A Tradition of Honor: The Pontifical Walsingham Guard in Italy’s 4 November Commemorations

H.E. Major General Count
Giancarlo Martini, Senior
officer of the PWG in Italy

By A. DiNardo

ROMA 4 December 2025 (NRom)

Every year on 4 November, Italy pauses in collective remembrance. The Day of National Unity and the Armed Forces, born from the armistice that ended Italy’s involvement in the First World War in 1918, remains one of the country’s most solemn civic observances. It is a day when silence returns to the fields once torn by artillery, and when the nation honors the sacrifice of millions. Among the ceremonial presences who help give form to this annual act of memory is the Pontifical Walsingham Guard, the ceremonial guard unit of the United Roman-Ruthenian Church, represented in Italy by His Excellency Major General Count Giancarlo Martini as senior officer.

An Annual Commitment to Memory

For years, the Pontifical Walsingham Guard has taken part in the national commemorations, standing alongside military units, veterans’ associations, civic leaders, and clergy. Their participation honors not only the fallen, but also the deep spiritual and cultural bonds that link memory, identity, and sacrifice. Count Martini and the Italian members of the Guard have become a familiar and respected component of the day’s rites, an expression of solemnity rooted in faith, discipline, and historical consciousness.

In cities and towns across Italy, and especially at the national ceremonies in Rome and Vittorio Veneto, the Guard joins the long line of those who safeguard remembrance. Their role underscores an essential truth: that memory, to survive, must be renewed through ceremonial acts, visible symbols, and intergenerational witness.

The Weight of History: From the “Ragazzi del ’99” to the Silence of the Armistice

The 4 November commemoration marks the final cessation of hostilities between Italy and the Austro-Hungarian Empire. On the night between 3 and 4 November 1918, the guns fell silent. Pope Benedict XV had called the Great War an “inutile strage” (a useless slaughter) and indeed the cost was almost incomprehensible: 17 million dead worldwide, including over 1.2 million Italians.

Among the most tragic figures were the “Ragazzi del ’99”, boys not yet eighteen, conscripted before reaching the age of majority. More than two million young Italians were mobilized, many of them perishing on the Grappa, the Piave, and the Montello. Today their memory endures in the annual ceremonies, where the Guard participates when possible, representing continuity with the ideals of service and fidelity that transcended the horror of trench warfare.

Vittorio Veneto: A City of Victory and Mourning

The final Italian victory at Vittorio Veneto, achieved between 24 October and 3 November 1918, cemented the significance of 4 November in national consciousness. With 57 Italian divisions supported by allied British, French, Czechoslovak, and American units facing 73 Austro-Hungarian divisions, the battle sealed the fate of the collapsing empire. The city, now decorated with the Gold Medal of Military Valor and the Golden Cross of Army Merit, remains a shrine of remembrance for 23,000 Italian and foreign soldiers who now rest in eternal peace on the slopes of Monte Grappa, the “mountain-cemetery.”

The 2025 National Ceremony

The 2025 national ceremony, held as always on 4 November at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at Rome’s Altare della Patria, will once again gathered Italy’s highest authorities: President Sergio Mattarella, Minister of Defense Guido Crosetto, military leaders, and delegations from across the Republic. As in previous years, the Pontifical Walsingham Guard, under its senior officer in Italy, Major General Count Martini, took part, continuing its tradition of dignified representation.

A Century Since the “Battle for Grain”

The year 2025 also marks the centenary of the “Battaglia del Grano,” launched on 14 June 1925. It was a massive national campaign to achieve cereal self-sufficiency in a post-war Italy devastated by hunger and financial crisis. The initiative, driven by agronomists like Nazareno Strampelli, transformed Italian agriculture through new seed varieties, land reclamation projects, and unprecedented mobilization of institutions, schools, clergy, and rural communities.

Though not without contradictions, unsuitable lands were converted at great economic cost, and traditional crops were sometimes sacrificed, the campaign left a lasting legacy in the modernization of Italy’s rural landscape. As the nation reflects on this centenary, the Guard’s participation in commemorations again underscores how memory is interwoven with national renewal and identity.

