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The Order of the Knighthood of Saint Gregory the Great was instituted on 1st September, 1831 by Pope Gregory XVI as a sign of great reverent affection towards his predecessor, Pope (Saint) Gregory I (the Great) to confer awards of value and distinction, of honour and testimonials of praise to such persons, whose merit were well-known to the public and also to the Roman Pontiff.
The instrument establishing the Order reserves to the Roman Pontiff and his successors the right to create as Knights those known to all to recommend themselves for various reasons to be so honoured. Providently an d wisely, the Roman Pontiff decided to assign and confer this most note-worthy honour, the highest testimonial of honour, for distinguished talents and services.
Although in 1831, Four Classes with the number of Knight of Saint Gregory the Great was instituted, on May 30, 1934 this was reduced to Three Classes with the number of Knights of the Three classes fixed as follows.
Knights of the Grand Cross-First- Not to exceed 30
Knights Commander – Second Class-Not to exceed 70.
Knights of St. Gregory The Great – Third CI – Not to exceed 300
The numbers were however established for those within the Papal State and to add to each Class worthy persons residing outside the Papal State.
The First Secretary of the Order or the Grand Chancellor was the Cardinal of the Holy Roman Church, the Secretary of the Briefs, who is responsible for registering the names, the degrees, the dates of admission and the number of Knights.
The Order is governed by such laws provided by the Holy See, for the two divisions, namely Civil and Military. The particular distinction of the Order is a Cross with eight points, wrought on gold in octazonal form and in red enamel on the surface, in the middle of which, on a small plaque, is finely engraved the image of the Great Saint Gregory in the centre, attached to a ribbon of red silk with yellow edges, worn on the left chest of the uniform.
The uniform is dark green with a long tail, notched border of silver colour which runs along the entire length of the uniform and around the cuff and pockets, nine buttons on the jacket (breast) and three small buttons on the sleeves. The tails are decorated between the pockets with two large buttons and two oak leaf clusters, in silver colour, under each of the two pockets there are smaller buttons.
The Black plush hat has a double band of black silk placed transverse on both sides with another which goes along the edges, a small silver tansel on the points and is decorated on top with black feathers, with the Papal cords fitted on a button. The buttons all silver bear the image of the Cross of the Order.
The sword held up by a silver coloured belt, has on the hilt the Cross of the Order. The handle is of pearl, with decoration of gold and a cord with gold tassel; the sheath of black leather with a cartouche and a golden point. The Cross of the Knights of the Order is to be worn in the middle of the left side of the breast with silk ribbon bearing the colour of the Order.
Pope Gregory I was dedicated to God from his youth, fostered by the holiness of his mother Sylvia. He received excellent education in law and entered the Civil Service and became Prefect of the City of Rome in 570 and presided over the Roman Senate.
After the death of his father, Gordian, he decided to become a monk. In 575 he turned his family house into Monastery dedicated to St. Andrew and provided for the founding of six monasteries on his family property in Sicily.
In 579, Gregory was sent to Constantinople as the Papal Representative at Byzantine Court where he lived a Monastic life with the Monks he had brought with him. Here he delivered series of Conferences on the Book of Job which were later developed into his largest work, the Moralia. He was called into Rome in 586 and served as Councellor to Pope Pelagius II.
In 589, an overflow of the Tiber brought a terrible epidemic during which Pelagius died in January 590. Gregory elected as his successor by popular acclaim. Gregory dedicated himself to the people who were dying rapidly in the epidemic. He organised a three-day penitential procession to the Basilica of the Blessed Mother. He admonished each Rector to care for the poor and to provide relief for the needy in their distress. The Papal treasury was used to ransom captives and restore them to their families.
For the liturgy, he handed down under his name the Gregorian Sacramentary’ and in the Mass itself ordered the Kyrie Eleison and the Christe Eleison to be sung alternately by the Glory and Laity; decreed the Alleluia be used throughout the entire year except on penitential days; limited Deacons to the singing of the Gospel. He decided that the ‘Pastor Noster,’ the Lord’s Prayer, should be said over the Body and Blood of the Lord. Finally, many of the prayer texts in use today stem from Gregory, for example the Christmas Preface, the Oration for Epiphany and the Preface for Easter.
As the Servants of God, he taught that the Apostolic See is the head of all the Churches and that there was no Bishop who was not subject to the See of Rome, although the Churches had their own accepted territories of jurisdiction.
Gregory stands out as the proclaimer of the Christian message. In a special way, he was the expounder of the Christian way of life, reaching to the heights of mysticism and contemplation. Gregory’s textbook was the Bible and many of his writings are scriptural homilies on the Gospel delivered in 590-591; the twenty-two homilies on Ezechiel 593.
The Book of Morals, Gregory’s longest work is an exposition on the Book of Job, which grew to thirty-five books, is a Summa or Storehouse of Dogma, moral, asceticism and mysticism. It deals with the totality of Christians doctrine from God, the Creator to God the Redeemer. In the ‘Pastoral Care’, written in the first months of his Pontificate in four books, delivered into; the type of person and proper motives for pastoral office; the virtues required in a pastor; the manner of preaching to different types of people; the need for examination of conscience.
In 593-595, Gregory wrote “The Four Books of Dialogues on the Life and Miracles of the Saints, and the Immortality of Souls’. His Fourth Book treats death, purgatory, heaven and hell. The fourteen books of ‘Gregory’s Letters’ are a source of information for his Pontificate. The letters reveal Gregory as capable administrator and throws light on his accomplishments and failures, his talents and limitations; they portray the Sixth Century Roman who became the Saintly man of God.
To the Middle Ages, he was the mouthpiece of the Christian way of life and was a first class authority on moral ascetic and mystical theology. He was officially named among the ‘Great Doctors of the Church’ by Pope Boniface VII in 1298.
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