star of a Grand cross and knight of justice

The decision to found the Military Order of Saint Stephen, Pope and Martyr, [1] was announced on 15 March 1561, by Cosimo de Medici, Duke of Florence, to commemorate his victory over the French led by Marshal Strozzi at the battle of Marciano, on Saint Stephen's day, 2 August 1554. Duke Cosimo was authorized to proceed with the organization of the Order by a Brief of Pope Pius IV (Eximiae devotionis) of 1 October 1561, [2] and hold the Grand Magistery for him and "postreorum tuorum decus, et honorem"; this was confirmed in the Bull His, quae pro Religionis propagatione of 1 February 1562, putting it under the Rule of Saint Benedict. [3] The privileges of the knights and prerogatives of the Grand Master were further detailed in the Bull Altitudo divinae providentiae of 5 June 1562. Limited to Catholics of legitimate birth, it was obliged to defend the shipping of Christian nations against pirates, liberate Christians from the slavery of the Turks and, above all, defend the Church and the Catholic Faith. Its statutes were confirmed by Pope Pius V in a further Bull of the following year, in which Cosimo and his successors were declared Grand Masters of the Order in perpetuity, and the seat of the Order established at Pisa, where Cosimo established two Conventual Houses for the knights. Thus the Order was a Religious foundation of the Holy Roman Church, independent of secular jurisdiction and incapable of abolition by a secular authority without the consent and authorization of the Holy See. Furthermore, since the Grand Magistery was attached to the Medici as Dukes of Florence (a personal title which did not of itself confer sovereignty) and was unrelated to the Sovereignty of Tuscany, the Order was able to survive the abolition of the state of Tuscany in 1859. In 1567 Pius conferred on Cosimo the title of Grand Duke of Tuscany for him and his heirs and successors, with sovereignty over Florence, Lucca, Pisa, Siena and the surrounding territories, despite the objections of the Emperor and the King of Spain.

 

The knights were in action within two years of the foundation of the Order, coming to the aid of the knights Hospitaller at the siege of Malta in 1565. In 1571 they armed twelve galleys of the Order, which distinguished themselves at the Battle of Lepanto and played a significant part in the defeat of the Turkish armada. With the death of Cosimo, his son and successor, Francis (who became Grand Duke in 1571), was no less enthusiastic in his support for the Order and the galleys of Saint Stephen were engaged in skirmishes with the Turks along the Barbary coast in 1582, at Monastero in 1585, Chios in 1599 and the Albania coast in 1604. Francis was succeeded by his brother Ferdinand I (1587-1609), who supported the knights in their attempt to raise the siege of Famagusta in 1607; unfortunately they were repulsed but, with forty-five galleys, captured and pillaged the city of Bona in Algeria. [4] The Order reached the apogee of its power under the Grand Magistery of Ferdinand I, who was responsible for the construction of the Church of Saint Stephen in Pisa - the population of this city doubled between the foundation of the Order and 1613.

 

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