On the occasion of the Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross, His Eminence the Most Reverend Cardinal Semeraro, Grand Prior, drafted a message directed to all the Knights and Dames.
Here is the complete message sent by the Grand Prior.
On the occasion of the Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross, His Eminence the Most Reverend Cardinal Semeraro, Grand Prior, drafted a message directed to all the Knights and Dames.
Here is the complete message sent by the Grand Prior.
On June 27, H.R.H. Prince Charles of Bourbon Two Sicilies, Duke of Castro, together with H.R.H. Princess Camilla of Bourbon Two Sicilies, Duchess of Castro and her daughters, Princess Maria Carolina, Duchess of Calabria and Princess Maria Chiara, Duchess of Noto, went to the Parliament Palace in Budapest, where they met László Kövér, President of the Parliament, who guided them throughout the visit. The delegation stopped in front of the Holy Crown of Saint Stephen, which dates back to about 1,000 years ago.
In the evening they attended a gala dinner at the Former Carmelite Monastery, upon the invitation of Deputy Prime Minister Zsolt Semjén. The dinner was attended by Kristóf Szalay-Bobrovniczky, Minister of Defence, H.I.R.H. Eduard Habsburg, Ambassador of Hungary to the Holy See, and Emese Semjén. On this occasion Minister Kristóf Szalay-Bobrovniczky was decorated with the insignia of Grand Officer of the Constantinian Order of Saint George by H.R.H. the Head of the Royal House.
The following day, after visiting the Greek-Catholic Church of Saint Michael the Archangel in Máriapócs, the most important Marian shrine of the faithful of the Byzantine rite, H.R.H. the Duke of Castro, the Deputy Prime Minister Zsolt Semjén, the Undersecretary of State Miklós Soltész, Mr. Lajos Győri-Dani, Executive Vice President of the Order of Malta’s Hungarian Charitable Service, Greek Catholic Bishop Ábel Szocska, Metropolitan Fülöp Kocsis, Latin Catholic Bishop Antal Majnek and the Ambassador Eduard Habsburg have delivered humanitarian aid to support the thousands of refugees forced to live in disastrous conditions that reach the border between Ukraine and Hungary. After that, a lunch was held that H.R.H. Prince Charles of Bourbon Two Sicilies had together with Deputy Prime Minister Zsolt Semjén.
H.R.H. the Grand Master met His Eminence Cardinal Péter Erdő, Archbishop of Esztergom-Budapest and Primate of Hungary, Deputy Prime Minister Zsolt Semjén and Eduard Habsburg, Ambassador of Hungary to the Holy See. During the meeting, they discussed about a series of diplomatic issues as well as about the current religious situation in Hungary.
Finally, on June 29, H.E. Katalin Novák, President of the Republic of Hungary, received in her residence the Royal Family. During the long meeting various issues were discussed between the two delegations, including the topic related to “the family”, having been the President herself the ex Minister of that department. Then the Grand Master gave the diploma of Dame Grand Cross of the Royal Order of Francis I to her.
Later that day, H.R.H. the Duke of Castro went to Pannonhalma, where, welcomed by the Archabbot, Mons. Cirill Hortobágyi and the Benedictine monk Konrád Dejcsics, visited the library of the Benedictine Order, containing over 400,000 books, including some very rare codes and religious works unique in the world.
H.R.H. Princess Beatrix of Bourbon Two Sicilies, Grand Prefect, handed over to H.E. Mons. Salvatore Romeo, the Grand Cross of Ecclesiastical Grace. Immediately after, the Princess went to the canteen of S. Corrado where she was welcomed by Sister Teresa of the Little Friars of Jesus and Mary. Here a quantity of principals of the project “Briciole di Salute” was donated.
On Friday, June 16, H.R.H. the Grand Prefect was received by H.E. Mons. Gualtiero Isacchi, Archbishop of Monreale and Knight Grand Cross of Ecclesiastical Grace. The meeting was attended by the Vice Delegate of Sicily. The Princess and the Archbishop discussed the economic situation of many families and how to help them by strengthening the project “Briciole di Salute”.
On Friday 16 June, Princess Beatrix visited the ancient Benedictine pharmacy, recently restored, during the visit to the Benedictine Abbey of S. Martino delle Scale.
Thursday June 15, H.R.H. Princess Beatrix visited the Constantinian Basilica of the Mansion.
On friday June 16, H.R.H. Princess Beatrix delivered some principals of the Project “Briciole di Salute” to the Abbot of the Abbey Father Vittorio Rizzone. Milk, homogenized and diapers of different sizes will help children of needy families assisted by the Benedictine Caritas.
On 23 June, within the pediatric department of the Umberto I hospital in Enna, the presentation of the new project “Briciole di Cultura” was held, towards the community and weaker groups by the Sicily delegation.
H.R.H. Princess Beatrix of Bourbon of the Two Sicilies is the godmother of the project.
The project “Briciole di Cultura” aims to convey to children the pleasure of immersing themselves in reading.
On 22 June, during the visit of H.R.H. the Grand Prefect to Pietraperzia, a meeting with the local authorities took place.
Solemn investitures in Acireale, Saturday June 24, at the Cathedral of St. Sebastian.
HRH Princess Maria Carolina of Bourbon Two Sicilies celebrated her 20th birthday in Nola during the renowned Festival of the Lilies (Festa dei Gigli).
As you go back to Southern Italy, not only can you feel the people’s affection and their great culture, but also the high religiosity of the places and the relevance of the traditions. What’s more, the “Festa dei Gigli” holds very important craft values.
In the picture, you can see the Royal Family of Bourbon Two Sicilies with Dr. Carlo Buonauro, Mayor of Nola and Dr. Francesco De Falco, President of “Festa dei Gigli” Foundation.
On June 24th, HRH Prince Charles of Bourbon Two Sicilies, together with HRH Princess Maria Carolina and the Mayor of the city of Portici, inaugurated an extraordinary ceremony where the main Square located in the Royal Palace of Portici was named after his ancestor, King Charles of Bourbon.
Through this gesture the city of Portici expressed its deep gratitude to King Charles of Bourbon for his incomparable historical and cultural contribution.
Special thanks go to the Mayor of the city of Portici, Hon. Dr. Vincenzo Cuomo and the Rector, Prof. Matteo Lorito, for warmly welcoming them.