Grand Master of the Order of Saint Lazarus (statuted 1910)

The grand master of the Order of Saint Lazarus (statuted 1910) is the leader of a confraternal order claiming legacy and contingency to the medieval Catholic military order known as the Order of Saint Lazarus.

It claims continuity by assertion that during the period from 1814 to 1841, the order was under the direction of a Council of Officers with King Louis XVIII (1814–1824) and King Charles X (1824–1831) as protectors of the order, and was then passed on, evolving into the current list of grand masters.

Council of Officers

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The order lost its royal protection in 1831 but, according to some pretensions, continued to function under the direction of the Council of Officers.[1]

Order Name Image Title Date installed Term ended Term of office Comments Notes
Claude-Louis, Prince de la Châtre   Administrator General de Ordres Royaux, Militaires et Hospitaliers de Notre-Dame du Mont-Carmel et de Saint-Lazare de Jérusalem Réunis 1814 1824 9–10 years
Jean-Louis de Beaumont, Marquis d'Autichamp   President of the Council of Officers de Ordres Royaux, Militaires et Hospitaliers de Notre-Dame du Mont-Carmel et de Saint-Lazare de Jérusalem Réunis 1824 1831 6–7 years Members of the Council of Officers (1831-1841): Father Picot, Comte Vincent Vienot de Vaublanc, Baron de Silvestre.
Members of the Council of Officers de Ordres Royaux, Militaires et Hospitaliers de Notre-Dame du Mont-Carmel et de Saint-Lazare de Jérusalem Réunis 1831 1841 9–10 years Members of the Council of Officers: Father Picot, Comte Vincent Vienot de Vaublanc, Baron de Silvestre.

Modern Order of Saint Lazarus

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The period following the loss of Temporal Protection of the French Royal Family in 1831 until 1910 is controversial. Some claim that the order did not survive, whereas some claim the period is at best shrouded in mystery since no contemporary documentation seems to have survived.

Modern tradition of the Order of Saint Lazarus (statuted 1910) maintains that, after 1841, the Melkite Greek Catholic Patriarchs assumed the leadership of the order, as Hospitaller Nobles of St. Lazarus.[2]

Order Name Image Title Date installed Term ended Term of office Comments Notes
Patriarch Maximos III Mazloum   Administrator General of the Order of the Hospitallers of Saint Lazarus 1841 1855 13–14 years
Patriarch Clement Bahous 1856 1864 7–8 years
Patriarch Gregorios II Youssef-Sayour   1864 1898 33–34 years
Patriarch Peter IV Geraigiri   1898 1902 3–4 years
Patriarch Cyril VIII Geha   1902 1910 7–8 years
Protector of the Military and Hospitaller Order of Saint Lazarus of Jerusalem 1910 1916 5–6 years In 1910, new statutes were promulgated whereby the management was assumed by the Council of Officers, while the Melkite Patriarch assumed the position of Protector. In 1935, a new Grand Master was appointed. [3]
Patriarch Dimitrios I Cadi   1919 1925 5–6 years
Patriarch Cyril IX Moghabghab 1925 1935 9–10 years
44 Francisco de Borbón y de la Torre,
Duke of Seville (jure uxoris)
  Grand Master of the Military and Hospitaller Order of Saint Lazarus of Jerusalem 1935 1952 16–17 years Grand Bailiff of Spain, nominated as Lieutenant General of the Grand Magistry in 1930, then elected as Grand Master in 1935.
45 Francisco de Borbón y Borbón   1956 1967 10–11 years Son and Coadjutor of Francisco de Borbón y de la Torre. Nominated as Lieutenant General of the Grand Magistry, then elected as Grand Master in 1956.
46 Prince Charles-Philippe d'Orléans,
Duke of Nemours, First Prince of the Blood of France
  1967 1970 2–3 years Also served as Bailiff of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta.
In 1969, internal strife split the Order into two fractions: the Malta Obedience and the Paris Obedience.
Each had its own separate administrators and Grand Masters.

