Order of Saint Januarius - History of The Order

History of The Order

The order continues to be bestowed today by the Head of the Royal House of Bourbon of the Two Sicilies. The founder of the Order, Charles VII of Naples, who ruled from 1734 until 1759, was the first reigning monarch to reside in this kingdom since 1502. As a young monarch, Charles was considerably influenced by his father Philip V of Spain, who had proved a capable if erratic ruler, not only bringing peace to his kingdom but ultimately re-establishing Spanish influence in Italy. Although the Order's foundation had been planned for some time, the young king's marriage to Maria Amalia of Saxony provided a suitable opportunity. Its statutes and foundation both date to 3 July 1738 and the first promotions to the Order were announced three days later. These statutes limited membership of the Order to sixty Roman Catholic noblemen, although non-Catholics have been admitted by successive Grand Masters in exceptional cases and the total complement of the Order has exceeded sixty on several occasions. As an Order of the collar and the highest Order of the Kingdom, it was intended to equal in rank that of the Golden Fleece, awarded by Charles' father in Spain, and that of the Holy Spirit, given by his cousin in France. Indeed, it was frequent practice for the princes of each branch of the House to receive all three Orders. As they had discussed in their correspondence, King Charles reserved for his father the right to appoint up to six knights, emphasising the unity of the House of Bourbon.

The Catholic nature of the Order was particularly emphasised in the statutes, which limited the membership to sixty. Article VII laid out the obligations of the knights, beginning with the invocation to the knights to be ready to defend the glory and honour of the Holy Catholic faith at any cost. Knights were required to procure conciliation between members of the Order in dispute with each other; to swear inviolable loyalty to the Grand Master; to try to attend daily Mass; to take Communion at Easter and on the Feast of Saint Januarius; to celebrate a Mass for the souls of deceased knights; not to offer or accept a challenge to a duel but refer the dispute to the Grand Master for his decision; and to attend the chapels of the Order, ranking according to seniority by date of reception. The Pope, Benedict XIV, confirmed the foundation of the Order in a papal bull of 30 May 1741, whose provisions were then slightly modified in a second bull issued 27 July of the same year. The dynastic and religious character of the Order and the papal authority given to its foundation purportedly served to protect it from abolition by the government of Victor Emmanuel II of Savoy in 1860.

King Charles VII inherited the Spanish Crown as King Charles III on 10 August 1759. By Article II of the Treaty of Naples of 3 October of that year, he was required to establish the Infante D. Ferdinando, his second son (third-born since the exclusion of the eldest who was severely retarded), as King of the Two Sicilies. The new sovereign received the Crown of Naples and Sicily as Ferdinando IV of Naples and III of Sicily (later, after the reunion of both the kingdoms, Ferdinando I delle Due Sicilie) by the Pragmatic Decree of 6 October 1759. This ordained that the succession should pass by male primogeniture among the descendants of King Ferdinando or, failing them, of his younger brothers, unless the Spanish crown should be united with the Sovereignty of the Two Sicilies, in which case the latter had to be ceded to a son, grandson or great-grandson of the prince who so combined both successions. In the event of the male heirs of King Charles III becoming extinct, the Two Sicilies Crown would pass to the nearest female heiress of the last King.