Upon arriving in Rome, we were drawn immediately to the heart of the Church, gathering at St Peter’s Square on 19 October for the canonisation ceremony. To stand among the faithful—having only just arrived in the Eternal City—was a profoundly moving experience. During the solemn rite, the Holy Father proclaimed seven new saints: Saint Bartolo Longo, Saint Ignatius Choukrallah Maloyan, Saint Peter To Rot, Saint José Gregorio Hernández, Saint María del Monte Carmelo (Carmen) Rendiles Martínez, Saint Maria Troncatti, and Saint Vincenza Maria Poloni.
For us as members of the Order of the Holy Sepulchre, the canonisation of Saint Bartolo Longo, himself a knight of the Order, held particular significance. When his name was announced, it was met with joyful applause from knights and dames gathered from across the world, marking a moment of deep gratitude and blessing in welcoming a saint so closely linked to our Order’s spiritual heritage.
The formal Jubilee Pilgrimage of the Knights and Dames of the Holy Sepulchre began on 21 October, with our gathering at the Basilica of St Paul Outside the Walls. As members of the Magistral Delegation of New Zealand, we joined thousands of knights and dames assembled in white and black regalia adorned with the scarlet Cross of Jerusalem—a powerful sign of unity and shared vocation. Processing through the Holy Door during the Jubilee Year, we participated in Holy Mass, entrusting our pilgrimage and our mission to God.
Later that same day, we continued to the Basilica of St John Lateran, the Cathedral of Rome and mother church of Christendom. Once again, we passed through the Holy Door and participated in the celebration of Holy Mass, reaffirming our communion with the universal Church and its apostolic foundation. The day concluded at the Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore, where we entered into a quieter moment of prayer and reflection before the icon of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the relics of the Holy Crib, and the tomb of Pope Francis. Although no Mass was celebrated at Santa Maria Maggiore, the visit provided a deeply contemplative close to a full and grace-filled day.
A highlight of our pilgrimage followed with a gathering at the Paul VI Audience Hall, where we were received and addressed by His Holiness Pope Leo XVI, Sovereign of the Order. In his address, the Holy Father reaffirmed the foundational mission entrusted to us: to protect the Holy Sepulchre, to care for pilgrims, and to support the Church and faithful of Jerusalem. His words encouraged us to persevere in hope and to renew our dedication to lives of service, particularly in challenging times.
Our pilgrimage reached its spiritual culmination with the final pilgrimage Mass at the Basilica of St Peter, celebrated above the tomb of the Apostle Peter. There, surrounded by the beauty of the basilica and the enduring witness of the early Church, we offered prayers of thanksgiving for the graces received and the unity experienced throughout the pilgrimage.
We returned home with hearts renewed and spirits strengthened, carrying with us the blessings of the Jubilee, a deeper sense of fraternity within the Order, and a renewed resolve to live out our vocation in faith, service, and hope, for the good of the Church and for peace in the Holy Land.
New Zealand Magistral Delagation at the 2025 Jubilee
New Zealand pilgrims outside the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem in 2010. In the front row are Fr Anthony Malone, OFM (centre) and Jack Gibbs (right).
Pilgrimages to the Holy Land are an important part of belonging to the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem.
Article 36 of the Order’s constitution states: “Except for justified reasons, the members of the Order must go on a pilgrimage to the Holy Land at least once in their lives, preferably taking part in one organised officially by the central or local authorities of the Order.”
The Magistral Delegation in New Zealand has not organised any official pilgrimages, but six of the founding members of the Order in New Zealand in 2011 had been pilgrims in the Holy Land the previous year. They were Jack Gibbs (who became president of the initial EOHSJ foundation), Fr Anthony Malone, OFM, Patricia and Jim Gribble, and Suzie and Pat McCarthy.
The McCarthys had been leading pilgrimages from New Zealand to the Holy Land since 2007. The chaplain for their first pilgrimage was Bishop Pat Dunn (who became the first grand prior for the Order in New Zealand in 2011).
Pat McCarthy had also developed a pilgrimage website, Seetheholyland.net.
Other members of the Order who have undertaken pilgrimages to the Holy Land are: Msgr Bernard Kiely, Carleen Blucher (who became magistral delegate in 2019), Patsy O’Sullivan, Fiona Wilson-Taylor, Peter and Leonie Rawson, Shelly Fitness and Bishop Steve Lowe.
In 2023 March Bishop Lowe led a pilgrimage to the Holy Land, followed by Pat and Suzie McCarthy who took their final pilgrimage group to the Holy Land in May 2023.
Knights or dames who have completed a pilgrimage to the Holy Land are granted a pilgrim shell as part of their regalia.
Carleen Blucher (centre) with other New Zealand pilgrims in Jerusalem in 2014.
Bishop Pat Dunn on pilgrimage to the Holy Land in 2007.
Pilgrimages in March and May 2023
Bishop Steve Lowe KC*HS Grand Prior of the EOHSJ-NZ took a pilgrimage to the Holy Land in March 2023. You can view his Blog, 'Hikoi of Faith', here.
Pat McCarthy, KCHS, and Suzie McCarthy, DCHS also took a pilgrimage to the Holy Land in May 2023. On May 17, while on pilgrimage in Jerusalem, three New Zealand members of the EOHSJ - Fr Chris Denham, KHS, Stephen Fitness, KHS, and Colin Lamb, KHS - were presented with pilgrim shells at the Latin Patriarchate. This was a first for the New Zealand Magistral Delegation as previously members who had been on pilgrimage to the Holy Land received their pilgrim shells at a vigil. Photo shows Pat McCarthy, KCHS, Colin Lamb KHS, Bishop William Shomali, Fr Chris Denham, KHS, Stephen Fitness, KHS, Fiona Wilson-Taylor, DHS, Suzie McCarthy, DCHS, Patsy O'Sullivan, DHS.