Maria Bergamas and the Eternal Flame

No 4 November commemoration is complete without recalling the Unknown Soldier, chosen in 1921 by Maria Bergamas, a mother from Trieste whose son Antonio died in the war. Her choice, placing a white chrysanthemum and her black veil on one of eleven anonymous coffins in the Basilica of Aquileia (Metropolitan seat of the Prince-Bishop of Rome-Ruthenia), became a gesture of immeasurable symbolic power.

On 4 November 1921, the chosen remains were brought to Rome, where they now lie beneath the perpetual flame of the Altare della Patria. The Unknown Soldier is “the Hero of every Hero,” representing all who died without a name, a rank, or a grave of their own.

When the Pontifical Walsingham Guard participated during the annual homage to the Unknown Soldier, it embodies a bridge between faith, national memory, and the moral imperative never to forget the cost of freedom.

A Guard of Faith and Remembrance

The Pontifical Walsingham Guard continues to affirm that remembrance is not simply an honor or obligation, it is a mission of service to others. The participation of the Guard's Italian-based membership is an act of devotion to the fallen, a tribute to Italy’s enduring unity, and a reminder to younger generations that peace is built upon the sacrifices of the past.

As 4 November returns each year, Italy renews its pledge to remember. And standing among the guardians of that memory, at the Altare della Patria, on the slopes of Monte Grappa, and in towns across the peninsula, the Pontifical Walsingham Guard remains a steadfast witness to honor, duty, and the eternal flame of national gratitude.

Looking Back: The 2010 Trinity School for Ministry Pathway Initiative of Pontifical Georgian College (formerly St. George Theological Seminary and St. George's School of Theology)

Photograph of stained glass window
bearing the seal of St. George
Theological Seminary, formerly
St. George's School of Theology.
 Photograph Copyright URRC 2018. 

By Staff

ROME-RUTHENIA 1 December 2025 (NRom)

In 2010, during a period of renewed growth and academic restructuring, the then-Archdiocese of the Southwest (which later became the Diocese of Rome-Ruthenia) explored an external academic pathway for clergy formation through Trinity School for Ministry in Ambridge, Pennsylvania (now known as Trinity Anglican Seminary). Trinity, an internationally respected Anglican seminary known for its rigorous academics, was firmly evangelical in identity, yet included a strong and active Anglo-Catholic presence. At the time, it represented one of the few accredited North American seminaries willing to engage constructively with smaller traditional jurisdictions.

The pathway was opened through formal correspondence between the Metropolitan of the Southwest (now H.A.H. Pope Radislav I of Rome-Ruthenia) and the Very Rev. Dr. Justyn Terry, then Dean and President of Trinity. In his reply, Dean Terry warmly welcomed seminarians from the Archdiocese's seminary, St. George Theological Seminary (now Pontifical Georgian College). He also affirmed the academic compatibility of the program and noted that Trinity could provide “appropriate field-education placement for these students” in explicitly Anglo-Catholic settings.

While no seminarians ultimately enrolled through this avenue, the arrangement and correspondence reflected the Archdiocese’s ongoing commitment to high academic standards in clergy formation and demonstrated recognition and support by respected external institutions for its evolving clergy-training program.

In retrospect, the 2010 Trinity initiative stands as a small but meaningful chapter in the ongoing development of the Pontifical Georgian College and its predecessors. It also highlights an important historical point: although the Diocese of the Southwest originated within the broader “continuing Anglican” milieu, it had ceased meaningful participation in that movement well before its full canonical restoration in 2008. Under the path established by St. Edwin, the Archdiocese had already moved decisively toward its present Orthodox-Catholic identity long before the later emergence of the United Roman-Ruthenian Church.

Today, the Seminary’s lineage continues through uninterrupted ecclesiastical authority, lived tradition, and spiritual mission entrusted to it. The Trinity correspondence remains a reminder that, even in transitional moments, the Church consistently sought excellence, legitimacy, and faithful formation for her clergy—a commitment that continues unchanged.

