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Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem
By Liz McCombe President of Southern Section KHS
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The modern Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem (KHS) which grew out of the Crusaders of medieval times is a lay Order of the Church which was revived by Blessed Pope Pius IV in 1847 to support and maintain the newly established Patriarchate of Jerusalem. Although our role has since grown and developed this still remains our core commitment. We have a specific papal mandate, and we are not therefore just a general charity. I believe it is true to say that without the Order there would be no church in the Holy Land.
There are 64 Lieutenancies worldwide with approximately 35,000 members. In the Lieutenancy of England and Wales there are about 600 Knights and Dames with priests and bishops as members, to provide the spiritual dimension to the Lieutenancy which is divided into 8 Sections.
Our work takes many forms. In addition to supplying the Patriarchate (similar to a diocese) we assist in building churches, establishing parishes and schools and supporting the Seminary in Bethlehem. We also run a pastoral care programme for seminarian students who come over to England in the summer. During Covid 19, in response to the Order’s appeal our Lieutenancy sent out £250,000 to the Christians for the basic
necessities of food, medicine and domestic expenses. We try never to lose sight of people’s needs in their daily lives.
Pilgrimages are an important part of our mission, and we normally visit the Holy Land, Israel, Jordan, and Palestine twice a year, when we visit schools and parishes and give them donations. The people always tell us how important these visits are, not just a question of material support but it demonstrates our solidarity with them. In 2020 and again this year pilgrimages had to be cancelled but we organised 2 virtual pilgrimages where we shared in streamed masses from the Basilica of the Holy Sepulchre and other Holy places, had talks from priests, and Zoom meetings with parishes.
Some of you will have seen members of the Southern Section, wearing our cloaks on formal occasions such as Corpus Christi and Advent Vespers in the Cathedral, Sadly, for the past 18 months all our Section events have had to be cancelled but, with the easing of restrictions, we organised a gathering for Mass and a picnic lunch
followed by the Rosary Walk and Benediction at the church of Our Lady of Consolation at West Grinstead. It was a great day, blessed by warm and sunny weather, apart from a heavy shower just as we started our picnic!
All our work is non political but we must recognise that daily life for Christians in the Holy Land is carried out against a background of considerable instability and insecurity. Unfortunately, being unable to be physically there with them at present, we can continue to support with donations from members, from crib collections and from the generosity of parishes who support the Order and its mission.
For further information please do look at our website www.khs.org.uk or the website of the Latin Patriarchate
