The armorial of Mgr. Jules-Ernest Houssaye (Abbé Julio) (1844-1912), Primate of the Gallican Church (image courtesy Mission Gallicane d’Alsace):

He was admitted a member of the Order of the Crown of Thorns by Prince-Abbot Joseph III in 1893 and served as Prelate-Commander and its representative in France (later Switzerland) until his death, maintaining a Secretariat at 21 Croix-des-Petits-Champs, Paris. He was formally invested by Prince-Abbot Joseph III in 1898 at 5, Rue Vernier, Paris. His episcopal arms bear a suspension of the jewel of the Order and a photograph of his office shows his commander’s collar together with the sword of his commandery.

Further details of his life can be read at this page.

Two new appointments in the San Luigi Orders have been announced.

The Revd. Canon Fr. Raphaël Steck has been appointed Chevalier in the Order of the Lion and the Black Cross and Chevalier Officier in the Order of the Crown of Thorns. Canon Steck serves the Mission Gallicane d’Alsace within the tradition of the Eglise Gallicane. Historically, the Eglise Gallicane has a close association with the San Luigi Orders through its common ancestry in Prince-Abbot Joseph III (Vilatte), with several of its prelates having held representative office in the past.

The Mission Gallicane d’Alsace maintains an informative website concerning its work at http://www.gallicanalsace.org and a page concerning the Order of the Crown of Thorns here.

The San Luigi Orders have received Certificates of Recognition in respect of their efforts for the Bunyoro-Kitara Kingdom from the Association of Representatives of the Kingdom of Bunyoro-Kitara worldwide (ARKBK CLBG).

The BBC has broadcast a programme on Bunyoro-Kitara and its neighbouring kingdom Buganda as part of its “Ancient Kingdoms of Africa” series.

The book “Across St Louis’ France” was published in 1971 by the Mitre Press in London. The author, the Very Revd. Canon George F. Tull, was a priest of the Old Roman Catholic Church of Great Britain and Grand Prior for England and Wales of the San Luigi Orders.

The book jacket says of him, “A Londoner by birth but countryman through choice, George Tull began his travels in Europe at the end of the war, and there are now few Continental countries which have not inspired one or more of his articles and poems. A reviewer of The Quiet Ways, a selection of his poems, wrote that “one is left to wonder on what terms such peace of mind is possible.” The answer perhaps is that he lives happily without radio, television, the cinema and daily newspapers.”

The photograph below shows a lapel-badge of the Abbey-Principality in enamel, manufactured by Vaughtons of Birmingham, UK, probably in the 1960s.

The badge belonged to the Very Revd. Canon Brougham Yates Claxton (1905-85), Vicar-General of the Old Roman Catholic Church of Great Britain and sometime deputy to the Very Revd. Canon George Tull in the Priory of England and Wales.

The BBC World Service has broadcast a radio programme in its Witness strand about the Dionne quintuplets and Dr. Allan Roy Dafoe (1883-1943). Dr. Dafoe was a member of the Order of the Lion and Black Cross and received the Grand Prix Humanitaire de France et des Colonies.

The programme can be heard on the BBC iPlayer at the following link: http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/p00s5p44/Witness_The_Dionne_Quintuplets/ (note that the link may not be accessible in all countries and may be time-limited).