Officials at the Vatican headquarters of the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepculchre of Jerusalem welcomed U.S. Archbishop Edwin F. O’Brien as their new pro-grand master. Catholic News Service has details:
Archbishop Giuseppe De Andrea, the assessor of the chivalric organization, placed a gold chain and pendant around Archbishop O’Brien’s neck and told him his new role “is like a chain that ties him to the Holy Land” and to the knightly order of the Holy Sepulcher.
The informal ceremony Sept. 16 took place in the order’s headquarters — a 15th-century palace housing ornate ceilings and rooms decorated with three-dimensional illusions of finely detailed trompe l’oeil.
Archbishop O’Brien thanked everyone present, including the order’s honorary assessor, Cardinal Andrea Cordero Lanza di Montezemolo, for their warm welcome.
The archbishop said that just a month ago he had no idea that he would go from leading the Archdiocese of Baltimore to heading an order made up of nearly 25,000 members around the world. His appointment was announced Aug. 29.
“I am grateful to the Holy Father for his trust in me and hope in the years ahead I will be a help to the Holy See and to the wonderful land where Christ walked,” he said to all those gathered.
Archbishop O’Brien succeeds U.S. Cardinal John P. Foley, who resigned in February due to ill health.
Read more at the CNS link.