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Order of the Holy Spirit Ordre du Saint-Esprit | |
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![]() Badge of the Order | |
Awarded by the ![]() | |
Type | Dynastic order |
Established | 31 December 1578 |
Royal house | House of France |
Religious affiliation | Catholicism |
Ribbon | Light blue |
Motto | Latin: Duce et Auspice |
Status | Abolished in 1830 after the July Revolution Recognised as a dynastic order of chivalry by the ICOC |
Founder | Henry III of France |
Grand Master | Disputed: Prince Louis, Duke of Anjou Jean, Count of Paris |
Precedence | |
Next (lower) | Order of Saint Michael |
![]() Ribbon of the Order |
The Order of the Holy Spirit (French: Ordre du Saint-Esprit; sometimes translated into English as the Order of the Holy Ghost),[1] is a French order of chivalry founded by Henry III of France in 1578. Today, it is a dynastic order under the House of France.[2]
It should not be confused with the Congregation of the Holy Ghost or with the religious Order of the Holy Ghost.[1] It was the senior chivalric order of France by precedence, although not by age, since the Order of Saint Michael was established more than a century earlier.
Although officially abolished by the government authorities in 1830 following the July Revolution, its activities carried on. It is still recognised by the International Commission for Orders of Chivalry.[3]
A distinction must be drawn between this order and the Royal Order of the Holy Spirit founded in France by King Henry III, in 1578, to supersede the Order of St. Michael of Louis XI, which had fallen into discredit, and to commemorate his accession to the throne on Pentecost Sunday. This was a purely secular order of the court.
Cardinale-1984
was invoked but never defined (see the help page).