helpBeirut, the bride of the East, Beirut, the lighthouse of the West, is wounded". It is a "devastated city", reduced to "a scenario of war without war". Thus begins t...
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ORGANIZATION SPIRITUAL PROTECTORThe Military and Hospitaller Order of Saint Lazarus of Jerusalem was founded within the Catholic Church and is, from its origin, a religious community. It is currently composed of chaplains and lay people belonging to different ecclesial communities. Its spiritual vocation is to promote Christian unity.
The legitimacy of the Order of Saint Lazarus had the spiritual guarantee of the Patriarchs of Jerusalem, both Greek and Latin rite, from its origin until 1255 and then it was confirmed by Pope Alexander IV in his Bull given at Naples 11 April 1255, and by successive Popes until the 19th century. This spiritual guarantee was granted by the Greek-Melkite Patriarchs from 1841 until 2005.
Since 2 February 2005 the spiritual protection of the Order has been provided by a high-ranking Catholic prelate solicited by the Grand Magistry. The Spiritual Protector is the guarantor of the spiritual legitimacy of the Order and its relationship with the Catholic Church in an ecumenical spirit.
In succession to His Eminence Cardinal László Paskai, on September the 14th 2012,
His Eminence Cardinal Duka became the highest moral and spiritual authority of the Order accepting the position of Chaplain General, pending the appointment of the next Spiritual Protector. While retaining its characteristic of ecumenism, the Order reasserted with pride and honour its ties with the Catholic Church and rediscovered its historic spiritual protection.
The Spiritual Protector is the guarantor of the spirituality of the Order, its members, its activities and decisions. He ensures the strict monitoring of the ecumenical character of the Order.