London, 26 April 2013. At the invitation of the Delegation of Great Britain and Ireland, the Grand Prior of the Sacred Military Constantinian Order of St George, Cardinal Renato Raffaele Martino visited London from 25 – 30 April 2013.
His Eminence’s visit commenced with the celebration of Holy Mass to mark the Feast Day of St George, patron saint of the Order. Knights and Dames of the Order entered the Church in formalprocession and were led by Delegate and Vice-Delegates.
The Procession included flag bearers for the delegation national flags, the banner of the Delegation and the Standard of the Royal House.
The Rt Rev Hlib Lonchyna, Eparchial Bishop of the Ukrainian Catholic Eparchy of Holy Family of London and The Rev Father Carmelo Di Giovanni, Parish Priest of the St Peter’s Italian Church were among the concelebrants.
His Eminence Archbishop Athanasius Toma Dawod, Patriarchal Vicar of the Syrian Orthodox Church and The Monk Deacon Reverend Aphram Ozan attended. The Ambassadors and Charge d’affaires of several nations were also in attendance including Albania, Kosovo and Romania.
At the conclusion of mass and by decree of the Order’s Grand Master, HRH The Duke of Castro, Cardinal Martino, assisted by the Order’s Delegate in Great Britain and Ireland HE Mr Anthony Bailey, presided over the annual investiture ceremony of new and promoted knights, dames and medallists within the British and Irish Delegation
Among the newly invested knights and dames of the internationally recognised Catholic dynastic Orders were: HE The Most Rev Brian Udaigwe, Apostolic Nuncio to Benin and Togo and currently Counsellor at the Apostolic Nunciature in London, The Rt Rev Ralph Heskett, Bishop of Gibraltar, The Rt Rev Hlib Lonchyna, Eparchial Bishop of the Ukrainian Catholic Eparchy of Holy Family of London, The Rev Father Carmelo Di Giovanni, Parish Priest of the St Peter’s Italian Church, London, Mr William Jeffcock, HE MrJános Csák, Ambassador of Hungary to the Court of St James’s, The Hon Fabian Picardo, Chief Minister of Gibraltar, Professor Sarah Rogers, and HE Mr Mal Berisha, Ambassador of Albania to the Court of St James’s.
Among the promoted knights and dames of the Constantinian Order:
Field Marshal Lord Guthrie of Craigiebank, Vice Delegate for Scotland for the Constantinian Order, HE The Most Rev Luigi Barbarito, Apostolic Nuncio Emeritus to the Court of St James’s, HE Frà John Dunlap, member of the Sovereign Council of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta and Cyril Woods of Slane.
His Grace The Duke of Abercorn, in recognition of his contribution to the peace process in Ireland and to charitable endeavour received the Gold Benemerenti Medal of the Constantinian Order.
During the evening, the Delegate for Great Britain and Ireland hosted a black tie candlelit dinner at the historic Armourers’ Hall in London to celebrate St George’s Day and to celebrate the presence in Britain of Grand Prior Cardinal Martino.
An Opening Prayer was delivered by the Prior of the British and Irish Delegation, His Eminence Cormac, Cardinal Murphy-O’Connor, Archbishop Emeritus of Westminster.
Mr Bailey delivered a welcome address which included an overview of the activities of the British and Irish Delegation during the past year. The Delegate also spoke of 2013 being a year of great celebration for the Constantinian for it marked the1700th anniversary of Emperor Constantine’s Edict of Milan of 313AD, the 50th anniversary of the Constantinian Order recognition by the President and Government of the Italian Republic and the 40thbirthday of our Grand Master.
The Delegate on behalf of the Delegation Council welcomed the ten new knights, dames and medallists and congratulated the four promoted members.
The Grand Prior of the Constantinian Order also addressed those present. Cardinal Martino gave a thought provoking speech on our new Pope Francis and offered some interesting insights into his long career as President of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace and President of the Pontifical Council for the Pastoral Care of Migrants and Itinerants of the Vatican City State.
The Guest Speaker was Field Marshal Lord Guthrie of Craigiebank, Vice-Delegate for Scotland.
The Loyal Toast to The Queen was proposed by The Duke of Abercorn, KG. The Toast to The President of Ireland was proposed by Professor Richard Conroy. Frà John Dunlap proposed the Toast to the Holy Father and Mr Nadhmi Auchi proposed the Toast to other Sovereigns and Heads of State represented at the dinner.
The evening came to an end with an concluding prayer offered by The Rt Rev Hlib Lonchyna, Eparchial Bishop of the Ukrainian Catholic Eparchy of Holy Family of London.