2 January 2024 – Letter of thanks from the General Commissioner of the Holy Land to the Constantinian Order’s Delegation of Naples and Campania

The Delegate for Naples and Campania of the Sacred Military Constantinian Order of Saint George, the Nob. Manuel de Goyzueta, of the Marquises of Toverena and Trentenara, Constantinian Knight of Justice, has received a letter of thanks, dated 2 January 2024, from Fra’ Sergio Galdi d’Aragona, OFM, Constantinian Chaplain of Justice, Head Chaplain of the Delegation for Naples and Campania.  He is the General Commissioner of the Holy Land in Naples (Campania, Abruzzo, Molise, Basilicata, Calabria and Puglia), one of the 84 Commissariats present throughout the world belonging to the Custody of the Holy Land, the priory of the Order of Friars Minor.  The text of the letter follows.

“Dear and Noble Manuel,

May the Lord give you His peace.

I would like to express on my part and that of the brothers of the Custody of the Holy Land my heartfelt thanks to you and to all the Knights and Dames of the Delegation of Naples and Campania of the Constantinian Order of Saint George for your generous donation received on December 7, 2023.

These are truly difficult times for the Holy Land and its inhabitants, already hard hit by the Covid-19 pandemic and now plunged back into fear and desperation due to the resurgence of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Unfortunately, we do not know what will happen in this new year and the extent of the repercussions that are already causing so much pain and violence.

The awareness, however, of having noble souls at our side, sensitive, generous and ready to help the most defenceless, such as the Knights of the Constantinian Order, heartens us and allows us to continue our tireless work in the Land of Jesus. Now that the pilgrimages are suspended, only the financial generosity of the faithful from all over the world allows us to guarantee the continuation of the countless activities of the Custody of the Holy Land.

The funds collected by our Commissariat are intended entirely for the works of our brothers for the populations of the Holy Land and for the conservation of the Holy Places.

Assuring our fervent remembrance in prayer for all the members of the Delegation nobly accompanied by you and wishing a fruitful New Year, filled with the peace that only Christ can give, I take this opportunity to confirm myself in the Lord,

Your most devoted,

Fra Sergio Galdi d’Aragona

General Commissioner of the Holy Land,

Chaplain of Justice.”

The donation was delivered by the Delegate to the Chief Chaplain, in his capacity as General Commissioner of the Holy Land, after the final Blessing of the Eucharistic Celebration of the Immaculate Conception presided over by him on 7 December 2023 at the Magistral Chapel in Naples.

In the small but important ceremony of delivery of the sum, the Delegate had specified that it represented the response with enthusiasm and generosity of the Delegation of Naples and Campania to the urgent Appeal for Aid to the Holy Land, launched by the Custos of the Holy Land, Fra’ Francesco Patton, OFM, to the whole world, through the General Commissioner of the Holy Land in Naples, so that all men and women of good will once again become close to the populations of the Holy Land, with a commitment adequate to the enormous needs of the populations living in that tortured land. In recent months, all of humanity has witnessed dramatic events that have profoundly affected the peoples, the lives and existences of the inhabitants of the Holy Land. The land of the Incarnation, the land of the Redemption, has once again fallen into an abyss of desolation.

Taking up the appeal, the Delegate addressed all the brothers and sisters of the Delegation, inviting them to be generous once again in renewing their membership and their closeness to these brothers and sisters who are experiencing such difficult times. We reported about it at the same time indicating how it is possible to contribute, with the bank and postal references of the General Commissariat of the Holy Land to facilitate generous offers, to show solidarity through donations which are directly applied to support the populations so barbarously afflicted.

Together with the sum, with great commitment and generosity collected by the Delegation of Naples and Campania among its most devoted members, who had responded with a spirit of brotherhood to the request in this dramatic period, the Delegate had given Fra’ Sergio Galdi of Aragona a letter, confirming the availability and commitment to support actively the daily efforts of the Custody of the Holy Land in the territories that have seen the redemptive work of Christ and whose population cannot be abandoned to themselves in this crucial moment.