Order of the Collar of Saint Agatha
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The Military Order of the Collar of Saint Agatha of Paternò, also called the Military Order of the Collar (M.O.C.), is a dynastic Order of chivalry, belonging to the Head of Name and Arms of the Royal dynasty of Paternò Castello e Guttadauro Ayerbe Aragona. The current Head of the dynasty is HRH don Francesco, Prince of Emmanuel and Duke of Perpignan, a subject of international law. The Order was founded in the 12th Century by the Aragonese Kings of Majorca and restored with the approval of the reigning King in 1851. It is a non-national Order as defined by the Law of the 3rd March 1951 of the Republic of Italy. The Protectress and Patron of the Order is Saint Agatha, Virgin and Martyr, whose Feast is celebrated as that of the Order on 5th February. The Order practices good works principally through its Hospitaller Service.
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[edit] Foundation
As has been the case with many other chivalric bodies, the Order of Saint Agatha originally had a military objective. Founded during the period when the Balearic Islands were an independent Kingdom (1276 - 1343) by the Aragonese Kings, its aim was to subdue the Moorish pirates of North Africa at that time marauding in the Mediterranean and to extirpate the Moslem faith from the area. It is an accepted tenet of international law that, unless a dynastic order is formally and legitimately abolished, it may be deemed to continue in the person of its hereditary Grand Master, even if no conferments are made for a period of time. This is the case with the Military Order of the Collar, just as it was the case with the Order of the Thistle after the rebellion of 1688, for example.
The main historical source for the history of the Order is “L'Ordine del Collare, Patrimonio della Ser.ma Real Casa Paternò”, published in 1851 by the seventh Duke of Carcaci. When reorganising the family archives this distinguished historian had come across a manuscript diary of his ancestor Don Ignazio II Paternò Prince of Biscari, who had visited the Balearic Islands at the end of the sixteenth century. While there he discovered an original document concerning the Order in the library of the Convent at Fornelle, as well as a contemporary painting showing the badge and the dress of the knights. Fortunately for posterity Don Ignazio recorded these details and two centuries later his notes were discovered by the Duke, who set about the revival of the Order in 1851 after the publication of his book.
After the death of the last Prince of Cassano a family conclave was called by the then Duke of Carcaci on 14th June 1853 to establish which branch held the dynastic rights. A family pact was signed by representatives of all branches of the dynasty, confirming that the royal rights belonged to Don Mario, son of Don Giovanni (younger brother of the duke of Carcaci) and his wife Donna Eleonora Guttadauro of Emmanuel, the heiress of the House of Guttadauro.
As early as 18 May 1851 the Order's legitimacy was recognised by the Bourbon King of the Two Sicilies, whose officials were required to record its conferrals in the Registry Office of the Kingdom. On 30th March 1853 the Governor of the Province of Catania, in the name of the King, allowed only three exceptions to the Royal prohibition on the wearing of orders other than Royal Sicilian Orders, these being Papal Orders, the Order of Malta and the Military Order of the Collar. In 1859 the Royal Commission on Titles of Nobility examined the claims of the House of Paternò to confer titles and bestow Orders and it advised the King that such acts, titles and Orders were legitimate. In 1860 the King approved this decision by Royal Decree and ordered its execution throughout the Kingdom. For many years the Order remained almost a Family Order, largely restricted in its membership to relatives and close associates.
[edit] The Order today
The Order was reconstituted in 1961 and new Statutes have been issued and revised on a number of occasions. Since his accession HRH Don Francesco had laid great stress on the works of charity which he regarded as the principal activity of the Royal House. The development of the Hospitaller Service of the Military Order of the Collar has been the main agency for the achievement of these aims. Over the years members of the Order have raised considerable sums for charity and have performed countless charitable acts for the relief of suffering, in keeping with the highest aims of the Order. By a Decree of the Grand Master dated 10 December 1990, thenceforth the Hospitaller Service would be a Charitable Association separate from the Order but associated with it. Today the Order is well represented in several countries across Europe, as well as in North America and Australia. The rights of the Grand Master as a Royal Highness and a Subject of International Law with the prerogatives of jus majestatis and jus honorum were most recently recognised by the International Court of Arbitration in Ragusa in January 2003.
[edit] Structure & jurisdictions
[edit] The Grand Master
H.R.H. Prince Don Francesco Paternò Ayerbe Aragona, Grand Master of the Military Order of the Collar of St. Agatha of Paternò.
[edit] The Government
- Governor of the Royal House;
- Grand Hospitaller;
- Grand Visitor;
- Grand Commander;
- Grand Constable;
Magistral House of Professed Knights, Members "In Gremio Ordinis".
[edit] The Territorial Jurisdictions
[edit] Grand Priory of Italy
- Priory of Lombardia;
- Priory of Friuli-Venezia-Giulia;
- Priory of Emiiglia-Romagna;
- Priory of the Abruzzi;
- Commandery of St. Agatha.
[edit] Grand Priory of Aragon and Catalonia
- Priory of the Pilar;
- Priory of Ebro;
- Commandery of Regina Santa;
- Commandery of the Plate (Argentina).
[edit] Grand Priory of The English Tongue
- Priory of St. Raymond of Penyafort;
- Priory of St. Elizabeth of Aragon;
- Priory of St. Thomas More.
[edit] Grand Priory of Terra Nordica
- Priory of St. Erik;
- Priory of St. Brigid.
[edit] Hereditary Commandery
- Derryloughan (N. Ireland).
[edit] Insignia of the Order
The cross of the Order is the Aragonese Cross in gold and enamel, worn on a ribbon of red silk with yellow fringes. In addition, Knights who have already sworn their oath of allegiance to the Grand Master may additionally wear the Cross of Profession -- a smaller specimen of the Aragonese Cross -- on the right (!) lapel.
Higher dignitaries also wear a sash in the colours of the ribbon and a breast star, as it is the general custom among Orders of chivalry.
The mantle of the Order, worn in church only, is plain white, with a sanguine collar and the Aragonese Cross on the left breast (in full colors for Knights, thoroughly golden for Dames) and a golden chain for closing, affixed to two golden lion heads. The usual categories of membership (Justice, Grace, Profession) are distinguished by an additional golden stripe on the collar.
The insignia of the Order are not be worn together with other chivalric insignia with the exception of such as have been granted by the Royal House of Aragon. In private life, Knights and Dames of the Order usually wear either an enamelled lapel pin showing the Cross of Aragon, or a rosette of red and yellow silk.
