On Wednesday 15 January 2025, at the Order’s Basilica of Santa Croce al Flaminio in Rome, the first monthly Mass of the new year was celebrated, which at the same time marked the beginning of the activities in the Holy Year 2025 of the Delegation of Rome and Vatican City of the Sacred Military Constantinian Order of Saint George. In the homily it was recalled that mercy towards the weak, the sick, orphans and widows has been prescribed to the Constantinian Knights and Ladies since the Order’s first statutes and its very first rules, which refer to Saint Basil. In the Bull announcing the Ordinary Jubilee 2025, the Holy Father, Pope Francis, urged us to enter that new life which is offered by the encounter with Christ. The world needs hope, he underlined, indicating several key points, starting from the “first sign of hope” of the Jubilee Year which must translate “into peace for the world, which once again finds itself immersed in the tragedy of war.” Then, there is also hope “for the billions of poor people, who often lack the necessities of life.”
The Eucharistic Celebration was presided over by Father Maurizio Modugno, Constantinian Chaplain of Merit, with Father François Kouao as concelebrant.
In his homily Father Modugno highlighted how the Gospels of Ordinary Time which have just begun show Jesus leaving the Jordan region after the arrest of John the Baptist. He goes to Galilee, on Lake Tiberias, to Capernaum, a trading and fishing town, an important place because it is on the road that goes from Tire and Sidon to Jerusalem. Here He finds the four fishermen, known to the Baptist as his disciples, to whom He will say: “I will make you fishers of men”. And He announces: “The kingdom of God is near, convert and believe in the Gospel.” In the synagogue of Capernaum He frees a man from an impure spirit and then heals the sick: the fight against evil and illness begins. As a guest in the house of Peter and Andrew, He heals Peter’s mother-in-law from the fever, “bending over her”, “taking her by the hand” and making her “get back up” (i.e. resurrected).
Father Modugno reflected on the image of Jesus who, after the crowds and miracles, retreats to pray alone: these are His wonderful conversations with the Father, where He draws divine intimacy and strength for the mission. Prayer is also a strong point in the life of the Constantinian Knight, an essential moment of recharging for the exercise of witness and virtues.
Finally Jesus tells the Apostles that He does not want to stay, but to go throughout Galilee to bring the Gospel: and they leave with Him. Itinerancy, divine nomadism is a hallmark of the believer, from Abraham to Saint Francis. Pilgrimage is also a natural character of the knight, even more so in this Jubilee Year, where everyone must rediscover the Holy Door of their own request for mercy and experience a special time which is an indispensable opportunity for salvation. That of everyone, for which Christ, the Son of God, became Flesh among us.
Among those in attendance at the Mass were: the Delegate, Prof. Giuseppe Schlitzer, Knight Grand Cross of Merit; the Councilors of the Royal Deputation and of the Royal Commission for Italy, H.S.H. Maurizio Ferrante Gonzaga di Vescovato, Prince of the Holy Roman Empire, Marquis of Vodice, and H.E. Nob. Lorenzo de Notaristefani, Curator of the Magistral Basilica of Santa Croce al Flaminio, both Knights Grand Cross of Justice; the Treasurer, Nob. Antonio Fioravanti Cinci Agricola, Knight of Jure Sanguinis; the Liaison for Constantinian Education, Prof. Enzo Cantarano, Knight of Merit with Silver Star; the Director of Cultural Activities, Nob. Carlo Alberto Baracchi Tua di Paullo, Knight of Jure Sanguinis with Gold Star; the Liaison for the Castelli Romani Area, Eng. Franco Iacobini, Knight of Jure Sanguinis with Gold Star; Nob. Maurizio Bettoja, Knight of Justice; Attorney Fabio Costa, Knight of Merit with Silver Star; and several postulants and friends of the Constantinian Order.
