The Importance of Continuity in Charitable Action

The Cardinal Grand Master often reminds us that the Order of the Holy Sepulchre is not an “honorific order” that rewards acquired merits; instead, it is a “contributive order”, which stems from a commitment voluntarily undertaken by those who are part of it.

The assistance provided by the Order to the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem is distinguished by its continuity. This is a very important aspect that we must never forget. Charitable assistance is effective when it is sustained and not limited to sporadic interventions. Episodic aid, though motivated by good intentions and generous in nature, is by its very nature inadequate to address the deeper causes of hardship.

This kind of assistance is akin to offering a glass of water to a parched person in the desert, to whom the help is momentary, but it does not resolve the underlying condition. Continuity transforms assistance from a mere act of benevolence into a genuine strategic instrument. When help is regular and predictable, it fosters a relationship of trust between the giver and the recipient, which is an essential foundation for planning a lasting journey. This long-term approach also encourages deeper mutual understanding and dialogue, while dissolving any distance between the “benefactor” and the “beneficiary”.In addition, continuity enables both parties to identify together the root causes of problems and to set priorities for targeted intervention. The aim of this type assistance is not to create dependency, but rather to promote, over time, the development of elements that strengthen the autonomy and self-esteem of Christians in the Holy Land.

The focus today, in addition to the much-needed emergency relief, is mainly on education and on providing job opportunities, through tools that offer, above all to young people, the chance to regain strength and rise again from the material, moral and psychological depression in which they find themselves as a result of the violence and dispossession they have suffered.

It is therefore important - and the subject of ongoing dialogue with the leadership of the Patriarchate - to reaffirm, in this context, the priority of our Institution, whose voluntary and sustained commitment stems from a mandate of the Pontiffs, which distinguishes it from the actions of those organizations that assist the Holy Land on a sporadic basis.

The Order of the Holy Sepulchre’s statutory commitment to the Patriarchate places it on a level of support that fosters stability and certainty, through a genuine and structured collaboration with the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem. This gives rise to concentrate the Order’s efforts that are capable of offering long-term solutions.

We are grateful to the Patriarch who, at a time such as this, reaffirms and acknowledges - also in his role as Grand Prior of the Order - that the contribution of the Knights and Dames of the Holy Sepulchre offers, not only in its scale but also in its structured continuity, the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem the means to address problems at their root. It seeks to humanize, as far as possible, the relationship between donor and beneficiary, and invests in a systematic long-term programme.

Leonardo Visconti di Modrone
Governor General

(September 2025)