The Order’s spiritual role under Mussolini’s pressure
Further attempts were made by the then Italian Prime Minister, Benito Mussolini (below) to annex the Constantinian Order and this forced a change in the formal relationship of the Constantinian Order and the Vatican City State.
Under pressure and protest from Mussolini, the Papal appointment of a Cardinal Protector was temporarily suspended following the death in 1924 of Cardinal Ranuzzi de Bianchi.
The Constantinian Order’s standing in canon law remained unchanged, as was the Order’s appellation ‘Sacred’ – a status that was only granted to Orders under the direct or protection of the Apostolic See.
