Knights to be given audience with the Pope

Members of the Order of St George the Martyr are travelling from Cambridge to Rome next week for a private audience with His Holiness Pope Francis at the Vatican.

The group, headed by the Order’s Grand Master, Cllr Robert Dryden (Lab, Cherry Hinton) will also visit the historic grave of St George, the British Embassy in Rome and the Italian Parliament's Senate of the Republic House.

One of the Knights of the Order, Cambridge hair salon owner Piero D’Angelico, said: “It is a huge honour for the order to be invited to an audience with the Pope and everyone is delighted about the trip. This is a wonderful way to strengthen relations between the Church of England and the catholic church and to extend the hand of friendship.”

The Order of St. George The Martyr was founded more than 700 years ago in Hungary and promotes the values of compassion, charity, faithfulness, and courage – encapsulated in the ethos of chivalry.

Ahead of the visit, the Labour leader of Cambridge City Council, wrote to the Pope to express his hopes for its success. He said: “It is my hope, on behalf of the Council, that this trip will further strengthen the values of unity, peace, and compassion that the Holy See and the City of Cambridge hold dearly.

“May I express on behalf of the council and residents of Cambridge, the utmost respect and admiration we have for your and the Holy See’s work to promote peace, justice and interfaith dialogue. It is needed now more than ever.”

The Order raises money for charities, most recently it has been fundraising for the Riding for the Disabled Association (RDA), where the horses benefit the lives of more than 20,000 disabled children and adults who are given the opportunity to try riding and carriage driving, as well as therapy, fitness, skills development and opportunities for achievement.