PONTIFICAL EQUESTRIAN ORDERS. — These are the corporations established by the Roman pontiffs for the purpose of rewarding persons deserving of recognition for services rendered to the Church (cf. Pio X, preamble to the brief Multum ad excitandois of 7 February 1905: Acta S. Sedis, 37 [1904–1905], pp. 565–71); they are five, namely:
I. SUPREME ORDER OF CHRIST (MILITIA OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST)
The institution of this pre-eminent pontifical decoration (not to be confused with the “Militia of Christ” founded by s. Domenico) is connected with the suppression of the Order of the Templars, when the rulers of Portugal, Dionysius I and s. Elisabetta, decided in 1318 to replace it in their kingdom with a chivalric Order, under the name of Christ, for defense against the Moors, who were already pressingupon the borders of the Algarve. From Avignon, by the constitution Ad ea, ex quibus of 14 March 1319 (cf. Bullarium Romanum, IV, Rome 1644, pp. 277–84), Giovanni XXII confirmed it and established its rules, which subsequently became those of the Cistercians; he further ordered that the new Militia of Jesus Christ should follow the same observances as the Order of Calatrava, and granted it new possessions in addition to those which «Ordo quondam Templi» possessed in Portugal and the Algarve. The new Order developed, soon extending also into Spain, France, Italy, and Germany.
Eugenio IV subsequently resolved certain jurisdictional disputes, while also limiting by one of his bulls the jurisdiction of the visitors and authorizing the knights to levy tithes in territories conquered from the Muslims; Callisto III also invested the Order with spiritual jurisdiction, together with the right to confer benefices in places dependent upon II. In 1499 Alessandro VI, and subsequently Giulio II, released the knights from their solemn vows, granting them permission to marry. The Order thus lost its original character, becoming a simple chivalric order that recognized the pontiff as its head; in Portugal he was represented by a perpetual administrator in the person of the Portuguese sovereigns themselves, who were therefore required to swear, according to a specific formula, fidelity to the popes and to the Church of Rome. Others, however, maintained the duality of the Order, that is, the coexistence of a pontifical and a Portuguese order, because it is certain that the Order of Christ was conferred both by the pontiffs and by the rulers of Portugal; and while the Portuguese knights were numerous, the pontiffs, on the contrary, granted this decoration only to persons of high rank, which is why the Order has retained that lofty prestige which today makes it the highest pontifical decoration. This pre-eminence over all the other pontifical equestrian Orders was explicitly declared by Pio X in the brief Multum ad excitandois; the Pope further prescribed that the insignia proper to this Order should consist of a red-enamel Latin cross superimposed with a smaller white cross, and should hang from the neck, attached not, as previously, to a red silk ribbon, but to a gold chain made up of alternating shields, one bearing in enamel the cross of the Order, the other the papal coat of arms, joined together by gold knots; at the same time he introduced further modifications to the uniform and the plaque, within which the cross was enclosed by a gold laurel wreath, tied at the bottom with a red-enamel ribbon.
The Supreme Order of Christ has a single class and is reserved for heads of state and sovereign princes; consequently, unlike other supreme Orders, it carries no special noble prerogative. At present, according to the Annuario pontificio for 1951, there are eight recipients of this Order.
II. ORDER OF THE GOLDEN SPUR (GOLDEN MILITIA)
The origin of this Order is uncertain; it was reformed by Gregory XVI (brief Cum hominum mentes of 31 October 1841: Acta Gregorii PP. XVI, III, Rome 1903, pp. 178–80). The Order was always endowed with special privileges, such as the personal title of palatine count for the recipient and hereditary nobility for his descendants, privileges already granted by Pius IV. But, beginning with Paul III in 1539, the privilege of conferring the Order was granted to high dignitaries of the papal court and to certain Roman princely families; this diminished its prestige and resulted in excessive overcrowding of its ranks. Gregory XVI restored its fortunes: in 1841, by the aforementioned brief, he dedicated the Order to St. Sylvester the Pope (who, according to tradition, had consecrated it), while allowing it to retain its ancient name of Golden Militia; he established that it should consist of two classes, one of commanders and the other of knights, and fixed their numbers, for the Papal States, at 150 and 300 respectively; he precisely established its insignia and reserved its conferral exclusively to the Holy See, revoking any delegation made by his predecessors.A substantial modification was finally made to the Order of the Golden Spur by Pius X in the brief of 7 February 1905, whereby it was detached from the Order of St. Sylvester (v. below) and once again constituted a separate Order. Placing it under the patronage of the Immaculate Virgin, Pius X decreed that it should consist of a single class of one hundred knights throughout the Catholic world, and moreover abolished every privilege of nobility previously attached to II.
The Order is conferred upon those who, through arms, writings, and distinguished works, have benefited Catholicism. Its insignia is an octagonal gold cross with yellow enamel and a suspended gold spur, bearing on the obverse a small white plaque with the name of Mary, enclosed in a gold circle, and on the reverse the date MDCCCCV with the motto « Pius X restituit ». This cross is worn suspended from a red ribbon with white edges, around the neck. According to the Annuario pontificio for the year 1951, there are now thirteen recipients of the Order of the Golden Spur.
