Mary is a Catholic society of spiritual chivalry composed of men and women devoted to the Virgin Mary, traditional Catholic spirituality and spiritual warfare against the devil. 'And from the days of John the Baptist until now, the kingdom of heaven suffereth violence, and the violent bear it away (take it by force)' (Matthew 11:12) Mary calls you to join us and become a fellow 'Cross-Bearer' or Crusader (in the true sense of the word), spiritual warriors for Jesus and Mary on a crusade to our heavenly holy land. In the tradition of Saint Francis and his knights or spiritual crusaders, the Knights of St. Those who took the oath placed the sign of the cross ('crusader' = bearer/wearer/follower of the cross) on the right breast and a simple cross was sewn onto the shoulder of the crusader's garment to signify his status as a pilgrim.

The oath he swore was to God, not to any other man. The crusader was a pilgrim, first and foremost. Crusaders usually referred to themselves as 'pilgrims' or 'cross bearers.' Women had just as great a desire for salvation and they, too, came forward to be crossed.ĭuring the 'taking of the cross,' or 'crossing,' each crusader took a pilgrim's vow to make a pilgrimage to the Holy Sepulcher, the tomb in which Jesus was placed and from which He rose. The distinction between holy war and pilgrimage was clear. Rather than a 'holy war,' the crusade was preached as a pilgrimage, a holy act of charity, and a means of grace and penance. He saw himself and his friars as Knights of the Round Table fighting a spiritual crusade.

From the Spanish cruz, or cross, cruzado means a crusader or cross-bearer (crucifer).Įarlier in his life Francis had given up the idea of being a soldier, so later he became a spiritual crusader - a warrior without arms. When Saint Francis converted to the evangelical life, stripping his clothes in front of Bishop Guido and donning a peasant's robe, he chalked a cross on his back in that sense, he became a 'cross-bearer,' literally, a crusader.

Who are the knights of the vale