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Next up is a requiem Mass on April 12th at 10:30 a.m. in the extraordinary form for the late Archbishop Ismaele Castellano, O.P. (1913-2007), to mark the first anniversary of his death, at the cathedral in Siena. He took a great interest in the Poor Knights of Christ in Poggibonsi, where they have restored a nearly thousand-year-old Templar compound off the ancient Via Francigena. He is very much missed as a father and protector of the Templars. For more on this wonderful community please see this link:
http://www.ordo-militiae-templi.org/starten.htm
and
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Militia_Templi
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I am including some photos of my visit yesterday to Poggibonsi. The modern Templars are a lively community, where a dozen or so young knights assist Count Cristofani della Magione in restoring the site, where there is an interesting library, rooms filled with historic artifacts, and a chapel in which the liturgy of the hours is kept and the traditional rite of the Mass is offered by their chaplain. Local children played in the sunshine on the lawn behind the chapel, under supervision of the mother of one of the knights. We also went to see the former Templar church in nearby San Gimignano.
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A true knight of Christ at the ancient Templar church in San Gimignano. It is now only used on rare occasions, usually for weddings.
From San Gimignano, looking toward Poggibonsi.
The Templar chapel in Poggibonsi.
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