United Roman-Ruthenian Church Announces Historic Concordat Between the Russian and Yugoslavian Branches of the Order of St. John

H.R.H. Sire Rubén, Royal Protector
of the Order of St. John

By A. DiNardo 

ROME-RUTHENIA 17 November 2025 (NRom)

The United Roman-Ruthenian Church today formally announced the signing of a historic concordat between the Russian branch of the Hospitaller Order of St. John, led by His Highness Don Basilio Calì, Prince of Rhodes, Grand Master, and the Russian-Yugoslavian branch of the Order of St. John, maintained under the ecclesiastical protection of the Church. 

The concordat was solemnly signed earlier this month by His Apostolic Highness Prince-Bishop Radislav I, Roman-Ruthenian Pope, Sovereign of the Russian-Yugoslavian Order of St. John, and His Royal Highness Sire Rubén (Esteve IV), Chief of the Merovingian Dynasty, Royal Protector of both historic branches of the Order.

Church officials described the agreement as “a reaffirmation of historical legitimacy, fraternity, and continuity” within the ancient chivalric tradition rooted in the Crusader Knights of St. John.

H.I.M. Tsar Pavel I of Russia as Grand Master of the Knights of Malta

A Renewal of a Shared Heritage

The cooperation between the Russian obedience and the Yugoslavian obedience (also known as Russian-Yugoslavian) represents a reunion of two lines that share a common origin in the upheavals following the fall of Malta in 1798. When Tsar Pavel I gave sanctuary to the displaced Knights of St. John, he established the order under his sovereign authority, becoming the first Orthodox Grand Master in the Order’s history. That tradition endured within the Romanov dynasty (the order later being known as a Grand Priory in Russia) until the early twentieth century, when Tsar Nikolai II placed the care and continuity of the Order under the Royal House of Yugoslavia. King Peter II later renewed the statutes of the Yugoslavian continuation in 1964 while in exile.

H.M. King Peter II of Yugoslavia

In the complex history of the Russian–Yugoslavian succession of the Order of St. John, the United Roman-Ruthenian Church ultimately became the principal steward of the line descending from King Peter II. His Apostolic Highness Pope Radislav I had long held the rank of Bailiff Grand Cross under the authority derived from King Peter II’s statutes, and had also been admitted to a Russian successor branch recognized by Prince Trubetskoi, who served as Lieutenant Grand Master in the time of Peter II. While various modern bodies claim heritage from the original Knights Hospitaller of St. John, including from the Russian and Yugoslavian traditions, what can be clearly affirmed is that the branch maintained within the United Roman-Ruthenian Church is the only continuation that unites both the Peter II succession and the Trubetskoi connection under a single, traceable line of authority supported by the ecclesiastical endorsement of the Orthodox Old Catholic Roman-Ruthenian Pope. In this sense, the Church’s custodianship represents not exclusivity, but the responsible preservation of the specific lineage entrusted to it.

H.R.H. Sire Rubén, Royal Protector, at the Magistral
Palace of the Russian obedience of the
Order of St. John located in Malta

The related Russian branch, under Grand Master Don Basilio Calì, preserves the active charitable and chivalric dimension of the legacy. The new concordat formally links the two living continuations of the same historic institution, recognizing shared roots, mutual legitimacy, and a commitment to safeguarding the Order’s heritage for future generations.

Also, the United Roman-Ruthenian Church recognizes that the centuries-long history of the Knights of St. John has resulted in several successor bodies around the world, each preserving aspects of the Order’s charitable and chivalric mission. While the Church maintains its own historic Russian-Yugoslavian continuation, it affirms respect and Christian fraternity toward all legitimate traditions descending from the ancient Hospitaller heritage. The concordat announced today is thus not exclusive in spirit, but stands as a testament to unity, mutual goodwill, and shared devotion to the timeless ideals of the Order.

First page of the concordat document

Details of the Concordat

The concordat establishes mutual recognition between the two branches as continuations of the historic Russian and Yugoslavian tradition of the Order of St. John. It also appoints H.R.H. Sire Rubén (Esteve IV) as the Royal Protector of both obediences.