III. ORDER OF PIUS
Intended to reward individual virtues and merits, this Order was instituted by Pius IX by the brief Romanis Pontificibus of 17 June 1847 (cf. Pii P. M. IX Acta, I, 1, Roma 1854, pp. 43-45); he named it Piano after himself, while at the same time renewing the ancient designation of the Piani knights instituted in 1559 by Pius IV. The Order comprised two categories of recipients, namely knights of the first and second classes: the former enjoyed the privilege of nobility transmissible also to their children, while the latter enjoyed only personal nobility. The insignia of the Order consisted of a gold star divided into eight blue rays, bearing on the obverse a small white plaque at the center, inscribed with the name of the founding pope, Pius IX, surrounded by the motto Virtuti et merito, and on the reverse: Anno MDCCCXLVII.The knights of the first class, who could also, by special authorization, wear the plaque, wore the insignia suspended from the neck, attached to a blue silk ribbon adorned along its edges with a double red stripe, whereas the knights of the second class pinned it to the left side of the chest. In a subsequent brief, Cum hominum mentes, of 17 June 1849, Pius IX confirmed the privileges of nobility attached to this Order, granted all knights of the first class the use of the plaque, and established that, for them, the insignia should no longer be worn suspended from the neck, but supported across the body from the right shoulder by means of a long silk sash. Finally, by a decree of 11 Nov. 1856, In ipso, Pius IX established that the Order should consist of three categories: knights of the first class or grand crosses, knights of the second class or commanders, and knights of the third class; he further established that commanders should wear the insignia suspended from the neck.
Pius X, by the aforementioned brief Multum ad excitando, confirmed the practice adopted by certain commanders of wearing a smaller plaque, thereby creating an intermediate rank, known as that of commanders with plaque. Finally, Pius XII, in order to bring the « Piano » into conformity with the other pontifical Orders, by the brief Litteris suis of 11 Nov. 1939 (cf. AAS, 32 [1940], p. 41), abolished the privilege of hereditary and personal nobility attached respectively to the first two grades of this Order, which nevertheless remains third in importance among the decorations conferred by the pontiffs.
IV. ORDER OF ST GREGORY THE GREAT
In 1831, Gregory XVI wished immediately to demonstrate his gratitude to his subjects, who had remained faithful during the preceding disturbances, by instituting a new chivalric Order, which he dedicated to s. Gregory the Great. The insignia of the Order were established by the brief Quod summis quibusque of 1 September 1831: an octagonal cross worked in gold and covered with red enamel, in the centre of which, as on a small plaque, there was finely chased an image of s. Gregory the Great with the golden dove, surrounded by the inscription S. Gregorius Magnus; on the reverse, against a dark-blue background, was the motto pro Deo et principe, and in a gold circle the inscription Gregorius XVI P. M. Anno I. The Order was divided into four categories, namely, « grand cross » knights of the first and second classes, commanders, and ordinary knights. The « grand cross » knights were to wear the insignia suspended from a broad red silk sash, edged in yellow, worn from the right shoulder to the left hip; they could also adorn their breasts with another, larger cross decorated with rays and gems. Knights of the second class, on the other hand, hung the insignia around the neck and wore the grand cross in the form of a plaque on the breast; commanders likewise wore it suspended around the neck, but without the plaque; ordinary knights wore only a small cross hanging on the left side of the breast. By a subsequent brief of 30 May 1854, Cum amplissima bonorum, Gregory XVI himself reduced the categories to three, so that there were only grand cross knights, commanders, and knights, and established that in the Papal States the first should not exceed 30, the second 70, and the third 300. The Order comprised two classes, a civil and a military one, distinguished respectively by the laurel wreath in green enamel, tied at the bottom by a gold ribbon, and by a trophy of arms in gold, both surmounting the cross. Pius IX provided the recipients with a uniform, and Pius X, in the brief already cited, confirmed the preceding provisions.See ORDINE DI S. SILVESTRO PAPA. — Under this additional title, Gregory XVI revived in 1841 the ancient Order of the Golden Spur (see no. II), which had declined from its former splendor, making it almost a new Order composed of only two classes. Pius X, by the brief Multum ad excitando of 7 February 1905, detached the Order of St. Sylvester from the Golden Militia; it remained divided, like the Pian Order and that of St. Gregory the Great, into three grades: knights grand cross, commanders, and knights. The form of the insignia nevertheless remained the same, except that, for the Order of St. Sylvester Pope, placed last among the papal decorations, it was deprived of the golden spur hanging beneath it; it was also enameled in white and bore in the center, on the obverse, the image, with the name written around it, of Pope St. Sylvester, and on the reverse the papal arms, with the two dates of the Gregorian restoration and the Pian reform, MDCCCXLI-MDCCCCV, stamped in gold within a blue circle.
This insignia is worn by knights grand cross on the left side, supported by a long sash of red and black silk with red borders; by commanders, hanging from a ribbon of the same colors worn around the neck; and by ordinary knights, hanging instead on the left side of the chest. The plaque of the Order, consisting of the cross itself superimposed on the rays of a silver star, is reserved for the first class; a similar one, though of smaller proportions, may nevertheless be granted exceptionally to commanders who have distinguished themselves through particular merits.
The use of papal honors is authorized in Italy by registration of the brief of appointment, carried out upon presentation of the brief itself and a written application by the person concerned (art. 42 of the Concordat and R. D. 10 July 1930, no. 974).
Niccolò Del Re