If you go out in the evening to Rome, it may happen, from time to time, to attend ceremonies that have all the flavor of the past.
Yesterday, towards the 17.00, I was passing near the MAXXI (National Museum of the XXI Century Arts, ed), in via Guido Reni. Opposite, on the other side of the road, it was in progress Videogame exhibition. A little further on, however, towards the Via Flaminia, there is the "Basilica of Santa Croce in Via Flaminia". It is of the latter that I speak to you.
My wife and I entered the church to see what works of art contained and, suddenly, we were projected into the past ... immersed in an atmosphere of other times!
To the right of the central nave, in the chapel dedicated to Saint George, a special ceremony took place in which some knights of the Sacred Military Constantinian Order of Saint George took part.
Documenting myself, I discovered that the Royal Deputation of the Spanish branch of the Knightly Order is located in the Basilica.
The priest and the Knights celebrated Mass, a particular function, during which the Knights of the Order were remembered and the Knight's prayer was read:
"Lord Jesus, who have deigned to let me participate in the Militia of the Constantinian Knights of Saint George, I humbly beg you, through the intercession of the Blessed Virgin of Pompeii, Queen of Victories, of the valiant St. George the Martyr, Your glorious Knight, and of all the Saints , to help me remain faithful to the traditions of our Order, practicing and defending the Holy Catholic, Apostolic, Roman Religion against the onslaught of impiety. It becomes for me an armor of faith and a shield of good will, a sure defense against the dangers of my enemies, as visible as they are invisible. I pray you that I may have the grace to exercise Charity towards others and especially towards the poor and those persecuted because of Justice. Give me finally the virtues necessary to achieve according to the spirit of the Gospel, with disinterested and profoundly Christian spirit, these holy desires for the Greater Glory of God, the Glorification of the Holy Cross and the Propaganda of the Faith, for the Peace of the World and the good of Constantinian Order of Saint George. Amen."
During the mass, attended by very few curious people, a parchment was delivered to one of the Knights, who knows for what work of merit.
During the return home, with my wife we asked ourselves what was the task of the Knightly Order at its birth and what the current task is, in modern society.
The first question is simple to answer, information can be found on the internet and the official website of the Order explains that "the Sacred Military Constantinian Order of San Giorgio is an Equestrian Order whose origins, traditionally, are traced back to the Emperor Constantine, after the appearance of the Cross to Saxa Rubra, and is therefore considered one of the oldest orders of chivalry. The propagation of the Faith and the glorification of the Cross is proposed and gives its contribution of action and activity in the works of social and hospital assistance."
On the site it is said that the oldest known document, related to the Constantinian Knights, dates back to 1190 and is the statute reformed by the Emperor of the East Isaac IV Angelo Flavio Comneno.
The Grand Magisterium passed from father to son in the Comnenian dynasty until the last of them, then passed to the Duke of Parma Francesco Farnese. In 1718 Pope Clement XI, with the bull "Militantis Ecclesiae", placed the Order under the protection of the Holy See. The supreme dignity of the Order then passed to the Bourbons. Since then the Royal family has retained the Grand Magisterium.
From the 14 December of the 1900 due to disputes within the Bourbon house on the succession, the order also separated into two branches, the Franco-Neapolitan and the Hispano-Neapolitan ones. The current Grand Master of the Hispano-Neapolitan branch is SAR don Pedro of Bourbon of the Two Sicilies, Duke of Calabria, while for the Franco-Neapolitan branch is Prince Charles of Bourbon of the Two Sicilies, Duke of Castro.
This, in short, the past history, but I could not find the answer to the second question: what is the task, the service, that an ancient chivalric order like this can make today to society?
