Submitted by Val Hiscock on
This year, after the COVID 19 emergency, the ceremonies of admission and investiture in the Order of St. Lazarus of Jerusalem will resume at the Abbey Basilica of San Martino delle Scale.
The Prayer Vigil will begin at 7.30 pm on 11 June and will be presided over by Msgr. Michele Pennisi, Apostolic Administrator of the Archdiocese of Monreale, Ecclesiastical Grand Prior of the Order and Senior Chaplain of the Grand Bailiwick of Sicily. The solemn investiture will take place the next day, June 12, starting at 11.15 am.
This year, in addition to four leading lay representatives of the world of professions, four clergy of different Christian confessions will be invested, strengthening the ecumenical spirit of the Order. These are the Most Reverend Kevin Francis Donlon, Auxiliary Bishop of the Diocese of Zanzibar of the Anglican Communion, the Very Reverend Ottar Svein Mikael Myrset, Ordinary Bishop of the Scandinavian Diocese of the Nordic Catholic Church, the Very Reverend Dom Vittorio Giovanni Rizzone, Abbot Mitrato of San Martino delle Scale and the Very Reverend Don Alessandro Di Stefano, Dean of the Collegiate Basilica of San Sebastiano in Acireale. The latter will assume the position of Chaplain of the Commandery "Maria Santissima del Carmelo" in Acireale.
The ceremony will also be attended by the Most Reverend Dom Notker Wolf, ECLJ, Abbot Primate Emeritus of the Benedictine Confederation of the Order of St. Benedict, member of the Grand Bailiwick of Sicily and "presenter" of the Abbot of San Martino delle Scale for admission to the Order of St. Lazarus. Abbot Wolf has always been interested in ecumenical and interreligious dialogue and currently sits on the Council of World Religious Leaders for the Elijah Interfaith Institute, an international and interfaith non-profit organization founded by Rabbi Alon Goshen-Gottstein in 1997 with the mission of promoting peace among the world's diverse faith communities through interreligious dialogue, education, research and dissemination, an organization that brings together world religious leaders and renowned scholars through research projects, public conferences and community-wide initiatives.