Malta obedience

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Order Name Image Title Date installed Term ended Term of office Comments Notes
47 Francisco de Borbón y Borbón   Grand Master of the Military and Hospitaller Order of Saint Lazarus of Jerusalem in Malta 1973 1995 21–22 years Also served as Bailiff of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta.
48 Francisco de Borbón y Escasany,
5th Duke of Seville
  1996 2008 11–12 years Son of Francisco de Borbón y Borbón; appointed Grand Master Emeritus in 2008.

Paris obedience

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Order Name Image Title Date installed Term ended Term of office Comments Notes
47 Pierre de Cossé,
12th Duke of Brissac
  Grand Master of the Military and Hospitaller Order of Saint Lazarus of Jerusalem in Paris 1969 1986 16–17 years Previously served as Administrator General (1956–1969).
48 François de Cossé,
13th Duke of Brissac
  1986 2006 19–20 years Son of Pierre de Cossé; appointed Grand Master Emeritus.
In 2004, strife within the Paris Obedience led to a further split that was to assume the name of the Orleáns Obedience.
In 2008, the old Malta and Paris Obediences reunited under a new Grand Master, with the previous Grand Masters being appointed emeriti.
The Melkite Patriarch Gregory III Laham remained the Spiritual Protector of the Order until he was succeeded by Patriarch Youssef Absi.

Malta-Paris obedience (reunification of the former Malta and Paris obediences)

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Order Name Image Title Date installed Term ended Term of office Comments Notes
49 Carlos Gereda y de Borbón,
Marqués de Almazán (jure uxoris)
  Grand Master of the Military and Hospitaller Order of Saint Lazarus of Jerusalem 2008 2017 15–16 years He took the solemn oath in Manchester Cathedral, England. [4][5]
50 Francisco de Borbón y Hardenberg [cs]   2018 incumbent 5–6 years Son of Francisco de Borbón y Escasany; elected and installed as Grand Master in Madrid on May 5, 2018. [6]

Orléans obedience (since 2004)

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Order Name Image Title Date installed Term ended Term of office Comments Notes
49 Prince Charles-Philippe d'Orléans,
Duke of Anjou
  Grand Master of the Military and Hospitaller Order of Saint Lazarus of Jerusalem in Orleáns 2004 2010 5–6 years Re-established the temporal protection of the Head of the Royal House of France. Now Grand Master Emeritus. [5][7]
50 Count Jan Dobrzenský   2010 2023 13–14 years Resigned, now Grand Master Emeritus. [7]
51 Prince François d'Orléans [fr],
Count of Dreux
  2023 Incumbent 0–1 years Installed as Grand Master at Maredsous Abbey in Belgium on September 16, 2023. [7]

References

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  1. ^ Almanach Royale for 1830.
  2. ^ Patriarch Gregory III Laham, H.B. (27 May 2012). Declaration on the Ninth Centenary of the Royal Recognition of the Order St. Lazarus of Jerusalem. Kevelaer, Germany.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  3. ^ de Jandriac (November 1913). "Les chevaliers Hospitaliers de Saint Lazare de Jerusalem et de Notre Dame de la Merci". Rivista Araldica (in French). XI (11): 679–683.
  4. ^ "H.E. Don Carlos Gereda de Borbon, Marquis de Almazan, 49th Grand Master". Structure: Persons: Grand Master. Military and Hospitaller Order of St. Lazarus of Jerusalem. Archived from the original on 12 May 2015. Retrieved 24 May 2015.
  5. ^ a b "A Brief History of the Order of Saint Lazarus of Jerusalem". The Military and Hospitaller Order of Saint Lazarus of Jerusalem (Australia). Archived from the original on 10 July 2015. Retrieved 24 May 2015.
  6. ^ "The Military and Hospitaller Order of Saint Lazarus of Jerusalem – Senior International Officers". St-lazarus.net. Retrieved 1 January 2023.
  7. ^ a b c "Grand Master". The Military and Hospitaller Order of Saint Lazarus of Jerusalem (USA). 2011. Retrieved 4 April 2016.
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