Built in the Norman-Arab style in 1170, the Basilica of the Magione was originally the conventual church of the Cistercian Order in Palermo. When the abbey was ceded to the Teutonic Order by King Henry VI von Hohenstaufen during his brief reign (1194-1197), these knights established their Sicilian preceptory here, remaining until the last years of the fifteenth century. In 1787, King Ferdinando I of the Two Sicilies decreed the basilica and cloister part of the royal demesne, bestowing his exclusive patronage upon it and establishing it as the seat of a special royal commandery of the Sacred Military Constantinian Order of Saint George to be administered by a Prince of the Royal Family. The Constantinian legacy is still much in evidence in the splendid church, where the Cross of the Order appears in relief over a portal, on several wooden stools within the basilica, and in the portrait of a Palermitan cleric which hangs in the vestry. Constantinian investitures are still held here today.

In January 1812, King Ferdinando of Naples and Sicily, Grand Master of the Order, who was in Sicily during the Napoleonic occupation of Naples and the mainland territories of his realm, delegated day-to-day vice regency of the Kingdom of Sicily to his son and heir, Francesco, Duke of Calabria. (3) As Vicar General, or "Prince Vicar," of the Realm, with powers of "alter ego," Prince Francesco exercised most royal prerogatives in his father's name. The first few months of 1812 found the King in residence at the magnificent royal hunting lodge at Ficuzza, some thirty miles from Palermo, often accompanied by numerous British officers and diplomats, while the Duke of Calabria resided nearer the city at the Chinese Villa, set in the Royal Park in the shadow of Mount Pellegrino.

Most patents of nobility, as well as diplomas confirming bestowal of honours, which were issued during this period were, in fact, signed and sealed by the King, who we may readily imagine tending to such matters following hours of hunting the deer, hare, pheasant and wild cats of the rugged Sicilian interior. In April 1812, Francesco, Duke of Calabria, acting on behalf of his father, bestowed the accolade upon several Sicilian noblemen invested as knights of the Constantinian Order.

The investiture of knights of the Distinguished Royal Order of Saint Januarius and the Sacred Military Constantinian Order of Saint George were solemn occasions characterised by religious ceremonies redolent of the Middle Ages. The former had been founded by Ferdinando's father, Carlo, in 1738, as a dynastic institution of the Royal House of Naples and Sicily (the Two Sicilies). The latter was inherited on the basis of Carlo's having been heir to the Farnese dynastic patrimony in Parma. By 1812, royal declarations had firmly established it as an institution of the Royal House of the Two Sicilies, vested in the headship of this dynasty.

Writing in 1832, Raffaele Ruo describes the procedure and protocol of Constantinian investitures conducted in the absence of the Grand Master. In doing so, he describes the investiture that took place on the Feast of Saint George, 23 April 1812. In those times, Saint George's Day was observed with great festivity in Palermo, as the saint was one of the traditional patrons of Sicily. Such festivities have been supplanted in our times by those which have for many centuries been held in honour of local patrons, such as Saint Rosalie in Palermo and Saint Agatha in Catania. Nevertheless, Cavaliere Ruo's description provides us with an insight into another era:

On the designated day, the Prelate and the King-Grand Master or Delegate arrive at the church ceremony with any locally-resident knights in attendance. In the absence of at least two (uniformed) Constantinian knights to act as sponsors in the city where the investiture is convened, two knights of other Catholic military orders are invited to stand as sponsors.

Wearing the mantle of the Order, the Prelate and Delegate enter and together genuflect before the Blessed Sacrament. The Delegate then takes a seat in the Sanctuary near the Pulpit. Vested accordingly, the Prelate prepares for the celebration of the Mass, seating himself at the place normally reserved for the Bishop.

Four pages (or altar boys) enter, each carrying a platen (or basin) bearing the insignia of the Order, namely the mantle, the cross decoration, the gilt spurs and the sword with scabbard and belt. The postulant follows, flanked by the two knights sponsor. At the altar, this cortege bows to the Prelate and the Delegate. The pages place the insignia on a table in the Sanctuary, as the sponsors and postulant genuflect before the cross at the altar. The sponsors then take their places at the side.

The postulant remains before the altar, kneeling on a cushion, holding in his right hand a lit candle, while the Prelate celebrates the Order of the Mass of the Holy Spirit. During the Gospel reading, all of the knights draw their swords to demonstrate that they are prepared to defend the Faith. Following the Gospel, they sheathe their swords. During the Eucharist, the first member of the congregation to receive communion is the postulant.

