Templar Order
Templar Corps in Prime Minister Audience
During his official March 2022 visit to Lisbon, Portugal, His Excellency Jorge Bom Jesus, Prime Minister of São Tomé e Príncipe, met in audience with Frei Fernando Ventura (Franciscan Capuchin friar) and a delegation of the Templar Corps International with TCI lawyer Marcelo Katter and TCI CEO Luis de Matos.
São Tomé e Príncipe is is an island country in the Gulf of Guinea, off the western equatorial coast of Central Africa. It consists of two archipelagos around the two main islands of São Tomé and Príncipe. In the past few years, the economy of São Tomé and Príncipe has grown, driven by agriculture, tourism and foreign investments. São Tomé and Príncipe outperforms the sub-Saharan Africa average on the Human Development Index and has made great progress on most social indicators. All children in São Tomé and Príncipe are enrolled in the education system, life expectancy has increased to 70 years, the infant mortality rate has decreased dramatically and the vast majority of the population already has access to piped water and access to electricity. The Island of Príncipe is part of the UNESCO World Network of Biosphere Reserve since 2012, a prime eco-tourism destination.
Frei Ventura has spearheaded a few Humanitarian Projects in São Tomé e Príncipe in the last decade, with a significant impact on the local community. The Templar Corps International has been advocating for these projects, listing them as a priority and helping to gather resources and volunteers. The Banco de Leite (Milk Bank) has been helping young mothers who have difficulties to feed their young children in the earliest and important months of their lives. Casa Betânia [link in Portuguese], a home for the elderly, is another important project that is in the final stages of raising funds. Other projects are in early stages of development.
During the meeting the Prime Minister was informed about each of the ongoing projects and plans for 2022. These include areas such as heath care and fire prevention, with the donation of fully equipped medical vehicles, medicines, training and certification to be provided by the Templar Corps International unit of the Algarve, Portugal.
Frei Fernando Ventura was the Invited Speaker of the Global Forum of the Templar Corps titled “Poverty in Africa – The numbers, the action”.
III International Conference “Order of the Temple – Spiritual Chivalry – Templarism”.
The Templar Interpretation Center of Almourol (CITA) of Vila Nova da Barquinha promoted, on the weekend of November 13th and 14th, the III International Conference “Order of the Temple – Spiritual Chivalry – Templarism”.
The municipal auditorium hosted some of the best national and international experts on the subject, with speakers from countries such as Spain, the United States, Croatia and Portugal: Luis de Matos (Chancellor of OSMTHU), Carlos Trincão (Teacher and member of TREF), Álvaro Barbosa (Architect and former director of Convento de Cristo), Virgílio Alves (Philosopher and Senior Technician in Public Administration), João Pedro Silva (Researcher and member of OSMTHU), Ernesto Alves Jana (Historian and member of TREF), Jefferson Perry (former -military), José Miguel Navarro (OSMTHU’s Senescal expert in security systems), Lovro Tomasinec (Croatian Order of Knights Templar OSMTH) and Manuel J. Gandra (CITA Researcher and Curator).
The book “Almourol – 850th anniversary of its foundation, in the context of the Order of the Temple in Portugal”, was launched at the event.
Fernando Freire, Mayor of the City Council, and Paula Pontes, Councilor for the Department of Culture, were present at the conference. The initiative also featured the musical animation of Fernando Espanhol, in a medieval music moment.
The Almourol Templar Interpretation Center is the first of its kind in Portugal. It has a permanent exhibition room, a space for temporary exhibitions and a projection room for films on the theme of the Templars. The Library – Templar Archives is also located in the same building, which has a vast literary collection dedicated to this theme, the result of donations from Teresa Furtado and Manuel J. Gandra.
Centro de Interpretação Templário de Almourol; Largo 1.º Dezembro; 2260-403 Vila Nova da Barquinha Tel.: 249720358E-mail: cita@cm-vnbarquinha.pt
Templar Corps draws on past experience
The Templar Corps International website (templarcorps.org) is the latest initiative promoted by the Order in association with the Templar Globe and a few partners around the world. Despite being new and based on technology, the Templar Corps is also firmly based on the very ancient idea of serving God by serving mankind. And service to others has been at the center stage of Templar activities in many countries. The Templar Corps today draws on past experience and a determined will to help the less fortunate.
