The Cardinal-Grand Master travelled to Hungary at the invitation of Cardinal Péter Erdő, Archbishop of Esztergom-Budapest. The six new members of the Order of the Holy Sepulchre will include Archbishop Alberto Bottari de Castello, the Vatican’s Ambassador to Hungary.

The Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem has fifty-four lieutenancies and 30,000 members in forty countries across the world. The sovereign of the order is the pope, its grand master is a cardinal appointed by the pope and its grand prior is the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem.

The Hungarian Lieutenancy of the Order has 96 members. The mission of the Order is to sustain and develop the ecclesiastic, cultural and social activities and institutions of the Catholic Church in the Holy Land.

According to tradition, the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem was founded by Frankish Duke Godfrey of Bouillon, one of the leaders of the first crusade in the early 12th century, in order to defend the Kingdom of Jerusalem.

The first surviving written evidence of the presence of the Order in Hungary is from 1135. After the change of regime, it was re-established in Hungary in 1991.

Republished with permission of Hungary Matters, MTI’s daily newsletter.