September 30, 2013
THE INTERNATIONAL COMMISSION & ASSOCIATION ON NOBILITY
UNDER THE PATRONAGE OF H.R.H. CROWN PRINCE LEKA II OF THE ALBANIANS
Pontifical Orders and Titles of Nobility
Pontifical decorations are the titles of nobility, orders of Christian knighthood and other marks of
honour and distinction which the papal court confers upon men of unblemished character who have
in any way promoted the interests of society, the Church, and the Holy See. The titles range all the
way from prince to baron inclusive, and are bestowed by the pope as temporal sovereign. The title
ordinarily conferred is that of count prefixed to the family name, which title is either merely personal
or transferable by right of primogeniture in the male line. Bishops assistant at the throne are de jure
Roman counts. There is another title which is usually called Count Palatine, but the true designation
is Count of the Sacred Palace of Lateran, which is attached to many offices in the papal court. The
papal orders of knighthood, ranking according to their importance and dignity, are:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
Supreme Order of Christ;
Order of Pius IX;
Order of St. Gregory the Great;
Order of St. Sylvester;
Order of the Golden Militia, also called of the Golden Spur;
Order of The Holy Sepulchre (semi-official note of the Cardinal Chancellor of Equestrian
Orders, "Osservatore Romano", 12 Feb., 1905).
Pius X decreed that the Orders of Christ and the Golden Militia should have
only one, the other four orders, three grades or classes ("Multum ad
excitandos"; 7 Feb., 1905); that occasionally, but very rarely, in matters of
special importance and by special papal permission, a commander eminently
distinguished might be allowed to wear the badge (smaller size than that of the
first class) on the left breast. According to critical historians, these orders do
not antedate the Crusades. After the Crusades, the kings of Europe founded
and placed under the protection of the Blessed Virgin Mary, or the Saints,
orders of chivalry. Of these, some were intended to protect their kingdoms
from the incursions of the infidel, and were in reality religious military orders;
others were designed as a desirable and honorable recompense for eminent
services to king and country. The lavish and indiscriminate creation of knights of the latter orders led
in course of time to a loss of prestige and desire on the part of men of eminent merits to be knighted.
The Roman pontiffs, in their dual capacity of spiritual and temporal rulers, founded, approved or
remodeled and restored to their pristine glory, the six papal orders afore-mentioned.