The Secretariat of State, led by Cardinal Pietro Parolin, restated the Holy See’s position on chivalric orders.
“In addition to its own chivalric orders (the Supreme Order of Christ, the Order of the Golden Spur, the Pian Order/Order of Pope Pius IX, the Order of Saint Gregory the Great, and the Order of Saint Sylvester the Pope), the Holy See recognizes and protects only the Sovereign Military Order of Malta (that is, the Sovereign Military Hospitaller Order of Saint John of Jerusalem, of Rhodes and of Malta) and the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulcher of Jerusalem,” the Secretariat stated on October 10.
“To prevent the continuation of abuses that ultimately harm many people acting in good faith, the Holy See reaffirms that it attaches no value to knighthood diplomas and related insignia issued by unrecognized organizations and does not consider the use of churches and chapels for so-called ‘investiture ceremonies’ to be appropriate,” the statement added.