Bishop Emilio E. Biosca, O.F.M. Cap., celebrated Mass for the Knights and Dames of the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem, Oct. 24, 2026, in anticipation of the Feast of Our Lady of Palestine, at Our Lady of Lourdes Parish, Venice.
Bishop Emilio praised the knights and dames for their commitment to the protection of the Holy Land and inspirational spirituality – taking the spirit and inspiration of the Holy Spirit as a part of their bodily and spiritual life.
“In our spiritual life, it is not only listening and following Christ in our daily life while praying for the Holy Land, but to embody that life, making our life, our marriage a holy land – a place where Christ is born and reborn in each of us,” Bishop Emilio said.
The annual Mass fell on the Order’s Patroness Feast Day, Our Lady of Palestine, which was approved by the Holy See in 1933. The Feast Day asks all to join in praying to the Virgin Mary for special protection of Palestine and the Holy City of Jerusalem.
Dominick Cavuoto, the president of the Diocese of Venice Section of the Equestrian Order, helped organize the Mass and expressed his gratitude to Bishop Emilio for his support of the knights and dames of the order, carrying on the legacy of his predecessors, Bishops Frank J. Dewane and John J. Nevins.
Cavuoto announced after the Mass that Bishop Emilio will be invested into the Equestrian Order at the next regional gathering in May 2027.
Bishop Emilio said he was happy to accept the invitation to become part of the Equestrian Order. He said that when growing up in northern Virginia his family would visit the Franciscan Monastery of the Holy Land in America in Washington, D.C. The 44-acre site, often called “Little Jerusalem,” was created in 1899 for American Catholics who could not afford an overseas pilgrimage to the Holy Land so they had the opportunity to experience full-scale replicas of major Middle Eastern religious shrines, Roman catacombs, and European grottos.
While visiting the monastery, Bishop Emilio said he was always impressed by seeing the symbol of the Jerusalem Cross, which is emblazoned on the cloak the knights and dames wear and suggested going to the monastery with the knights and dames, not as tourists, but as part of a religious pilgrimage. “It is set up in such a way as to offer a plenary indulgence, approved by the Vatican, as one would receive if you actually went to the site in the Holy Land.”
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 for all the activities and initiatives which are necessary to support the Christian presence in the Holy Land. The Order is present in nearly 40 countries worldwide.
The Order of the Holy Sepulchre exists within the local Dioceses and works closely with the Universal Church in unity of prayer and communion of purpose. Knights and Dames of the Order care greatly for the fate of this land, and endeavor to sustain and aid the charitable, cultural and social works and institutions of the Catholic Church in the Holy Land.
In exercising its mission in support of the Christians in the Holy Land, the Order of the Holy Sepulchre spiritually and financially supports structures pertaining to the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem (schools, seminars, centers), both through stable and continuous projects as well as projects that can vary from year to year depending on the needs.
Worldwide there are about 30,000 knights and dames of the order in 52 countries, with about 100 living in the Diocese of Venice. In 1926 the order was founded in the United States, and has today grown to 10 lieutenancies, with the Southeastern Lieutenancy comprising of Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and South Carolina.
