'Information Afternoon'

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

The Grand Priory of Great Britain

wishes the Grand Master

a very Happy Birthday.

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St Tropez Bravade

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

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.

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!

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.

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

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

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!

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.

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Island of San Lazzaro degli Armeni, Venice

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

The Grand Priory of Great Britain

wishes Prince Charles-Philippe d'Orleans

a very Happy Birthday.

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