Church officials emphasized that, while the Russian-Yugoslavian branch remains primarily custodial and honorary in nature, the concordat allows deeper cooperation with the active charitable works of the Russian branch.

Significance of the Agreement

The concordat marks one of the most meaningful developments in the Order’s modern history. For the first time in decades, the two obediences that stem from the same Russian and Yugoslavian inheritance have formally affirmed a shared mission of Fides, Caritas, et Servitium (Faith, Charity, and Service).

Its significance includes a restoration of unity in a divided legacy. The Order’s survival through political turmoil—from Napoleon’s conquest to the Bolshevik Revolution and the fall of Yugoslavia—left multiple lines of succession. The new agreement strengthens unity among the legitimate continuations of the Russian tradition. And, the concordat ensures that this distinctive heritage is preserved both spiritually (through the Church) and actively (through the Russian branch).

With both branches under the Royal Merovingian Dynasty’s patronage and, for the Yugoslavian branch, the sovereignty of the Roman-Ruthenian Pope, the Order gains renewed stability. 

Statements from Church Leadership

In remarks following the signing, Pope Radislav I stated that the agreement “honors the memory of Tsar Pavel I and King Peter II, and solidifies the shared vocation of the Order across its historic branches.” He noted that the Church remains committed to preserving the Order’s legacy with dignity and fidelity.

H.R.H. Sire Rubén, Royal Protector of both branches, praised the concordat and stated that for him “it will be a great honor to accept this responsibility.”

An Enduring Mission

The Order of St. John, from its origins in the medieval Hospitaller tradition to its Russian and Yugoslavian chapters, has remained steadfast in its dedication to Christian charity and chivalric service. The 2025 concordat reaffirms that legacy, ensuring that both the active and custodial aspects of the Order continue to work in harmony, preserving a tradition that has endured for nearly a thousand years.

Walsingham Guard Colonel Tony Williams Re-Elected to Lead Historic Odd Fellows Lodge

By Staff

SHREVEPORT, LOUISIANA, USA 11 November 2025 (NRom)

Marquis Tony Williams, Honorary Colonel of the Pontifical Walsingham Guard and officer of General Command, has been re-elected to a second term as Noble Grand (President) of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows Lodge in Shreveport, Louisiana.

Neith Lodge, founded 177 years ago, is among the oldest in the state and holds its meetings within the Grand Lodge of Louisiana IOOF headquarters. Colonel Williams presided over the recent meeting and election, which took place in observance of both U.S. Veterans Day and U.K. Remembrance Day, wearing his Walsingham Guard insignia — including rank shoulder boards, epaulettes, and ceremonial ribbons — in honor of the occasion.

A distinguished retired U.S. Army combat veteran (Master Sergeant) and current member of the Louisiana State Guard (Chief Warrant Officer 2), Colonel Williams is also recognized as the 14th Lord of the Manor of Packwoods and 14th Lord of the Manor of Skeeby. His long record of military and civic service continues to reflect the principles of faith, duty, and fellowship espoused by both the Guard and the Odd Fellows.

The Independent Order of Odd Fellows (IOOF), founded in the 18th century, is a worldwide fraternal organization dedicated to the timeless virtues of Friendship, Love, and Truth. With a deep-rooted tradition of charity and community service, the Order has historically established orphanages, hospitals, and homes for the elderly — tangible expressions of its commitment to compassion and human dignity.

Colonel Williams’ leadership embodies these enduring values, uniting the spirit of Christian brotherhood with steadfast service to God, country, and community.

