The Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem invested two new knights into its Cleveland Section at the North Central Lieutenancy’s annual Investiture Weekend Sept. 12-15 in Grand Rapids, Michigan.
During a solemn investiture ceremony on Sept. 14 at the Basilica of St. Adalbert in Grand Rapids, Archbishop emeritus Jerome Listecki of the Archdiocese of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, a knight and former coadjutor prior, invested Sir Ryan George Scheel and Sir Matthew Mann Minarik Sr. into the Equestrian Order as Knights of the Holy Sepulchre. Scheel is a member of at St. Mary of the Assumption Parish in Mentor and Minarik is a member of St. Stephen Parish in Cleveland.
A memorial Mass in remembrance of members of the order who died during the previous year followed the investiture ceremony. More than 450 knights and dames from six Midwestern states attended the investiture and Mass.
The Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem is a pontifical order of chivalry under the protection of the Holy See, with origins that can be traced back to 1099 and the First Crusade. Members make a lifelong commitment to live a life of the order’s spirituality and make a commitment to the order’s mission of service and support for the Christians in the Holy Land.
Currently, the order has more than 30,000 members worldwide. The North Central Lieutenancy, one of nine lieutenancies in the United States, covers the states of Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio and Wisconsin.
In the photo above, supplied by Ken Snow, newly invested knights pose with Archbishop Listecki, Sir Thomas Olejniczak, North Central lieutenant, far left, and Sir Max Douglas Brown, far right, lieutenant emeritus.