Following the Mass, the sponsors escort the postulant to kneel before the Prelate and Delegate. To the Delegate one of the sponsors presents the diploma signed by the Grand Master, and this is read aloud. The postulant rises and the other sponsor turns to him explaining that nobody may be admitted to the Sacred Order who, with his voice and in his heart, has not first professed the Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Faith. The postulant then kneels before the Prelate and hears recited the words of profession from the Bull of Pius IV of 13 November 1564, following which he kisses the ring of the Prelate and the Gospel.

The blessing of the insignia follows, with the sprinkling of Holy Water over the mantle, cross, sword and spurs, presented in turn by the pages. The sponsors first display the mantle, unfolding it for the Prelate to recite a brief prayer before its embroidered cross. The postulant is then mantled by the two sponsors. The cross and collar (or ribbon) are presented by another page, blessed and kissed by the Prelate, and then placed around the postulant's neck with the assistance of the sponsors.

The third page approaches carrying the platen with the sword, scabbard and belt. One of the sponsors grasps and unsheathes the sword while the Prelate blesses it. The other sponsor then hands the sword to the Delegate who, with the postulant, grasps it. Following some prayers, the Delegate returns the sword to the sponsor, who sheathes it. The sponsors then gird the postulant with the sword belt.

The armed postulant then draws the sword. Facing the congregation, he waves it three times through the air, starting with the point upward, bringing it downward to symbolically menace the enemies of Christianity. He raises it once more before sheathing. Facing the altar, he then kneels on one knee before the Delegate.

The Delegate draws and raises his own sword high enough for the entire congregation to see. He then lowers the weapon to lightly tap each shoulder of the kneeling postulant, who from that moment is a Constantinian Knight. As he does this, the Delegate recites some phrases, dubbing the postulant in the name of God, the King of the Two Sicilies and Saint George the Martyr. The Prelate approaches and lightly taps the knight's left cheek in the Kiss of Peace. The knight is then invited to rise.

Finally, the fourth page presents the Delegate with the platen bearing the gilt spurs. The Delegate presents these for the Prelate's blessing, and then hands the spur-bearing platen to a sponsor. Each sponsor affixes a spur to a foot of the knight, while the Prelate reads a psalm.

As the Recessional, the Prelate cants the Hymn of Saint Ambrose. The knight and cortege proceed out of the Church.

If this ceremony is held in a private chapel, the Prelate is to be vested appropriately, while the Grand Master or Delegate would wear civilian attire.

Some Notes:

The nation state known as the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies was formally established by royal decree in 1816, thus uniting the crowns and governments of Naples and Sicily. Therefore, it is appropriate to refer to Ferdinando as "King of Naples and Sicily" until 1816. However, most royal decrees and circulars issued during the reign of King Carlo, and that of King Ferdinando prior to 1816, refer to each monarch as "Re delle Due Sicilie," reflecting the traditional use of this appellation long before the union of the two crowns.

The Magione today is attached to the Archdiocese of Palermo as the Church of the Parish of the Holy Trinity. The Western Sicilian Delegation of the Constantinian Order supports various charitable projects in this parochial community in a poor quarter of the Sicilian capital. (The most recent investiture of the Order at the Magione was held on 1 December 1994, convened by Prince Ferdinando of the Two Sicilies, Duke of Castro, and attended by the flower of the Sicilian aristocracy, which includes dozens of Constantinian knights.)

A notarized copy of the Letter of Appointment signed by the Sovereign at Palermo on Thursday, 16 January 1812, is on deposit with the Archive of State of Palermo. Its style and form indicate, among other things, that in the Royal House of the Two Sicilies legal declarations and circulars were often issued as open letters having the force of dynastic or national law, sometimes in lieu of royal decrees.

For further information on the history of the Constantinian Order, see Italy's Knights of Saint George, by Desmond Seward, Van Duren Publishers 1986 (ISBN 0-905715-28-4).

For the documents pursuant to the Palermitan investiture of 1812 see Documenti della Commenda della Magione, Investitura dell'Ordine Costantiniano, Archive of State of Palermo, in the preamble to which the King declares that the Constantinian Order is a dynastic institution "della dignita della Nostra Corona . . ."

This translation Copyright 1997 Louis Mendola. The original Italian text appears in Saggio Storico degli Ordini Cavallereschi nel Regno delle Due Sicilie, by Raffaele Ruo, Naples 1832. Scholars generally agree that Ruo, an officer of the Constantinian Order present in Sicily in 1812, attended the investiture in Palermo in that year and based his published description on having witnessed this event.

The author wishes to express his gratitude for the cooperation of the late Fra Cyril Toumanoff, High Historical Consultant of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta, who provided much kind insight on the subject of this research.