I was honored to be invited to witness the incredibly beautiful ceremonial rite of vigil and benediction at St David’s Marist Inanda Chapel in Sandton, Johannesburg on 2 and 3 October. This Order traces its sacred origins to the early Christian pilgrimages to the Holy Land in 1113 when it received papal recognition.
Manny De Freitas was bestowed the supreme honour of being invested as a Knight of the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem (EOHSJ). He became 1 of the first 12 Knights and Dames ever to be knighted in the Gauteng province.
Manny says, “Words cannot effectively express my humility and appreciation to the Holy See for finding it fit that I am worthy of this esteemed distinction so rarely conferred. When Pope Francis addressed members of the EOHSJ at the Consulta (the Equestrian Order’s general assembly) in Rome in November 2018, His Holiness said that members of the Order are called to focus our efforts “on the evangelical love of neighbour, so as to bear witness everywhere to the goodness and care with which God loves every person.”
The Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem is one of the oldest surviving orders of knighthood in the Christian world. Its story stretches from the age of crusaders and medieval piety to a modern global charitable institution. The roots of the Order in 1099 lie in one of the most turbulent chapters of medieval history: the Crusades.
This order is the only lay institution of the Vatican specifically tasked with supporting the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem. Membership is by invitation only to practicing Catholic men and women.
What makes the Order remarkable is its ability to survive by transforming from crusader knights to pilgrims, from warriors to benefactors and from a local brotherhood to a global Catholic institution.
Its identity has remained anchored in one important historical and religious place: the victorious empty tomb of Christ in Jerusalem.
The Knights and Dames of the Equestrian Order have much work to do going forward.
As a Knight, I look forward to that challenge.” - Manny De Freitas KHS
