The Cruz Fidélitas (

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

: Fidelity Cross) is a medal of the Spanish Armed Forces, primarily awarded to

military chaplain A military chaplain ministers to military personnel and, in most cases, their families and civilians working for the military. In some cases they will also work with local civilians within a military area of operations. Although the term ''cha ...

s. It is awarded by the military archbishopric to reward faithful service by chaplains, as well as services to the archbishopric by deserving civilians, institutions and other military personnel.

History

The Cruz Fidélitas was created by decree of then military archbishop

Francisco Pérez González Francisco is the Spanish and Portuguese form of the masculine given name '' Franciscus''. Nicknames In Spanish, people with the name Francisco are sometimes nicknamed " Paco". San Francisco de Asís was known as ''Pater Comunitatis'' (father o ...

on July 25, 2007. The decree established the award as a decoration of the Archdiocese of Spain, rather than the

military A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. It is typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with its members identifiable by their distinct ...

, and stipulated that only the current military archbishop had the authority to award grades of the Cruz Fidélitas. However, he may temporarily delegate the power to award any class of the award to any chaplain he sees fit, other than that of Grand Cross. The names of those who receive the medal are published in the Official Bulletin of the Military Archbishopric of Spain.

Classes

There are three classes of the Cruz Fidélitas that can be awarded to military chaplains. These are the ''Cruz de la Cruz Fidélitas'' (

: Cross of the Fidelity Cross), awarded for 15 years of service, the ''Encomienda de la Cruz Fidélitas'' (

: Commendation of the Fidelity Cross), awarded for 20 years of service, and the ''Plata de la Cruz Fidélitas'' (

:Plate of the Fidelity Cross), awarded for 25 years of service. * Plate of the Cruz Fidélitas (First Class) * Commendation of the Cruz Fidélitas (Second Class) * Cross of the Cruz Fidélitas (Third Class) Two classes of the Cruz Fidélitas also exist, which can only be awarded to non-chaplains. These are the ''Cruz de Honor de la Cruz Fidélitas'' (

: Cross of Honor of the Fidelity Cross), awarded for constant or highly effective service to the archbishopric, and the ''Gran Cruz de la Cruz Fidélitas'' (

: Grand Cross of the Fidelity Cross), awarded for exceptional and valuable service. * Grand Cross of the Cruz Fidélitas * Cross of Honor of the Cruz Fidélitas

Insignia

The ribbon of the medal is purple, with two white stripes extending down each side. From the ribbon hands a white- enameled cross bordered in gold, with gold spikes extending between the arms. In the center of the cross is the emblem of the Military Archbishopric of Spain, enameled in red. The reverse of the medal features a capital letter "F" relieved in the center of the cross, and the year "2007" on the lower arm, also in relief. A gold crown is used to suspend the cross from the ribbon. Aside from that of the Cross of Honor, the

ribbon bar A medal ribbon, service ribbon or ribbon bar is a small ribbon, mounted on a small metal bar equipped with an attaching device, which is generally issued for wear in place of a medal when it is not appropriate to wear the actual medal. Each cou ...

s of each grade also bear a device, dependent on the grade received. The ribbon bars of the Plate, Commendation, and Cross of the Cruz Fidélitas bear a

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

cross fleury A cross fleury (or flory) is a cross adorned at the ends with flowers in heraldry. It generally contains the fleur-de-lis, trefoils, etc. Synonyms or minor variants include ''fleuretty'', ''fleuronny'', ''floriated'' and ''flourished''. In early ...

, in gold, silver or bronze, respectively. The ribbon bar of the Grand Cross features a

Spanish Royal Crown The Spanish Royal Crown may refer to either the heraldic crown, which does not exist physically, or the crown known as the ''corona tumular'', a physical crown used during Spanish royal proclamation ceremonies since the 18th century. It is neve ...

Notable recipients

Cross of Honor

* Antonio Padillo * Don Alonso Ros Carrasco * Juan Salvador

References