The Grand Master, His Eminence Carlo Cardinal Furno is in charge of the Order. His coadjutors are the Governor General and the Grand Magisterium. The latter consists of 18 Confreres chosen among members of various countries.

The Order is made up of 48 Representative Bodies called Lieutenancies or Magistral Delegations which are generally divided into Sections.

Twenty-three such Bodies operate in Europe, 15 in North and Central America, 5 in South America and 5 in the Far East. There are about 18,000 Knights and Ladies all over the world.

The fundamental purpose of the Order is the preservation of the faith in the Holy Land. To this end it must provide spiritual, moral and material support to the Christians who still live there.

It contributes substantially to the maintenance of 44 parish schools of the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem,which are attended by 15,100 children, both Christians (Latin, Catholics of Oriental Rite Orthodox, Protestants) and Muslim. It also contributes to the maintenance of the Patriarchal Seminary (80 students) and the Diocesan clergy. it looks after dozens of dispensaries in the Holy Land and underpins relief and welfare institutions.

In addition to these ongoing commitments, the Lieutenancies undertake specific action agreed with the Grand Magisterium on the recommendation of the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem.

As to give a concrete example, we remember that from 1971 through 1990, thanks to the Order's support,new Churches and Chapels rose at: Zabadeh, Bir Zeit, Safout, Jaffa-Nazareth, Jenin, Burqin, Gaza, Tilaa-el-Ali,Marj-el-Hamam, Ermemine, Fouhais-Centre, Main Rabba and Gifnah. New residences for the Rosary Sisters werebuilt up at: Jaffa-Nazareth, Rafidia, Ajloun, Rameh, Jenin, Gifnah, Taybeh, Gaza, Ermemine, Salt, Fouhais-Centre, Naour, Madaba, Khirbeh; and new presbyteries at: Rameh, Zabadeh, Nablus, Gifnah, Sweifieh, Rousaifa,Ermemine, Fouhais-Alali; the home for retired Priests in Betania and the Home for aged people at Nablus.

The approach to the task has been concisely expressed by an authoritative source: "A Knight who is not prepared to make a meaningful sacrifice and devote unremitting effort is unworthy of his mission and breaks his promise. Admission is a personal act of missionary apostolate. No one is forced to join, but once the decision has been taken, inactivity and sluggishness would be disloyal and a breach of Christian honour".

So long as its members are willing to bear witness on those terms, come what may, the Order will not be found wanting. And the standard will be handed on from one generation to the next.

His Holiness John Paul II, recently addressing the Representatives of the Knights and Dames of the Order,said: "I am delighted to meet with you, Knights and Ladies of the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre. While enjoying the extraordinary grace of the Jubilee Year, you have not wished to return home without a word from the Pope and his Blessing.

I thank you for this gesture. From the words of your Lieutenants I note the awareness with which you wish to respond to your specific vocation. Your mission is an important one. Although it has such ancient origins yet it preserves all its importance today and providential function in our society, which is so advanced, yet so poor and threatened.

Within your families, at work, everywhere, the Lord calls you to be, in your own characteristic way, witnesses to Christ in the encourageous daily practice of the Christian life, infidelity to the Pope and to the teachings of the Church. Your representative was wise to recall the words of Paul to Timothy exhorting him to be a good soldier of Christ and to take upon himself his share in Christ's sufferings. This is an exhortation which becomes a specific commitment at your Investiture. But it must be translated into concrete work in the defense and propagation of the Faith.

Among these works priority is given to assistance to the Catholic Church in the Holy Land. One thinks with emotion of that land where Christ was born and died. It is a land which, as Paul VI said, "has become the spiritual patrimony of all Christians". It is a land in which the Christian community lives and works under very difficult human, moral and spiritual conditions. Your specific mission is to help that land, making an effective contribution to the survival and growth of the cultural, charitable and social works and institutions of the Catholic Church in the Holy Land.

In this regard, I wish to mention your noteworthy initiative in sending to our brothers there much audiovisual material for teaching Catechism. You have also sent them an extraordinary donation for the printing of catechetical texts in Arabic.

You have my encouragement as you continue such needed and providential aid. With St. Paul I say, "Do not grow tired of doing good". I depend much on your presence, on your generous and disinterested dedication to this noble cause, on your enthusiasm in the service of the Church, as you provide for the most urgent needs of a chosen section of her children. I want to continue to distinguish yourselves in this Christian witness and in this valuable charitable work. I pray that the Lord will sustain you and His Spirit enlighten you in the choices of each day.

I wish you constancy and success in your apostolic work, and I impart my heartfelt apostolic blessins".