A look at the current situation of the Order of the Holy Sepulchre in the United States
Investiture ceremony at the Church of Our Lady of the Angels in Los Angeles, California.
It is gratifying to witness the joy of our Members as they celebrate their Annual Meetings and Investitures. Members are happy to be together, renew friendships, and welcome new Members.
After a successful Lieutenants Meeting this past June in Pasadena, California with Lieutenants and spouses from all North America, we are on a path to regain momentum to grow and develop the Order in our Lieutenancies. The theme of the meeting was the Spirituality of the Order as articulated by His Eminence Cardinal Filoni in his book: The House was Filled with the Fragrance of the Perfume: A Spirituality of the Order of the Holy Sepulchre; with a special emphasis on the Eucharist.
During the June Meeting, we spent an entire day on developing Goals and Objectives to renew and grow the Order. These Goals and Objectives are being developed further through ongoing discussion and will be distributed to all North American Members.
Grand Master Cardinal Filoni spoke to us on the importance of Spirituality as Members of the Order and challenged us to enhance our personal sanctification and that of our Members. We also discussed the importance of the Eucharist and ways to restore belief in the True Presence of Our Lord in our respective communities.
The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB), at their regularly scheduled meeting last November, adopted a document entitled, The Mystery of the Eucharist in the Life of the Church; and set in motion a three-year effort to renew appreciation for the True Presence of Our Lord in the Eucharist. This Eucharistic theme has been at the heart of many of this year’s Annual Meetings and Investitures in North America. As believers, Knights and Dames can and will be strong supporters of our Bishops in this three-year effort.
On May 1, 2020, the United States and Canada rededicated our two countries to the Blessed Virgin Mary. Archbishop José Gomez, KC*HS, Archbishop of Los Angeles and the Grand Prior of the USA Western Lieutenancy, as Chairman of the USCCB led the United States Bishops in this rededication. At the same time, the Most Reverend Richard Gagnon, KC*HS, Archbishop of Winnipeg and President of the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops led the Canadian Bishops in this rededication. We pray that with this rededication, Our Lady will watch over and bless our two countries.