Joseph Kelly made a Knight of the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre
16 September, 2021
In a ceremony rich in symbolism and tradition with its origins dating back to 1099, a Mackay teacher from St Patrick’s College was admitted as a Knight of the Equestrian order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem during an investiture Mass at St Stephen’s Cathedral in Brisbane on September 11.
Assistant Principal Religious Education Joseph Kelly was one of four candidates received into the Order following notification of Vatican approval earlier in the year. Mr Kelly said he was invited by the Council of the Queensland Lieutenancy of Australia to become a Knight (for life) of the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre in December last year. “The invitation had to be first approved by the Most Reverend Mark Coleridge, Archbishop of Brisbane and Grand Prior of the Queensland Lieutenancy. It was then sent off to the Cardinal Grand Master of the Order in the Vatican for approval,” Mr Kelly said.
The Order of Christian Chivalry was established in 1099 by Godfrey de Bouillon in Jerusalem and is under the protection of the Holy See. The aims and objectives of the order as expressed by Papal exhortation include practice of the Christian Life in the filial love towards the Papacy and the Church; the conservation and propagation of the Faith in the Holy Land; the protection and upholding in the Holy Places of the sacred, indefeasible rights of the Catholic Church.
A Vigil ceremony held on the Friday evening prior to the investiture Mass included the blessing of robes and insignia, a public proclamation of the Knight’s Promise and the signing of the Promise by the Candidate, the Lieutenant and the Chancellor. During the Investiture Mass, the Decree of Investiture from the Cardinal Grand Master was read out to grant candidates the ability to wear the Order insignia.
The candidates then made their declaration and were invested, being presented with a neck cross, cape, cap and a book of the Gospels.
“it was a memorable day and a very great privilege to have been granted,” Mr Kelly said.