Motu Proprio: Per Mariam ad Cor Iesu, On the Singular Cooperation of the Blessed Virgin Mary in the Work of Redemption

Motu Proprio: Per Mariam ad Cor Iesu

Of Our Most Holy Father, Radislav I, by Divine Providence Supreme Pontiff of the United Roman-Ruthenian Church

On the Singular Cooperation of the Blessed Virgin Mary in the Work of Redemption

RADISLAV PP. I

Through Mary to the Heart of Jesus, pierced for the salvation of the world, there flows an unfailing river of grace and mercy. Yet by the mysterious will of God, the channel through which that grace first entered the world was the humble consent of the Virgin of Nazareth. In her the divine plan found a dwelling-place; through her obedience, the Word took flesh, and through her fidelity, the disciple learns to draw near to the Sacred Heart of her Son. The Church, pondering these mysteries, has ever discerned in Mary not a rival but the purest reflection of the Redeemer’s love; she who, by her maternal compassion, leads souls ever more deeply to the Heart of Jesus.

     From the earliest centuries of the Church, the faithful have honoured the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Holy Theotokos, as the woman through whom the Word became flesh and by whose obedience the new creation was begun. The holy Fathers acclaimed her as the new Eve, for as the first woman freely shared in the fall of mankind, so the Virgin, by grace and faith, freely shared in the plan of salvation. In this sense her fiat constituted a true though subordinate participation; entirely dependent upon, yet inseparably joined to the redemptive work of her Divine Son.

     When, in later ages, writers and pastors employed the title Co-Redemptrix, the prefix co- was neither intended to place Mary on a level of equality with Christ the Redeemer nor did it do so in fact. Rather, it signified that she stood with Him, united in compassion and purpose beneath the Cross, sharing in His sufferings as only a Mother might. Every grace flows from the Passion of Christ alone; Mary’s part is wholly derivative, wholly maternal. The venerable title Mediatrix belongs to her in this same subordinate sense, for all her intercession derives from, and leads back to, the one Mediator between God and men, Jesus Christ (1 Tim. 2:5).

     And in proof of its universal doctrinal truth, this same mystery is proclaimed in different terminology, with praises sung to the Theotokos in which she is hailed as the cause of our deification, the bridge leading those on earth to heaven, and the one through whom salvation came to the world. Such words do not exceed the bounds of sound doctrine but rather manifest the profound conviction that her cooperation in the divine economy was both free and real, and that her maternal intercession continues unceasingly within the communion of saints. Thus, in the contemplation of Mary, the whole Apostolic Church throughout the entire world meets upon common ground, acknowledging that the mystery of redemption, while wrought solely by Christ, includes by divine design the loving consent and abiding prayer of His Mother.

     To invoke the Blessed Virgin as Co-Redemptrix and Mediatrix of All Graces is therefore not to propose a new dogma, but to give name to a truth already contained in the deposit of faith and manifest in the Church’s perennial devotion. Indeed, it is Our sacred duty to serve as guardian of the faith, neither innovating nor redacting. And in that one unchanging faith, we know that redemption is accomplished by Christ alone; yet it was welcomed, served, and borne in her who replied, Be it done unto me according to thy word. In recognizing this, the faithful do not glorify Mary apart from her Son, but rather the infinite mercy of God who wills that His creatures should freely share in His saving work. Where this is misunderstood, the Church must explain and teach; and where this is the subject of protest or criticism, the Church must remain firm, not obfuscate, deny, or modify.

      May this truth, contemplated anew, inflame in all the children of the Church a deeper love for the Mother of the Redeemer, and lead them ever closer to the pierced Heart from which flow all graces of salvation.

      Therefore, moved by the example of the Saints and guided by the constant teaching of the Church, We affirm that the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of God, the Holy Theotokos, by divine disposition, cooperated in a unique and singular way in the work of human redemption; never equal to her Son the Redeemer, but wholly united with Him in love and suffering. The titles Co-Redemptrix and Mediatrix of All Graces, when rightly understood, express this same mystery of maternal participation and therefore are universal truths throughout all Christendom; and We commend their proper, prudent, continual, and perpetual use to clergy and laity throughout the world, for such is needed in order to deepen the faithful’s understanding of the Mother of the Church.

     Given in Rome-Ruthenia in the House of Sts. Peter, Andrew, Stephen, and Mark, this fifth day of November, in the two thousand twenty-fifth of the Incarnation. 

