MARCH 1-4: JUBILEE OF THE ORDER OF THE HOLY SEPULCHRE

VATICAN CITY, FEB 28, 2000 (VIS) - From March 1 to 4, 3,500 knights, dames and ecclesiastics from all over the world, belonging to the Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem, will celebrate their Jubilee in Rome.

The participants will arrive on March 1 and the following day John Paul II will receive them in audience in the Paul VI Hall. That evening, there will be a pilgrimage to the Basilica of St. Mary Major. On Friday March 3, Cardinal Furno, grand master of the order, will celebrate a Mass at St. Paul's Outside-the-Walls and, in the afternoon, will preside at a Liturgy of the Word in the Basilica of St. John Lateran. At midday on Saturday March 4, the cardinal will celebrate Mass at the papal altar in St. Peter's Basilica. The Viennese court choir will give a rendition of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's "Coronation Mass" KV 317 in D major.

The charitable aim of the order, which was created at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem in 1099, is to ensure regular support through prayer and good works to the Christian communities in the Holy Land. Thanks to contributions from the almost 20,000 knights and dames, the order largely meets the needs of the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem: maintenance of the clergy and upkeep of the patriarchal seminary and the parish schools, the latter frequented by more than 15,000 pupils. Among its social initiatives are support for professional schools and the granting of loans for the setting up of agricultural and artisan projects. Leadership and coordination of the order's activities is the responsibility of the grand master, Cardinal Carlo Furno, who is assisted in his task by the grand magistrature (government) made up of members from various countries.

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