The five categories of papal knighthood are, in descending rank, the Supreme Order of Christ, the Order of the Golden Spur, the Order of Pius IX, the Order of St Gregory the Great, and the Order of St Sylvester Pope and Martyr.
The first is conferred directly by the Holy Father but extremely rarely (its last member died in 1993) and is reserved for Catholic heads of state for key involvement in an event attended by the Pope.
Nor are there any living members of the Order of the Golden Spur, an honour made by the pope by motu proprio (Latin for “on his own impulse”). The last member, Jean, the Grand Duke of Luxembourg, died in April.
