In the first few decades of the twentieth century, the senior leadership position of the Order was held by the reigning pontiff. The offices of Grand Master, Protector, and Custodian were used interchangeably, albeit incorrectly, by historians and members alike, when referring to the Latin Patriarch's role in the governance of the Order. During this period of time, Pius IX intended the title Grand Master to be reserved for the papacy, a political move that linked the Order personally to the pope without the order becoming assimilated into the Holy See's own honors system. The role of Grand Prior, which had supplanted that of Custodian, was vested in the person of the restored Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem. Pope Plus X, in a post-risorgimento posture, inserted an additional level of administration into the Order's structure as he was now in a self-imposed Vatican exile. The office of Cardinal-Protector was established to facilitate the Order's work in and around Rome in lieu of the pontiff, who remained behind the Vatican walls.

In 1949, Eugene Pacelli, Pope Pius XII, restructured the Order once again and relinquished for himself and his successors the title and post of Grand Master, vesting it in the person of a Cardinal-Protector, no longer necessary in a post-Lateran Concordat world, was placed in abeyance.

Pius XII additionally bestowed the ancient fifteenth-century palace of Giuliano Cardinal della Rovere, later Pope Julius II, as headquarters of the Equestrian Order. Officially known as the Palazzo dei Penitenzieri, it was built by julius's ancestor Domenico Cardinal Della Povere between 1480 and 1490. It was built to resemble the much admired Palazzo Venezia. It took its name from the Jesuits, who, after jullus's pontificate, occupied it as their Poman headquarters. As they were the penitentiaries (or confessors) at St. Peter's, the Palazzo took that name. After the Lateran pacts were sealed, Mussolini attempted many gestures to warm relations with the new Vatican City State. One such gesture was the demolition of a width of 150 yards of the city of Pome, between the Square of St. Peter's and the Tiber Piver, known as the Borghl, in order to cut a broad boulevard, a la Parisienne, as a ceremonial entrance into the Vatican. Named via della Conciliazione this new broad boulevard was created by demolishing hundreds of ancient buildings and palaces. After its completion, the new facade on either side of the new boulevard revealed that which was formerly well hidden: the palaces and shops of Renaissance Rome. One such "hidden" palace was that of Julius II, the Palazzo dei Penitenzieri. Today, it is best known as the Hotel Columbus, fronting the via della Conciliazone on the left as one prepares to enter St. Peter's Square. The headquarters of the Order are housed in this palace, a part of which was set aside as a hotel to earn income for the Order and to house pilgrim knights. The offices, chancellery, and residence of the Grand Master are housed here. The church of the order is the very small, ancient Chapel of St. Humphrey (S. Onofrio), under the care of the Franciscans of Mt. Zion, adjacent to the Bambino Gesú Hospital and the Pontifical North American College on the janiculum Hill above the Vatican.

The new constitution of the Order was promulgated by Pope Paul VI in 1977, and the Order now enjoys protection under canon law. This constitution clearly sets forth the reasons for its continued existence:

The Order relives in a modern manner the spirit and ideal of the Crusades, with the arms of faith, of the apostolate, and of Christian charity. To this end the Order (a) fosters in its members the practice of the Christian ltfe; (b) is zealous for the preservation and spread of thefaith in Palestine; (c) champions the defense of the rights of the Catholic Church in the Holy Land, the cradle of the Order.

The Equestrian Order has grown tremendously in defense of the Faith during the twentieth century. With a strong allegiance to the papacy, serving it as soldiers of Christ, the members of the Order are linked to the Church in a unique way, carrying with membership in the Order a responsibility of faithful witness, as well as the dignity of being in the service of the papacy.

"The Order now comprises five classes: Knights of the Collar, a rank established by Plus XII in 1949. There are twelve in number; Knights Grand Cross; Commanders with Star, who are also called Grand Officers, an honor given for special merit; Commanders; simply Knights. Female honorees hold the same ranks or classes but are known as Dame or Lady of (rank), depending on the local custom. It is more correct, from a protocol posture, to refer to female members as Dames of (rank); however, local practices have established the customs for each Jurisdiction.

Finally, unlike some chivalric orders whose membership is open to non-Catholics (even the papal) and, in some cases, non-Christians alike, the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre is reserved solely for practicing Roman Catholics. It is precisely that faith that bonds them so closely to the Sovereign Pontiff. The investiture ceremony itself requires the pledge of defense of the Faith with a Profession of Faith, which, of course, only the Catholic faithful could undertake.

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