On Friday 22 October, the Knights of the Delegation of Emilia Romagna gathered in Palazzo Galli to commemorate the historic event when the Grand Magistry of the Order passed from the noble and imperial Comneno Family to the Farnese Family. With the bull “Sincerae Fidei” of 24 October 1699, Pope Innocent XII ratified the passing of the Grand Magistry to the Duke of Piacenza and Parma Francesco Farnese. This was a very important historical event for the Constantinian Order and for Piacenza, which experienced a significant moment in the Order’s history at that time. In 2017, the Knights of Piacenza of the Constantinian Order ordered the restoration of the bust of Prince Comneno to commemorate this event, which had been recovered from a municipal warehouse and has been in Palazzo Farnese (Civic Museum) ever since.
The Grand Magistry remained in the Farnese family until its extinction, passing to the Bourbons through Elisabeth Farnese, the last of the Farnese Family, as wife of Philip V of Spain and mother of the infant Father Charles of Bourbon.
The Constantinian Order is committed to eminently social activities, assistance and charitable work, without neglecting the spirituality of the Knights and Dames.
At the end of the evening, the Regional Delegate Corrado Sforza Fogliani, Commander of Grace, awarded diplomas to the new Constantinian Knights, some of whom had come from Ferrara for the occasion.
The archpriest of the Orthodox Church, Father Grigore Catan, received the decoration of the Royal Order of Francis I for his pastoral activities that he has been carrying out for years with dedication in the Orthodox community in Piacenza. In the Oratory of San Dalmazio, the Holy Mass was celebrated by Monsignor Arnaldo Morandi, Knight Grand Officer of Ecclesiastical Grace, Secretary General of the Office of the Grand Prior, and concelebrated with the Vice Prior Father Stefano Antonelli, due to the absence of Prior Monsignor Gianni Ambrosio. Monsignor Morandi then read the message from His Most Reverend Eminence Cardinal Renato Raffaele Martino addressed to the Knights and Dames of the Delegation.