The Order of Saint Sylvester

While knights aren't as ubiquitous as they once were, knighthood is still a high honor bestowed only on a select few! Did you know that the Pope has the ability to knight people? This is one of the abilities the Pope has by virtue of his status as a head of state (Vatican City)!

The Order of Saint Sylvester, the principal Order into which the Pope knights those deserving, is an order intended to honor Catholic laypeople who are actively involved in the life of the Church, particularly through their professional duties and/or mastery of the arts. There can be no more than 450 Knights at one time, so it's an incredibly exclusive order!

Generally, one can be nominated for the Order only by their Bishop or an Apostolic Nuncio, although there are rare exceptions. While Knights and Dames of the Order do not have specific duties, they are typically invited to major events of their dioceses (i.e. consecrations of bishops, ordinations of priests, etc.).

Perhaps the coolest (if rarely used) perk of being a Knight of the Order is that it technically gives one the right to enter Saint Peter's Basilica on a horse! Again, this is almost never done, but it's a pretty cool thought. And who better to serve as a knight than the Pope himself?

So, try to live out your faith with heroic virtue and a strong devotion to Holy Mother Church. Who knows - you might one day get a call from the Vatican offering you membership in the Order of Saint Sylvester!

Jesus' Blood Type

Did you know that the Church has an official position on Jesus' blood type? It's true! Some of the greatest miracles we've ever witnessed have been Eucharistic Miracles, and that's where we're looking today. Let's travel back in time to the 8th Century, to the city of Lanciano, Italy...

Sometime during the 700s, a Basilian priest was saying Mass, privately, at the monastery of St. Longinus. At the same time, he was struggling with doubting the transubstantiation of the bread and wine into the true Body and Blood of Christ. As he held the gifts aloft and spoke the Words of Consecration ("This is my Body...This is my Blood"), the bread and wine miraculously changed into living flesh and blood.

Obviously, this priest's claims could not be allowed to spread without proper investigation. The Church has continued to investigate this miracle for centuries as science and technology have advanced. In 1574, the flesh and blood (which remained preserved and undecayed) were examined by Archbishop Antonio Gaspar Rodriguez, who believed them to be authentic.

Perhaps most impressively, the specimens were re-examined in 1971 by Odoardo Linoli, a scientist and former head of a Pathological Lab. He determined that the flesh and blood were human cardiac tissue of the blood type AB, and that there was no evidence of preservatives used.

The Catholic Church proclaims this as a Eucharistic Miracle, and believes the flesh and blood that the bread and wine changed into to be the true Body and Blood of Christ. Therefore, the Church professes that Jesus Christ's blood type was AB! Bet you never thought you'd hear that one, huh?

Catholic Care

Okay, this is both a fun fact and an uplifting one! Did you know that the Catholic Church is the largest non-governmental provider of healthcare in the world? It's true! The Church has had a rich tradition of providing healthcare, particularly to the poorest of the poor, since its inception in the wake of the Ascension of Jesus.

Let's check the numbers on which that stat is based. The Catholic Church has around 18,000 clinics, 16,000 nursing homes and special needs treatment centers, and 5,500 hospitals. Around 65% of these facilities are located in developing countries, carrying on the mission of Saints like Damien of Molokai and Theresa of Calcutta. It is estimated that the Church manages 26% of the world's healthcare facilities.

This is right in line with the overall mission of the Church. What did Jesus spend the majority of His time on earth doing? Healing people! Healthcare has been a vital part of the Church since its very founding. Many religious orders are devoted entirely to healthcare, and Catholics can be found all over the world healing the sick.

The importance of healthcare to the Catholic Church can be best summed up by a Benedictine rule: "The care of the sick is to be placed above and before every other duty, as if indeed Christ were being directly served by waiting on them." Let us never forget what Jesus Himself said on this subject: "Whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me."