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Insignia of the Pontifical Equestrian Order of St. Gregory the Great

The Pontifical Equestrian Order of St. Gregory the Great was established on September 1, 1831 by Pope Gregory XVI, seven months after his election.

The Order has four classes in civil and military divisions:

• Knight Grand Cross of the First Class
• Knight Grand Cross of the Second Class
• Commander
• Knight

The Order of St. Gregory is one of the five pontifical orders of knighthood in the Catholic Church. The order is bestowed on Catholic men and women (and in rare cases, non-Catholic men^[1]) in recognition of their service to the Church, unusual labors, support of the Holy See, and the good example set in their communities and country.

The Order's motto is Pro Deo et Principe.

The inaugural brief states, in part, that "gentlemen of proven loyalty to the Holy See who, by reason of their nobility of birth and the renown of their deeds or the degree of their munificence, are deemed worthy to be honoured by a public expression of esteem on the part of the Holy See". The end of the brief states that they must progressively maintain, by continued meritorious deed, the reputation and trust they had already inspired, and prove themselves worthy of the honour that had been conferred on them, by unswerving fidelity to God and to the sovereign Pontiff.

This honor has no particular obligations to the Church, except for the general ones stated above.

An eight-pointed cross, the insignia of the Order, bears a representation of St. Gregory on the obverse and on the reverse the motto "Pro Deo et Principe". It is suspended from a red and gold ribbon. In ecclesiastical heraldry, laypersons awarded the rank Grand Cross display a red and gold ribbon surrounding the shield in their coat of arms, while other ranks place an appropriate ribbon below the shield.^[2]

The difference between the civilian and military costumes is the former wears the cross hanging from a green crown of laurel, whereas the latter have the cross hanging from a trophy. It is interesting to note that neither of the two documents issued by Gregory XVI says a word about a special uniform for the Knight of St Gregory. A green uniform was later prescribed by Pope Pius IX. The uniform contains a black beaver-felt hat decorated with black silk ribbons, silver metallic twisted rope, buttons and black ostrich feathers. The jacket, made of green wool, is trimmed with silver metallic thread, and has a tail, nine yellow metal buttons in the front and three buttons on the cuffs and is lined with black satin. Finally, the costume contains suspenders, several yellow and red rosettes, white leather gloves, and a short sword with a handle made of mother of pearl with a medallion of the order at the end.

Members of the order have no privileges, except the right of riding on a horse inside the Saint Peter's Basilica in Rome. This right has not been practised in a very long time.

• John J. Raskob, (1879-1950) was a financial executive and businessman for DuPont and General Motors, and the builder of the Empire State Building.
• Hector P. Garcia, Mexican-American Civil Rights Leader
• Walter Annenberg, created TV Guide^[3] (Jewish)
• Bob Hope, 1998, convert to Catholicism
• Rupert Murdoch, 1998
• Roy Disney, 1998
• Jimmy Savile, 1990, English Radio DJ and Broadcaster.

• Photograph
• Catholic Knighthood article from Time Magazine, Jun. 25, 1928, reporting an award of the Order of St. Gregory the Great