For the first time, the Order of Malta participated in this paramount religious event, the most solemn public manifestation of the Catholic Church in Spain, which is dedicated to the veneration of the Holy Sacrament. The historic procession winds through the streets of the old quarter of Toledo, the “Imperial City” of Spain, its capital in the time of the Visigoths, and a city which has been declared a Patrimony of Humanity.

The Archbishop Primate of Spain, His Excellency the Most Reverend Monsignor Antonio Cañizares Llovera, invited a delegation of the Sovereign Order of Malta to form part of the procession taking into consideration the historic ties between the Sovereign Order and the Archdiocese of Toledo, the numerous services which the Order provides to the cause of evangelization, and the many good works it undertakes for the needy (which were recognized by His Holiness Pope Juan Paul II in the audience granted to Fra’ Andrew Bertie, Grand Master of the Order on June 22nd, 2004), as well as the desire of the Order to pay homage to the Holy Sacrament and give public testimony of its faith.

The Order was represented in the procession by the Grand Commander of the Order, the Venerable Bailiff Fra’ Giacomo Dalla Torre del Tempio di Sanguinetto, and the Venerable Bailiff Fra’ Carlo Arditi di Castelvetere, member of the Sovereign Council, Jean-Marie Musy, Ambassador of the Order in Spain, Don Gonzalo Crespí de Valldaura y Bosch-Labrús, Conde de Orgaz, President of the Spanish Association, Don Fernando Gomez de Olea y de la Peña, Regent of the Sub Priory of San Jorge y Santiago, and numerous members of the Spanish Association.