Grand Master of the Order of Saint Lazarus (statuted 1910) explained

Grand Master of the Order of Saint Lazarus (statuted 1910) should not be confused with Grand Master of the Order of Saint Lazarus.

The grand master of the Order of Saint Lazarus (statuted 1910) is the leader of a confraternal order claiming legacy and contingency to the medieval Catholic military order known as the Order of Saint Lazarus.

It claims continuity by assertion that during the period from 1814 to 1841, the order was under the direction of a Council of Officers with King Louis XVIII (1814–1824) and King Charles X (1824–1831) as protectors of the order, and was then passed on, evolving into the current list of grand masters.

Council of Officers

The order lost its royal protection in 1831 but, according to some pretensions, continued to function under the direction of the Council of Officers.[1]

Order Name Image Title Date installed Term ended Term of office Comments Notes
Administrator General de Ordres Royaux, Militaires et Hospitaliers de Notre-Dame du Mont-Carmel et de Saint-Lazare de Jérusalem Réunis 1814 1824
President of the Council of Officers de Ordres Royaux, Militaires et Hospitaliers de Notre-Dame du Mont-Carmel et de Saint-Lazare de Jérusalem Réunis 1824 1831 Members of the Council of Officers (1831-1841): Father Picot, Comte Vincent Vienot de Vaublanc, Baron de Silvestre.
Members of the Council of Officers de Ordres Royaux, Militaires et Hospitaliers de Notre-Dame du Mont-Carmel et de Saint-Lazare de Jérusalem Réunis 1831 1841 Members of the Council of Officers: Father Picot, Comte Vincent Vienot de Vaublanc, Baron de Silvestre.

Modern Order of Saint Lazarus

The period following the loss of Temporal Protection of the French Royal Family in 1831 until 1910 is controversial. Some claim that the order did not survive, whereas some claim the period is at best shrouded in mystery since no contemporary documentation seems to have survived.

Modern tradition of the Order of Saint Lazarus (statuted 1910) maintains that, after 1841, the Melkite Greek Catholic Patriarchs assumed the leadership of the order, as Hospitaller Nobles of St. Lazarus.[2]

Order Name Image Title Date installed Term ended Term of office Comments Notes
Administrator General of the Order of the Hospitallers of Saint Lazarus 1841 1855
1856 1864
1864 1898
1898 1902
1902 1910
Protector of the Military and Hospitaller Order of Saint Lazarus of Jerusalem 1910 1916 In 1910, new statutes were promulgated whereby the management was assumed by the Council of Officers, while the Melkite Patriarch assumed the position of Protector. In 1935, a new Grand Master was appointed. [3]
1919 1925
1925 1935

Duke of Seville (jure uxoris)
Grand Master of the Military and Hospitaller Order of Saint Lazarus of Jerusalem 1935 1952 Grand Bailiff of Spain, nominated as Lieutenant General of the Grand Magistry in 1930, then elected as Grand Master in 1935.
1956 1967 Son and Coadjutor of Francisco de Borbón y de la Torre. Nominated as Lieutenant General of the Grand Magistry, then elected as Grand Master in 1956.

Duke of Nemours, First Prince of the Blood of France
1967 1970 Also served as Bailiff of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta.
In 1969, internal strife split the Order into two fractions: the Malta Obedience and the Paris Obedience.
Each had its own separate administrators and Grand Masters.

Malta obedience

Order Name Image Title Date installed Term ended Term of office Comments Notes
1973 1995 Also served as Bailiff of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta.
1996 2008 Son of Francisco de Borbón y Borbón; appointed Grand Master Emeritus in 2008.

Paris obedience

Order Name Image Title Date installed Term ended Term of office Comments Notes
Pierre de Cossé,
1969 1986 Previously served as Administrator General (1956–1969).

13th Duke of Brissac
1986 2006 Son of Pierre de Cossé; appointed Grand Master Emeritus.
In 2004, strife within the Paris Obedience led to a further split that was to assume the name of the Orleáns Obedience.
In 2008, the old Malta and Paris Obediences reunited under a new Grand Master, with the previous Grand Masters being appointed emeriti.
The Melkite Patriarch Gregory III Laham remained the Spiritual Protector of the Order until he was succeeded by Patriarch Youssef Absi.

Malta-Paris obedience (reunification of the former Malta and Paris obediences)

Order Name Image Title Date installed Term ended Term of office Comments Notes

Marqués de Almazán (jure uxoris)
Grand Master of the Military and Hospitaller Order of Saint Lazarus of Jerusalem 2008 2017 He took the solemn oath in Manchester Cathedral, England. [4] [5]
2018 Son of Francisco de Borbón y Escasany; elected and installed as Grand Master in Madrid on May 5, 2018. [6]

Orléans obedience (since 2004)

Order Name Image Title Date installed Term ended Term of office Comments Notes
,
Duke of Anjou
2004 2010 Re-established the temporal protection of the Head of the Royal House of France. Now Grand Master Emeritus. [7]
2010 2023 Resigned, now Grand Master Emeritus.
Prince,
Count of Dreux
2023 Incumbent Installed as Grand Master at Maredsous Abbey in Belgium on September 16, 2023.

External links

Notes and References

  1. Almanach Royale for 1830.
  2. Book: Patriarch Gregory III Laham, H.B. . Declaration on the Ninth Centenary of the Royal Recognition of the Order St. Lazarus of Jerusalem . Kevelaer, Germany . 27 May 2012 .
  3. de Jandriac . Les chevaliers Hospitaliers de Saint Lazare de Jerusalem et de Notre Dame de la Merci . Rivista Araldica . French . November 1913 . XI . 11 . 679–683 .
  4. Web site: H.E. Don Carlos Gereda de Borbon, Marquis de Almazan, 49th Grand Master . Structure: Persons: Grand Master . . 24 May 2015 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20150512182519/http://www.st-lazarus.net/en/structure/persons/grand-master . 12 May 2015 .
  5. Web site: A Brief History of the Order of Saint Lazarus of Jerusalem . The Military and Hospitaller Order of Saint Lazarus of Jerusalem (Australia) . 24 May 2015 . 10 July 2015 . https://web.archive.org/web/20150710142543/http://www.st-lazarus.org.au/history.html . dead .
  6. Web site: The Military and Hospitaller Order of Saint Lazarus of Jerusalem – Senior International Officers. St-lazarus.net. 1 January 2023.
  7. Web site: Grand Master . The Military and Hospitaller Order of Saint Lazarus of Jerusalem (USA) . 2011 . 4 April 2016 .