The Constantinian Order Today

As a prerogative recognized in international law, a dynastic order of knighthood is vested not in the national territory or the headship of a sovereign state, but in the person of the head of a royal dynasty, and various royal decrees issued between 1734 and 1861 make it clear that the Grand Magistry of the Constantinian Order is inseparable from the Headship of the Royal House of the Two Sicilies. For this reason, the Constantinian Order survived the fall of the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies.

The Order continues to have an excellent working and spiritual relationship with the Apostolic See, recognition from many royal dynasties and governments, and the Sovereign Military Order of Malta. (The Kingdom of the Two Sicilies traditionally enjoyed a close relationship with the Order of Malta, with which it maintained a treaty granting military protection to the island of Malta.)

The Constantinian Order and the Italian Republic
Today, the Constantinian Order is fully recognized by the Italian Republic. Italian citizens can seek official approval to wear the Order’s decorations, and the Republic’s military officers may wear its insignia on uniform. Many senior Italian state officials, ministers and diplomats have been awarded the decoration including among others the Ambassadors of the Italian Republic to numerous European and Middle Eastern states as well as to the Holy See/Vatican City.

In 1973, by Decree of the President of the Republic, Giovanni Leone (right), the National Italian Association of the Knights of the Sacred Military Constantinian Order of St. George was elevated to a non-profit organization. President Leone, who served as the Italian Head of State from 1971-1978, was also invested into the Constantinian Order as a Knight Grand Cross with Gold Star and Collar within the Special Category.

In 1986 His Excellency Professor Francesco Cossiga, President of the Italian Republic from 1985-1992 was decreed and invested by the Grand Master, HRH The Duke of Castro, as a Knight Grand Cross with Gold Star and Collar within the Special Category; a position he held throughout his term as the Italian Head of State. Since leaving office Professor Cossiga is currently no longer a member.

The warm and cordial relationship between the Italian Republic and the Royal House of Bourbon Two Sicilies were further cemented in 1996 when HRH The Duke of Calabria, as Grand Prefect of the Constantinian Order, was invested by decree of His Excellency President Oscar Luigi Scalfaro (above) (President 1992-1999) as a Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Italian Republic. The investiture ceremony was conducted by the Italian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mr. Lamberto Dini. During the formal exchange of honors, HRH The Duke of Calabria, on behalf of his Father, the Grand Master, invested the Foreign Minister as a Knight Grand Cross with Gold Star within the Special Category.

In March 2003 in a ceremony at Palazzo Chigi, the current President of the Council of Ministers (Prime Minister) of the Italian Republic, Silvio Berlusconi, was invested into the Constantinian Order as a Knight Grand Cross with Gold Star and Collar within the Special Category.

The Constantinian Order, the Apostolic See and the Roman Catholic Church
The Order continues to have an excellent working and spiritual relationship with the Apostolic See, which has never ceased to recognize the canonical standing of the Constantinian Order and the Distinguished Royal Order of Saint Januarius. As an independent dynastic Order of Knighthood, the Constantinian Order should not to be confused with the Holy See's own state Orders of Knighthood and of Merit, or those religious orders which belong to, or are under the protection of the Holy See, and therefore formally recognized, namely the Sovereign Military Order of Malta to which it maintains diplomatic relations, or the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre.

Currently over 40 cardinals and archbishops are members of the Constantinian Order and who play a very active role in the spiritual development of the Order. His Holiness the Pope is also represented in the Order through the appointment of a personal Ecclesiastical Counselor.