Equestrian Order Holds Its Annual Meeting in Utah

Friday, Oct. 18, 2024

The Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem Western USA Lieutenancy held its annual meeting in the Diocese of Salt Lake City Oct. 10-13. The Order of the Mass with Rite of Solemn Investiture was celebrated Oct. 13 at the Cathedral of the Madeleine. Archbishop José H. Gomez of Los Angeles presided. Among the concelebrants were Roger Cardinal Mahony, Archbishop emeritus of Los Angeles and Bishop Oscar A. Solis of Salt Lake City. The Equestrian Order “is the only lay institution of the Vatican State charged with the task of providing for the needs of the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem and of all the activities and initiatives to support the Christian presence in the Holy Land,” states the information in the program for the Mass. The Order’s aims are to strengthen in its members the practice of Christian life; to sustain and aid the charitable, cultural and social works and institutions of the Catholic Church in the Holy Land, and to support the preservation and propagation of the faith in the Holy Land, according to the program. During the Mass, new members of the Order were invested; among them were Father Christopher Gray, pastor of Saint Mary of the Assumption Parish in Park City; and St. Catherine of Siena parishioners Paul and Adele Eleazer.