The Western Sicily Delegation of the Sacred Military Constantinian Order of Saint George celebrated, Monday, June 29, 2026, on the feast of Saints Peter and Paul the Apostle, a solemn Holy Mass in the Church of Santa Maria in Valverde in Palermo, on the occasion of the name day of the Grand Master, HRH Prince Pedro of Bourbon Two Sicilies, Duke of Calabria, Count of Caserta, Head of the Real House of the Two Sicilies.
The Baroque church provided a splendid setting for an intense and participatory afternoon, which saw Knights, Dames and Postulants from all Sections of the Delegation converge on the Sicilian capital, braving the Sicilian heat, gathered in the spirit of Constantinian fraternity and devotion to HRH the Grand Master.
The church, built in 1633 to a design by Mariano Smiriglio, was originally attached to a convent founded around the 12th century and repeatedly altered until 1905, when it was demolished to build a school. The building features two entrances: the first to the main facade, rebuilt in the 19th century; the second an elegant Baroque stone portal, characterized by a refined design and topped by a tympanum with a complex composition created through a harmonious play of volutes. Beside the secondary facade rises a 18th-century stone bell tower, formed by three stacked orders with an elegant architectural design. Inside, a rectangular nave with a semicircular apse, boasts rich decorations of mixed marbles and stuccoes by Paolo Amato, creating a harmonious and festive ensemble of volutes, garlands, draperies, putti and angels. Also noteworthy are the frescoes in the presbytery by Olivio Sozzi, depicting The Glory of the Virgin, and those on the vault by Antonio Grano, with some biblical scenes.
The solemn Eucharistic Celebration was presided over by the Rector of the Diocesan Sanctuary of Saint Michael the Archangel in Licata, Father Roberto Toni, O. Carm., Chaplain of Merit, who in his homily offered a reflection on the figures of Saints Peter and Paul, presented as two men very different from each other, but united by the transformative experience of meeting Christ.
Father Toni first recalled Peter’s journey, marked by fragility and falls, but also by a love that Jesus never ceased to cultivate. “The Lord,” he underscored, “continues to love even when He finds wounds, fears and betrayals. Precisely this merciful love makes Peter capable of rising again and becoming, after the gift of the Holy Spirit, a new man, courageous even to face the risk of death to proclaim the Gospel.”
He then turned to the figure of Paul, initially a persecutor of the Church and eager to assert himself in the religious world of his time. On the road to Damascus, however, his encounter with Christ radically changes his life. He recalled with particular intensity the Gospel words: “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?” observing how Jesus calls him by the name his mother would have used for him, a sign of a personal and tender vocation. The core of the homily was finally entrusted to an invitation to listen: listening to the Word of God, to the Holy Spirit, to others, and to the circumstances through which the Lord continues to speak. “Peter and Paul,” Father Toni concluded, “teach that the true strength of the Christian comes from the willingness to let oneself be guided by God and to place oneself at His service.”
During the Mass a special prayer was offered, entrusting to the Lord the person of HRH the Grand Master, the Royal House of the Two Sicilies, and the entire Constantinian family. The presence of the Knights and Dames added further solemnity to the liturgy, making visible the bond of fidelity and communion that unites the Delegation of Western Sicily to HRH the Grand Master.
The end of the Holy Mass featured remarks by the Delegate for Western Sicily, Nob. Prof. Salvatore Bordonali, Knight Grand Cross of Justice, who conveyed heartfelt thanks to the participants and to the celebrant. “Celebrating the Grand Master’s name day on the feast of Saints Peter and Paul,” the Delegate stated, “has a particularly deep significance. Peter and Paul are pillars of the Church and witnesses of a faith lived to the point of total self-giving. We too, as Knights and Dames of the Sacred Military Constantinian Order of Saint George, are called to safeguard and witness the Christian values of charity, service, fraternity, and fidelity to the Church. I thank all who participated in this day, a concrete sign of the unity of our Delegation around the Grand Master and the spiritual mission of the Order.”
The evening then continued at the Palermo Officers’ Circle, where Knights, Dames, and Postulants gathered for a convivial moment, as is customary, in a climate of genuine fraternity. The initiative was made possible thanks to the coordination between the Delegation’s Organizing Secretary, Rocco Sardisco, Knight of Merit with Silver Star; the Circle’s Director, Lieutenant Colonel Fabio Liuzzo; and the Vice Delegate, Carlo Varvaro, Knight of Jure Sanguinis, who oversaw the organization of the event.
The dinner was thus held in a spirit of cordiality and unity among the different territorial groups of the Western Sicily Delegation, giving participants the chance to share experiences, projects, and moments of friendship in the name of Christian values and the Order’s spirit.
The occasion represented an important moment of spiritual communion for the Western Sicily Delegation of the Sacred Military Constantinian Order of Saint George. In the spirit of Saints Peter and Paul, the Sicilian Constantinian family renewed its commitment to living faith, fraternity, and service, safeguarding that Christian and knightly tradition that continues to embody the heart of the Order’s mission.
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