The Knights and Ladies of St. Gregory the Great were honored with a Mass of appreciation and thanksgiving Sept. 6 at St. Joseph’s Chapel in the Archdiocesan Pastoral Center.
Auxiliary Bishop Michael Boulette was the celebrant, the lector was Dr. Walter Duncan, and Albert Guzman prayed the intercessions.
The Knights and Ladies of St. Gregory the Great were honored with a Mass of appreciation and thanksgiving Sept. 6 at St. Joseph’s Chapel in the Archdiocesan Pastoral Center.
The Pontifical Equestrian Order of St. Gregory the Great was established on Sept. 1, 1831, by Pope Gregory XVI, seven months following his election. The Order of St. Gregory inaugural brief states, in part, that “gentlemen of proven loyalty to the Holy See who, by reason of their nobility of birth and the renown of their deeds or the degree of their munificence, are deemed worthy to be honored by a public expression of esteem on the part of the Holy See.” They must progressively maintain, by continued meritorious deed, the reputation and trust they had already inspired, and prove themselves worthy of the honor that had been conferred on them, by unswerving fidelity to God and to the sovereign pontiff.
Many of the attendees were displaying the Knights Commander Cross of the Order of St. Gregory the Great. An eight-pointed cross, the insignia of the order, bears a representation of St. Gregory on the obverse and on the reverse the motto Pro Deo et Principe – For God and Prince.