Deus lo vult: Historic Investiture for an ancient Order

By Josh Low
The Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem has increased its presence in Tasmania, with its first Rite of Investiture since the establishment of the Order in the Tasmania.
The historic event saw the addition of four Tasmanians as newly invested members of the ancient Order.
The three Knights and one Dame were invested by Archbishop Julian – Prior of the Order in Tasmania – at St Mary’s Cathedral in Hobart on Sunday 1 December in a ceremony held before Mass.
The new members are married couple Anthony and Lysanne Shultz, Cathedral Assistant Parish Priest Fr Steven Smith and Archdiocesan Executive Director Chris Ryan.

An ancient order which goes back to the first Crusade of the 11th century, it was first established to provide safe passage to Christian pilgrims wishing to visit the Holy Land, a hazardous practice at the time due to the expansion of Islam and the resulting persecution of Christians.
Today, the Order has 30,000 members worldwide and continues to find ways to support and sustain the Catholic Church and Christians living in the Holy Land through religious, spiritual, charitable and social works.
In his homily, Archbishop Julian said the Order’s mission has “assumed increasing significance in the light of the recent history of the Middle East.”

“These countries were once the heartland of Christianity and the Christian presence in them now has been severely reduced. We are witnessing a great tragedy unfold before us.
“The very existence and work of the Order, is therefore of great importance as it seeks to assist the Christian communities in the biblical lands, reminding us of the importance of Jerusalem and the Holy Land for all Christians.
“Let us pray that peace may come once again to the city whose name, Jerusalem, means ‘city of peace’,” he concluded.

Archdiocesan Executive Director Chris Ryan said he had known of the Order for several years and felt encouraged to join after two interactions while visiting Rome.
“It was these two interactions that encouraged me to make formal application to join,” he said.
“One of them was with Grand Master of the Order, Cardinal Fernando Filoni, who stressed the Order’s importance and the need to continue to obtain Knights and Dames.”
Anthony and Lysanne Schultz said it was beautiful to have joined the Order and be able to make a difference by contributing to the efforts in the Holy Land.

“The Holy Land is the birthplace of Christ and where Christ, the Saviour died for us, but they’ve been in struggles for thousands of years,” Anthony said.
“We live in Tasmania, but our spiritual home is the Holy Land, so we’re glad to do our little bit to help our Christian brothers and sisters there.”
Lysanne added that she hopes to one day go on pilgrimage to the Holy Land – a tradition of every Knight and Dame of the Order to be undertaken at least once during their lifetime.
“A pilgrimage there will be wonderful, and I think that it will certainly deepen my faith. To see the places that you’ve learned about in Scripture would just be amazing.”

For Fr Steven Smith, it was during a trip to the Holy Land that his journey to the priesthood began.
“Being able to walk in the footsteps of Christ and his disciples, and to find myself standing in the Holy City of Jerusalem changed my life,” he said.
“It is only right that I help others to experience the same blessings from the Holy Land which I have received.”

Knight Commander and Tasmanian Section President of the Order, Michael McKenna, said he hopes to grow the Tasmanian Section, achieve independence of the parent Lieutenancy of Victoria, and establish a Lieutenancy in its own right.
“The Christians in the Holy Land really do the heavy-lifting, and it is our privilege to be able to support them spiritually and economically as they continue this undertaking on our behalf.
“I am immensely proud to see this connection with the Holy Land established so that Tasmanian Catholics can participate in this important work,” he concluded.