Church, and the Catholic Princes attached to her, saw the necessity of increasing their means of defence. To arrest the progress of the Calvinistic doctrines in Savoy, the Duke Emanuel Philibert founded in 1572, the Order of St. Maurice, imposing upon the Knights, the duty of defending the Catholic religion. The Order was confirmed by a Bull of the 14th September of the same year, by Pope Gregory XIII., and to increase still more the strength and power of this new chivalrous militia, the Pope united with it a part of the Order of St. Lazarus, transferring to the new Order the Commanderies, which the latter had possessed in Spain and Italy. The Grand Mastership he vested in the crown of Savoy; while, in the new decoration, were also inserted the white cross of St. Maurice, and the green one of St. Lazarus.
In this form, the Order existed until the incorporation of Piedmont with France, but was subsequently reinstituted anew with the restoration of the old monarchy, though only in the character of a mere Order of Merit, indiscriminately for all subjects. This new organisation as proclaimed by Victor Emanuel, on the 27th December, 1816, was somewhat modified by Charles Albert, and was by a later decree of the 9th December, 1831, divided into three classes: Knights, Commanders, and Knights Grand Cross.
The Knights are subdivided into Cavalieri di Giustizia, (Knights by right), and Cavalieri di Grazia (Knights by favour).
The former must undergo the strict probations prescribed by the statutes, and receive the diploma on payment of entrance fee.
The latter receive it as a reward for long military service, in the grade of Lieutenant-Colonel; it is also granted to civilians, who have rendered important services to charitable institutions by rich donations, establishment of benefices,
