We publish below the Decree of the President of the Royal Commission for Italy of the Sacred Military Constantinian Order of Saint George, His Excellency Prince Flavio Borghese, of the Princes of Sulmona and Montecompatri, Knight Grand Cross of Justice, signed today on 23 April 2024, the Feast of Saint George the Martyr, Patron of the Constantinian Order and Patron of Reggio Calabria. The Decree establishes the Delegation of Calabria, as the 14th Constantinian delegation in Italy. The Decree also appoints as interim Delegate, His Excellency the Marquis Pierluigi Sanfelice du Bagnoli, Knight Grand Cross of Justice.
Decree of the President of the Royal Commission for Italy
I, DON FLAVIO BORGHESE, OF THE PRINCES OF SULMONA AND MONTECOMPATRI, NOBLE OF ROME, NOBLE OF CORNETO, PATRICIAN OF NAPLES, PATRICIAN OF VENETO AND PATRICIAN OF GENOA, KNIGHT GRAND CROSS OF JUSTICE AND PRESIDENT OF THE ROYAL COMMISSION FOR ITALY OF THE SACRED MILITARY ORDER OF CONSTANTINIAN ST. GEORGE,
TAKING INTO ACCOUNT THE POWERS CONFERRED ON ME BY HRH THE SENIOR DYNAST, PRINCE PEDRO OF THE TWO SICILIES, DUKE OF CALABRIA, COUNT OF CASERTA, HEAD OF THE ROYAL HOUSE OF THE TWO SICILIES AND GRAND MASTER OF THE SACRED MILITARY CONSTANTINIAN ORDER OF SAINT GEORGE AND
THE WISHES AND BENEFICENT FAVOUR ALSO EXPRESSED IN THE RECENT PONTIFICAL MASS OF SAINT GEORGE THE MARTYR BY OUR BELOVED GRAND MASTER, THE ADHERENCE TO THE CONSTANTINIAN MISSION AND INTENSE CHARITABLE AND CULTURAL ACTIVITIES
UNDERTAKEN BY THE BROTHERS AND SISTERS OF CALABRIA UNDER THE ATTENTIVE AUSPICES OF THE EXCELLENT BISHOPS, CHAPLAINS GRAND CROSS AND CHAPLAINS,
HAVING CONSIDERED ALL THIS,
DO HEREBY DECREE
THE ESTABLISHMENT OF THE CALABRIA DELEGATION AND AT THE SAME TIME APPOINTMENT AS INTERIM DELEGATE H.E. THE MARQUIS DON PIERLUIGI SANFELICE DI BAGNOLI, KNIGHT GRAND CROSS OF JUSTICE AND LIEUTENANT FOR SOUTHERN PENINSULAR ITALY
This Decree will take effect today, the day dedicated to the veneration of Saint George, Martyr of Lydia and Patron Saint of Reggio Calabria, and it is ordered that this be published and registered by the Chancellery
Given in Rome, 23 April A.D. 2024
Your affectionate confrère,
Flavio Borghese
President of the Royal Commission for Italy
* * *
In taking up his duties as President of the Royal Commission for Italy about twenty years ago, H.E. Duke Diego de Vargas Machuca immediately set for himself the aim of reorganizing the Delegations in Italy so that, starting from its peripheral bodies, such an ancient and illustrious chivalric institution could be revitalized. Thanks to the constant support of the Royal House and his elevated qualities of mind and heart, he was able to achieve decidedly satisfactory results.
His also wished to establish new Delegations, including that of Calabria, due to the sovereignty over that territory which was historically held by the Heads of the Royal House of the Two Sicilies, currently HRH the Most Serene Prince Pedro of Bourbon-Two Sicilies, Duke of Calabria, Count of Caserta, Grand Master of the Sacred Military Constantinian Order of Saint George.
Before taking formal action in this regard, H.E. Duke Diego de Vargas Machuca authorized the Delegate for Tuscia and Sabina, the Nob. Attorney Roberto Saccarello, Grand Cross Jure Sanguinis with Gold Star, to propose some names of postulants for admission to the Constantinian Order.
The Delegate for Tuscia and Sabina, thanks also to the personal knowledge of some Calabrian prelates, primarily the then Metropolitan Archbishop of Cosenza, His Grace the Most Reverend Salvatore Nunnari, proceeded in recent years to present to His Excellency the President of the Royal Commission for Italy some thirty Postulants, who were then admitted, after appropriate preparation, as Chaplains, Knights and Dames. Among them Archbishop Nunnari himself and the Most Reverend Serafino Parisi, Bishop of Lamezia Terme, appointed Chaplains Grand Cross of Merit.
These choices proved to be happy ones, since the new Calabrian members of the Order proved extremely active through significant charitable and social welfare initiatives.
With the passing of the baton – after the death of H.E. Duke Diego de Vargas Machuca – to H.E. Prince Flavio Borghese, the latter expressed in his first message as President of the Royal Commission for Italy his desire to proceed with the creation of the Delegation of Calabria. In this regard, he entrusted to H.E. the Marquis Pierluigi Sanfelice di Bagnoli, as Lieutenant for Southern Peninsular Italy, the delicate task of realizing this plan and developing it over time.
The Lieutenant took immediate action, promptly visiting the region and enquiring of the Delegate of Tuscia and Sabina for appropriate information on the Calabrian members of the Order and on past activities.
Thus, now that the time has come, H.E. Prince Flavio Borghese, on the occasion of the solemn Pontifical Mass in honour of Saint George the Martyr at the Royal Pontifical Basilica of San Francesco di Paolo in Naples on Saturday 20 April 2024, was able to announce, during breakfast at the Circolo Nazionale dell’ Union in the presence and with the royal assent of HRH the Grand Master, the constitution of the Delegation of Calabria.
On this occasion, the Lieutenant for Peninsular Southern Italy, H.E. the Marquis Pierluigi Sanfelice di Bagnoli expressed his gratitude to HRH the Grand Master and underlined that the Constantinian knights are doing well in Calabria and that they will do even better in times to come.
