The original registration of the arms of San Luigi took place with the Polish Heraldic College and the American College of Heraldry during the 1930s under Prince-Abbot Edmond I. Now, these arms have also been registered by the Collegium Heraldicum Concordiae in Poland, which is under the direction of our Fizzan King of Arms in the International College of Arms of the Noblesse, Dr Norbert Wójtowicz.

The Head of the Royal House of Maharaja Adinda Aranan, H.R.H. Datu Muhammidul’ Ali Al-Mahmun Arunan, PBMM etc. has bestowed the title of Datu Paduka in the Grand Order of Sultan Bantilan Muizuddin upon the Prince-Abbot. The Royal House is descended from Sultan Bantilan Muizuddin, who ruled as Sultan of Sulu between 1748 and 1763. The Sultanate of Sulu includes parts of the present-day Philippines and Brunei, and reigned between 1405 and 1915.

The Prince-Abbot has received the decoration of the Związku Polskich Spadochroniarzy w Warszawie – the Polish Union of Parachutists, Warsaw branch. The Union was established in 1989 by a group of former paratroopers. It brings together military veterans, current military paratroopers and reservists, as well as some civilians involved in parachuting professionally or for recreation. It is officially registered as a public benefit association in law and is a member of the European Federation of Paratroopers and the Federation of Associations of Reservists and Veterans of the Polish Armed Forces. The Warsaw branch is one of forty branches in Poland and Germany.

The Vilatte Chapel welcomed Archbishop William Myers of the Old Roman Catholic Church of America and Bishop Howard Weston-Smart of the Old Roman Catholic Church of Great Britain together with guests for an ecumenical Mass according to the Tridentine Rite. Archbishop William is a Knight of the Order of the Crown of Thorns while Bishop Howard, who holds the title of Duke of Gatrun in the Abbey-Principality of San Luigi, is one of the senior members of the Order. The service was followed by a dinner hosted by H.S.H. the Prince-Abbot at a local restaurant.

During the service, Archbishop William wore vestments from the San Luigi Archive that had originally belonged to Archbishop Joanny Bricaud (1881-1934), the faithful friend of Archbishop Vilatte in his last years and an important member of the Order of the Crown of Thorns. The Prince-Abbot wore a pectoral cross of Archbishop Joseph-René Vilatte (1854-1929), who as Joseph III was the fifth Prince-Abbot of San Luigi.

Archbishop William additionally admitted the Prince-Abbot to membership in the Confraternity of the Holy Apostles, the ecumenical society of the Old Roman Catholic Church in America.

The day provided an opportunity to view some of the archival materials in our collection and discuss matters concerning the preservation of the history of our movement.