The Order of the Starry Cross (or Order of the Star Cross/Star Cross Order; German: ''Sternkreuz-Orden'') is an imperial

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

dynastic order A dynastic order, monarchical order, or house order is an order under royal patronage. Such an order is bestowed by, as a legitimate , a sovereign or the head of a once-sovereign ruling family. These are often considered part of the cultural p ...

for

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

noble ladies, founded in 1668. The order still exists under the

House of Habsburg-Lorraine The House of Habsburg-Lorraine (german: Haus Habsburg-Lothringen) originated from the marriage in 1736 of Francis III, Duke of Lorraine and Bar, and Maria Theresa of Austria, later successively Queen of Bohemia, Queen of Hungary, Queen of ...

History

The Order was founded in 1668 by Eleonora Gonzaga of Mantua, dowager empress of the

Holy Roman Empire The Holy Roman Empire was a political entity in Western, Central, and Southern Europe that developed during the Early Middle Ages and continued until its dissolution in 1806 during the Napoleonic Wars. From the accession of Otto I in 962 unt ...

. This all-female order was confirmed by

Pope Clement IX Pope Clement IX ( la, Clemens IX; it, Clemente IX; 28 January 1600 – 9 December 1669), born Giulio Rospigliosi, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 20 June 1667 to his death in December 1669. Biography Ear ...

on 28 June 1668 and was placed under the spiritual management of the Prince-Bishop of Vienna. Only high-born ladies could be invested with the Order, including “princesses, countesses, and other high nobility.” Once invested, members were to “devote themselves to the service and worship of the Holy Cross, and to lead a virtuous life in the exercise of religion and works of charity.” According to legend, the Habsburg dynasty owned a piece of the

True Cross The True Cross is the cross upon which Jesus was said to have been crucified, particularly as an object of religious veneration. There are no early accounts that the apostles or early Christians preserved the physical cross themselves, althoug ...

on which Jesus was crucified. Though it is impossible to prove its authenticity, the holy relic was set in gold and worn by at least two Holy Roman Emperors, Maximilian II and Ferdinand III. Ferdinand III’s last consort, Empress Eleanora, was given the relic by her stepson,

Emperor Leopold I Leopold I (Leopold Ignaz Joseph Balthasar Franz Felician; hu, I. Lipót; 9 June 1640 – 5 May 1705) was Holy Roman Emperor, King of Hungary, Croatia, and Bohemia. The second son of Ferdinand III, Holy Roman Emperor, by his first wife, Maria An ...

, after Ferdinand’s 1657 death. In the aftermath of a fire at the

Hofburg The Hofburg is the former principal imperial palace of the Habsburg dynasty. Located in the centre of Vienna, it was built in the 13th century and expanded several times afterwards. It also served as the imperial winter residence, as Schönbrun ...

on 2 February 1668 the relic was discovered in near-perfect condition. The dowager empress founded the Order in celebration that the relic had survived the fire, believing it to be a true miracle. In 1881, Empress Elisabeth accorded multiple noble ladies of the royal Belgian court the Starry Cross, after the engagement of Archduke Rudolf. Members of the Order wore the following insignia:

"An oval medallion, with a broad blue enameled border, inclosing a black enameled Eagle with two heads, and claws, both of gold, on which lies a Gold Cross, enameled green, and bordered with brown wood. Over this, on an intwined (sic) wreath in black letters, on a white ground, is the motto of the Order, "''Salus et Gloria''” – (Gail and Glory.) It is worn, pendent to a strip of black riband (sic), on the left breast."

Classes

; The order was conceived with only one class

High Protectresses (''Höchste Schutzfrauen'')

Current administration

According to the website of the

Archdiocese of Vienna The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Vienna ( la, Archidioecesis Viennensis) is an archdiocese of the Catholic Church in Austria. It was erected as the Diocese of Vienna on 18 January 1469 out of the Diocese of Passau, and elevated to an archdio ...

, the officers of the Order are: * High Protectress : Archduchess Gabriela of AustriaSancrucensis
blog article about the Order and its Grand Mistress * Chancellor : Count Norbert von Salburg-Falkenstein * Secretary : Altgraf Niklas zu

Salm-Reifferscheid-Raitz The House of Salm-Reifferscheidt-Raitz was a noble family of German descent established in Central Moravia (now part of the Czech Republic). It came into existence after a partition of Salm-Reifferscheidt-Bedburg line in 1734, and was elevated to ...

Sources

* Tagore, Rajah Sir Sourindro Mohun. ''The Orders of Knighthood, British and Foreign''. Calcutta: The Catholic Orphan Press, 1884. {{Orders of knighthood for women Starry Cross,Order of the Starry Cross, Order of Orders of chivalry of Austria 1668 establishments in the Holy Roman Empire 7