Speaking of “center stage”, Portuguese musical duo Anjos (brothers Nelson and Sérgio Rosado), with a career spanning over 20 years of raving success, approached the Templar Corps searching for computers for the “Instituto dos Ferroviários do Sul e Sueste”, an organization that provides aid, food and education to over 65 children of railway workers. With COVID19, general classes had to be taken online and homework submitted and discussed using digital tools. Many children do not have computers at home.
The Templar Corps, together with the Service of the Hospitalar Officer Fr+ Miguel da Fabiana and Grand Feytor Fr+ Ricardo Salum, manged to obtain, in record time 6 computers, that were submitted to all the necessary testing and completed with appropriate software and hardware (monitors, mouse, cables, etc.) and later delivered to the institution in need in Barreiro, Portugal. The children were delighted to receive the computers. Their wonderful drawings were the best “thank you” notes we could aim for. “Thank you Angles for your offer”, could be read across the table.
Just two months before the Service of the Hospitalar Officer Fr+ Miguel da Fabiana and D+ Vera Lúcia took the Templar Corps on another mission: to find a used fridge for the “Dom Maior” Association. The Association was founded over 10 years ago, after the parents of a very young boy were informed by their doctor that the child had a fatal very rare and incurable disease and would die within months. They organized, pulled help from friends, family and strangers and kept on looking for a cure. The boy celebrated his 12th birthday this year! Eager to share their experience and passion, “Dom Maior” seeks help and resources to go even further.
After a few weeks of local fundraising, the Grand Priory of Portugal managed to buy and deliver a brand new fridge, with a better energy efficiency than the one requested. Pulling their efforts together, the Commandery of Lagos and the Commandery of Arraiolos packaged and delivered 60 children’s games that were highly appreciated and helped to contribute to a fun, balanced education.
The Templar Corps International aggregates these initiatives of good will from Templars all around the world. It doesn’t make sense that volunteers work in isolation and unknown to each other. The needs of children in “Don Maior”, the computers for Ferroviários and the altruism of the Anjos band (of brothers) is multiplied ONE THOUSAND TIMES if we share the resources, share the burden and share the love.
Serving God by serving mankind. That’s it, really.
templarcorps.org
Templar Corps International is launched on Pentecost day 2020
Amidst the impactful effects of the COVID19 pandemic, that prevents all international meetings, the OSMTHU has launched the Templar Corps Platform (templarcorps.org). The initiative has been in development ever since Master Antonio Paris resumed his term in office in 2018, as a technological tool to support international Templar cooperation in real world projects.
Under the motto “Ethics and Service for a new century”, the Templar Corps International (TCI) is a group of men and women with a Templar background, organized locally in units spread across the world, ready to put their energy, passion and intelligence at the service of mankind. Members come from a wide range of Templar Orders in over 20 countries, whose membership to a Templar structure is acknowledged and equivalent rank given. A significant number of members have come to the Templar Corps with no previous Templar connection of any kind – which is not required.
Unlike a traditional Order, vertical and highly hierarchical in nature, the Templar Corps International is an horizontal organization, managed as a network of highly motivated individuals run through nodes that roughly correspond to regional hubs.
These hubs run local projects, cooperate with projects run by other hubs and materialize in the real world, with real people, and real work, the conceptual aims of Spiritual Chivalry as inspired by the Order of the Temple and other traditional spiritual and historical sources.
These projects cover a wide range of traditional areas of interest, all with a Templar focus:
- Charity, international aid and disaster relief
- Historical research and publishing, scholarship, learning
- Traditional crafts, professions and industries, including swordsmith, pottery, wood carving, …
- Traditional arts, painting, sculpture, music, theater, literature, …
- Farming, hospitality, pilgrimage support and aid, …
- Ethical business, trading and technology
- Entertainment, documentaries, film, digital media, …
- Tourism, guided tours, spiritual retreats, …
- Leadership training, self-improvement programs, advisory, …
- Intellectual Property creation and management, …
A list of supported and affiliated local Projects is available. It includes humanitarian work in Europe, South America and Africa. A Global Forum event is held online monthly, where leading specialists discuss some of the most important issues related to the service Corps.
The Templar Globe welcomes the Templar Corps International to the Templar family of websites. We will be bringing to our readers the latest Corps announcements, events and news.
More information: templarcorps.org
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