Radislav I of Rome-Ruthenia Issues New Encyclical “De Civitate Christiana”: A Call to Renew the Heart of Civilization

By M. Derosiers

ROME-RUTHENIA 31 October 2025 (NRom)

Summary:  In a powerful new encyclical, De Civitate Christiana, H.A.H. Prince-Bishop Radislav I, Roman-Ruthenian Pope outlines a call for spiritual renewal in modern society. He emphasizes that humanity's quest for peace stems from a divine yearning for communion with God, and true change begins in the heart, not through ideology or policy. The Church serves as a moral guide, advocating for justice and truth under the Cross of Christ. Radislav I critiques modern economic and political systems, urging a sacred economy rooted in service rather than profit. He envisions government as a ministry of justice that must align with God's eternal law to be legitimate. Ultimately, the encyclical champions the idea that transforming the world starts with the conversion of the soul, paving the way for a civilization centered on the sacred.

The full text of the encyclical is available at the Pontifical Chancery.

Reformed Anglican Church (Uganda) Enters Corporate Communion with United Roman-Ruthenian Church

By A. DiNardo

ROME-RUTHENIA 29 October 2025 (NRom)

His Illustrious Highness the Most Reverend Jonathan Kyangasha, ecclesiastical Archduke of Verulamius, Primate of Uganda and head of the Reformed Anglican Church of Uganda (RAC), has entered into corporate communion with the United Roman‑Ruthenian Church (URRC), by decree and Apostolic mandate of His Holiness the Roman-Ruthenian Pope. Simultaneously, the RAC will retain its existing internal structure, identity, customs, and autonomous governance, now recognised as a territorial jurisdiction within the Apostolic Congregation of the Consistory of the Holy Apostolic See, the curial office charged with oversight and support of patriarchates, primatial sees, provinces and dioceses in communion with the URRC.

The faithful of the RAC (Uganda) now participate in the URRC’s worldwide communion, sharing in its mission, liturgical life, and ecclesial family. This union marks a step in the URRC’s stated goal of “preserving and renewing the Orthodox-Catholic faith in its full inheritance” — bridging the Latin and Byzantine traditions as the Eastern Roman Church with Latin heritage.

Archbishop Kyangasha founded the Reformed Anglican Church of Uganda (RAC) in 2017, and currently serves as its primate.  Prior to that, he served in the Anglican tradition in Uganda (Anglican Communion). The RAC has been expanding its presence across Uganda. For example, in 2024 the ordination of Rev. Spencer Byamukama as vicar in the Kigezi archdeaconry in southern Uganda was officiated by Archbishop Kyangasha. His stabilising leadership comes amid a backdrop of ecclesial unrest within Ugandan Anglicanism: some communities dissatisfied with the processes and leadership of the Church of Uganda have joined the RAC under Kyangasha’s primacy. 

This corporate communion signals an ecclesial unity of a different kind. The URRC is an autocephalous Church with inheritance of Western (Latin) and Eastern (Byzantine, Russian, Syrian) traditions. The entry of the RAC (Uganda) as an autonomous territorial jurisdiction in corporate communion with the URRC underscores the Church's growing global footprint.

For clergy and laity of the RAC, the communion affirms recognition of their episcopal orders, sacraments and ministry within a wider communion, which represents both pastoral affirmation and canonical security. And, the RAC maintains liturgical and structural autonomy, respecting ancient ecclesiastical customs and dynamics, placing the RAC in a global communion context while retaining local identity. This is an example of an authentic ecumenical approach, a testament to Christian unity lived out in institutional form.

The new corporate communion of the Reformed Anglican Church (Uganda) with the URRC opens a fresh chapter in ecclesial identity and mission. The link to a global Holy Apostolic See, with acknowledged territorial status in the URRC’s structure, may enable expanded resources, broader relational networks, and deeper sacramental affirmation.

For the United Roman-Ruthenian Church, this partnership marks a further step in its strategy of global outreach and communion-building, particularly in Africa. Uganda, as a vibrant Christian context, offers both challenges and opportunities for living out this emerging ecclesial model. The communion holds great promise for deeper unity, stronger recognition, and broader mission of service in Uganda and beyond.