In the wake of the Christian witness and socio-charitable commitment that for centuries have animated the Sacred Military Constantinian Order of Saint George, on Sunday, 11 January 2026, at 12:00 noon, representatives from the Calabria Delegation took part in the solemn celebration of the feast of Saint John the Evangelist, at the parish church of Saint John the Baptist in Catanzaro, at the initiative of the Royal Archconfraternity of Saints John the Baptist and the Evangelist of the Knights of Malta ad Honorem.
The Holy Mass, celebrated on a date postponed with respect to the liturgical feast of 27 December, was presided over by His Excellency the Most Reverend Claudio Maniago, Metropolitan Archbishop of Catanzaro-Squillace. Concelebrating were the Parish Priest, Msgr. Salvino Cognetti, Archdiocesan Vicar General and Spiritual Father of the Archconfraternity; Msgr. Mauro Cozzoli, Prefect of the United Churches of the Papal Archbasilica of Saint John Lateran; Msgr. Patrick Valdrini, Canon of the Lateran Chapter; Msgr. Sergio Giuseppe Ciucci, Master of Ceremonies of the Lateran Archbasilica, together with archdiocesan priests who are members of the Sodality.
In his introductory greeting to the Mass, the Prior of the Archconfraternity, Cav. Luigi Merante Critelli, expressed heartfelt gratitude to the ecclesiastical and civil authorities in attendance, with a deferential thought for the Constantinian delegation, united with the sodality by a common vocation of fidelity to the Church, the exercise of Christian charity, and service to the weakest. Recalling the Magisterium of Pope Francis, the Prior emphasized how attention to the “existential peripheries” – the poor, the sick, the suffering – constitutes the privileged place of encounter with Christ, reminding all that every authentic charitable work becomes a concrete bridge toward the Gospel lived.
During his homily, His Excellency the Most Reverend Claudio Maniago addressed a fatherly exhortation to the Confrères, in particular to the newly admitted, recalling the value of humility, service, and silent witness, principles that find full harmony with Christian chivalric spirituality. The confraternal habit – he warned – must never represent an “instrument” aimed at claiming any form of superiority or primacy over one’s neighbor, but must be worn with humility and a spirit of service, with the primary aim of pursuing those Christian values of charity and fraternity proper to the Archconfraternity. Thus, not a sign of worldly distinction, but a public commitment to live Christian charity, fraternity, and fidelity to the Church.
At the end of the celebration, the same Metropolitan Archbishop of Catanzaro-Squillace, the Prefect of Catanzaro, Dr. Castrese De Rosa, and eleven other new Confrères were solemnly received into the Royal Archconfraternity, sealing a moment of intense ecclesial communion.
A Sodality of Ancient Tradition and Direct Lateran Filiality
The Royal Archconfraternity of Saints John the Baptist and the Evangelist of the Knights of Malta ad Honorem of Catanzaro constitutes a reality of absolute uniqueness in the panorama of ecclesial and chivalric institutions, distinguishing itself by its direct filial link to the Basilica of Saint John Lateran, the Archbasilica of the Most Holy Savior and of Saints John the Baptist and the Evangelist in Lateran, Mother and Head of all the Churches of the City and of the World.
In 1457, under the pontificate of Pope Nicholas V and the episcopate of the Bishop of Catanzaro, Palamede, construction began on the church of Saint John the Baptist in Catanzaro, on land belonging to the patrimony of the Apostolic See, configuring from its origins the church as a Lateran subsidiary in Calabria, endowed with special juridical and ecclesial prerogatives.
Already in the first decades a Confraternity composed of members of noble lineage and of proven moral rectitude was operating, governed by a Prior whose authority went beyond the religious sphere, bearing witness to the close connection between lived faith and civic commitment, an element that recalls the most authentic Christian chivalric tradition.
Numerous Supreme Pontiffs granted over the centuries indulgences, privileges, and honors, reaffirming the autonomy of the sodality and its direct dependence on the Apostolic See. Of particular note is the Bull of 28 April 1502 of Pope Alexander VI, which authorized the Archconfraternity to adorn itself with the emblem of the triple tiara and the crossed keys, a visible sign of a special union with the Roman Pontiff. Pope Paul V proclaimed himself “Spiritual Father ad Honorem” of the sodality. A further sign of this filiality is the ancient obligation, instituted in 1688 by Pope Innocent XI, to offer annually a pound of worked wax and a rod of crimson damask, recently restored by the current Prior on the occasion of the Dedication of the Lateran Archbasilica. Moreover, in the past year, the Royal Archconfraternity was received in private audience by Pope Francis.
In 1735, while staying in Catanzaro as a guest of the Marquis De Riso, Prior of the Confraternity, King Charles III, recently ascended to the thrones of Naples and Sicily, recognizing the high spiritual value and the intense charitable activity of the Confraternity – including the foundation and management of the city’s first hospital – conferred upon its members the title of Knights of Malta ad Honorem. This privilege was later confirmed by King Ferdinand I of the Two Sicilies, who conferred upon the sodality a religious-chivalric-noble nature, unique of its kind. A vast archive of documents, despite the depredations of time, still remains to be studied and analyzed. A specially appointed techno-scientific team of historians and paleographers is proceeding to reorder the parchments, deeds, and registers preserved there.
The Church of Saint John the Baptist
A Place of Faith, Charity, and Tradition
The church of Saint John the Baptist, seat of the Royal Archconfraternity of Saints John the Baptist and the Evangelist of the Knights of Malta ad Honorem, was built in the 15th century on the ruins of the Norman-Aragonese castle, partially destroyed during the revolt of the people of Catanzaro against Count Centelles. The stones of the ancient feudal fortress were reused for the construction of the temple, in a symbolic passage from temporal power to the centrality of the sacred and of Christian charity.
As the land was owned by the Holy See, the church was affiliated from its origins with the Basilica of Saint John Lateran. Entrusted to the Archconfraternity on 28 April 1502, the sacred building was enlarged in 1532, becoming over time the fulcrum of the liturgical, charitable, and spiritual life of the City of Catanzaro.
The façade, articulated in three orders, presents a late-16th-century style. In the central niche is placed the marble statue of Saint John the Baptist, attributed to Giandomenico Monterosso and executed in 1625 at confraternal commission. The 17th-century portal is embellished with columns of green marble from Gimigliano, with finely worked Ionic capitals in white marble.
In the rose window stands out the octagonal Maltese cross, a visible reminder of the conferral of the title of Knights of Malta ad Honorem.
The double staircase was built in 1877, following the urban redevelopment of the city, when the street level was lowered and the present Corso Mazzini was opened.
The church became a parish seat in 1834, two years after the earthquake that had destroyed the nearby church of Saint George, consolidating its role as a place of prayer, active charity, and Christian witness.
