Pontifical Orders of Knighthood
The Pontifical Orders of Knighthood, in contrast with the other ecclesiastical orders heretofore mentioned, are directly dependent on the Pope and membership in them is bestowed by the Holy See. They are, in decreasing order of rank, the Order of Christ, the Order of the Golden Spur, the Order of Pius, the Order of Saint Gregory the Great, and the Order of Saint Sylvester, Pope.
That of the Order of Christ can with certainty trace its origin back to the age of chivalry; and in all probability that of the Golden Spur. The last three, in their present status, are of more recent date, the Order of Pius and of St. Gregory being founded in the last century, whereas the present order of St. Sylvester was established in the beginning of this century.
All of them are secular orders of merit, even though the ritual of investiture followed by the Order of Christ contains some elements that are reminiscent of the ancient religious order from which it descends.
All matters concerning the bestowal, registration, legislation and description of emblems, badges and uniforms of the pontifical orders are handled by the chancery of the orders of knighthood which functions under the “Secretaria a Brevibus Apostolicis Literis,” a section of the Papal Secretariate of State.
The very exclusive Orders of Christ and of the Golden Spur have only one degree, that of knights. The other three, at present, consist of three degrees or classes of which the second class is subdivided: (1) Grand Cross Knights; (2) Commanders with plaque and Commanders; (3) Knights. The first wear the cross of the respective order hanging from the grand cordon, that is to say a large ribbon in the colors of the respective orders passing from the right shoulder over the breast to the left side of the body. Besides, the members of this class are entitled to the plaque, an ornamental brooch in the form of a radiating star surrounding the emblem of the order to be worn on the chest. The knights commanders wear the cross of the order on a ribbon around the neck; the first degree commanders are entitled to a plaque of minor dimensions; those of the second degree do not enjoy this privilege. The class of the knights wear the cross on a small ribbon pinned on the left chest of the uniform or suit.
To the question why the Papacy bestows these decorations, the answer is given by a Pope who certainly disapproved of any vanity or show but who nevertheless recognized the value of such decorations, namely St. Pius X. In the preamble to the Brief Multum ad excitandos (Feb. 7, 1905)30 in which he reorganized the Orders of Christ, of the Golden Spur and of St. Sylvester, the holy pontiff makes this statement: “Multum ad excitandos ad egregia facinora hominum animos, praemia virtuti reddita valent, quae dum ornant egregios bene de re sacra vel publica meritos viros, ceteros exemplo rapiunt ad idem laudis honorisque spatium decurrendum.” And his predecessor, Pius IX, in the Brief Romanis Pontificibus (June 17, 1847),31 declared that orders of knighthood “are not instituted to encourage vanity and ambition, but solely to reward virtue and outstanding merits.”32