Supreme Order of Christ

Supreme Order of Christ Ordine Supremo del Cristo
Star and badge of the Order of Christ
Awarded by the  Holy See
Type	Papal order of knighthood
Established	1319
Eligibility	Catholic heads of state
Awarded for	Services to the Church
Status	Dormant order
Grand Master	Pope Francis
Grades	Knight
Precedence
Next (higher)	None (highest); clerics, such as theologians, philosophers, or diplomats, can be named Cardinals or Bishops for meritorious services to the Pope and the Holy See, without being given an actual office
Next (lower)	Order of the Golden Spur
Ribbon bar of the order

Part of a series on the
Knights Templar
Poor Fellow-Soldiers of Christ and of the Temple of Solomon
Overview
History Latin Rule Seal Grand Masters Members Trials and dissolution
Councils
Council of Troyes (1129) Council of Pisa (1135) Council of Vienne
Papal bulls
Omne datum optimum (1139) Milites Templi (1144) Militia Dei (1145) Pastoralis praeeminentiae (1307) Faciens misericordiam (1308) Vox in excelso (1312) Ad providam (1312)
Locations
Brittany England Portugal Scotland
Successors
Order of Christ Order of Montesa
Cultural references
In the IOGT In self-styled orders In Freemasonry In popular culture
See also
Military order (religious society) Catholic orders of chivalry Militia Templi
Catholic Church portal
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The Supreme Order of Christ (Italian: Ordine Supremo del Cristo) is the highest order of chivalry that can be awarded by the pope. No appointments have been made since 1987 and following the death in 1993 of the last remaining knight, King Baudouin of Belgium, the order became dormant.

According to some scholars, it owes its origin to the same Order of Christ of the Knights Templar, from which came the Order of Christ that was awarded by the kings of Portugal and the emperors of Brazil. The Portuguese order had originally both a secular and religious component; by the 18th century, the religious component had died out.