London, September 2010. Knights and Dames of the Constantinian Order and the Royal Order of Francis I participated in several events held in honour of the Holy Father on the occasion of his Papal Visit to the United Kingdom at the invitation of HM The Queen.
His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI received the Delegate for Great Britain and Ireland, Mr Anthony Bailey, HSH Princess Marie-Therese von Hohenberg and Mr Mahmoud Khayami at a meeting held at the Apostolic Nunciature in London on the morning on 17 September 2010.
Pope Benedict XVI was later welcomed at St Mary’s University College in Twickenham on 17 September 2010 at a celebration of Catholic Education hosted jointly by the Catholic Education Service and the Catholic Bishops’ Conferences of England and Wales and Scotland. The Rt Rev George Stack, Auxiliary Bishop of Westminster who is also the Sub Prior of the British and Irish Delegation of the Constantinian Order, hosted the event. Several other knights and dames active in Catholic education attended.
On Saturday 18 September 2010 The Delegate lead a group of knights and dames to the Vigil of Prayer held in Hyde Park in London in the presence of Pope Benedict XVI and attended by over 60,000 people. Among them were John Kennedy CBE and Leo Simmonds. Several of our parliamentary knights and dames attended the Holy Father’s address at the Palace of Westminster including Lord and Lady Brennan and Jim Dobbin MP and Baroness Thatcher.