Munich (dpa / lby) – Bavaria’s Interior Minister Joachim Herrmann (CSU) has reaffirmed the value of the Christian faith. “We need helpfulness, justice and solidarity for the internal cohesion of our country more than ever,” Herrmann said on Saturday in Regensburg at a state reception for the investiture ceremony of the Knightly Order of the Holy Sepulcher of Jerusalem, where new members were admitted. Christians are called to stand up for humanity, tolerance and peace all over the world.
Herrmann emphasized the goals of the papal lay order, which arose from a late medieval pilgrimage movement and to which the CSU politician also belongs. It is of great importance for the order to stand up for peace and for the protection and support of the Catholic faith, especially in the Holy Land.
The order currently has around 30,000 ladies and knights worldwide, 1,460 of them in Germany. One does not pursue political goals. At services, members wear cloaks with a red Jerusalem cross. Members are elected, an application is not possible, it says on the website.
