Welcome

“You are to be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and throughout Judea, in Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”
~ Acts 1.8

The Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem – Eastern Lieutenancy is an association of Roman Catholic Christian faithful entrusted with an important mission from the Holy Father – to serve as witnesses to the Christian faith and supporters and protectors of the Church and the living Christian communities in the Holy Land.

The Order’s mandate originates from the time of the crusader knights who were responsible for protecting the Christian pilgrims traveling to the sacred sites. Today the Order’s members continue to aid the Church in the Holy Land and to strengthen the practice of Christian life amongst its members.

Easter Message from the Lieutenant

21 April 2025

Dear knights and dames,

Today, Easter Monday, the universal church has lost its good shepherd. In a world overrun with wolves, humankind has lost a voice of reason, compassion, mercy and love. Until his last, Pope Francis implored for justice and lasting peace among peoples.

His “last Urbi et Orbi message on Easter morning appears to us now as the last prophetic cry that Pope Francis made to the church and to the whole world for peace and harmony among peoples,” wrote our grand master, Fernando Cardinal Filoni.

But weep we must not, “for we know the memory of Pope Francis, of his faith and of his pontificate, of what he said and did, survives the sad event of his sudden death.”

How fitting our good shepherd has returned to his Father, and ours, as we begin our Easter celebrations.

The evangelist’s description of that first Easter is striking in its simplicity, evoking a rush of emotion as Jesus gently calls Mary by her name, her sudden recognition of the Lord, her embrace, and his response, “touch me not,” noting his ascension “to my God and your God.”

Holy Week summarizes and brings to life the core belief of our Catholic faith: Through the passion, death, resurrection and ascension of Jesus, humanity is redeemed, saved by the sacrifice of God himself through Jesus Christ.

For God so loved the world he gave his only son, so everyone who believes in him might not perish, but might have eternal life.
(John 3:16)

As knights and dames, we are like the silent gardener in John’s account of the resurrection, tending the empty tomb of Jesus, keeping it accessible for the faithful, near and far, who come to venerate what its emptiness symbolizes: The triumph of light and love over darkness and death.

Christ is Risen, Alleluia!

As men and women committed to the triumph of the empty tomb, may we remain always vigilant and constant in upholding our core belief as disciples of Jesus in thought, word, prayerful charity and deed. And as we tend to the needs of all the peoples who hold dear the Holy Land, let us remember to “dream, then, as a single human family, as fellow travelers sharing the same flesh, as children of the same earth that is our common home,” wrote Pope Francis in Fratelli Tutti, “each of us bringing the richness of his or her beliefs and convictions, each of us with his or her own voice, brother and sisters, all.”

Deus lo vult!

Michael J. La Civita, K.G.C.H.S.

Lieutenant, Eastern Lieutenancy, U.S.A.