Investiture

Investiture (from the Latin preposition in and verb vestire, "dress" from vestis "robe"), is a formal installation or ceremony that a person undergoes, often related to membership in Christian confraternities, as well as Christian knighthoods or damehoods, in addition to government offices.

In an investiture, a person may receive an outward sign of their membership, such as their decoration (as with chivalric orders) or a scapular (as with confraternities);[1][2] they may be given the authority and regalia of a high office. Investiture can include formal dress and adornment such as robes of state or headdress, or other regalia such as a throne or seat of office. An investiture is also often part of a coronation rite or enthronement.

Christianity
The Blue Scapular of the Immaculate Conception, given at one's investiture in the Confraternity of the Immaculate Conception

Joining a confraternity (such as the Confraternity of the Immaculate Conception) occurs through an investiture, in which one is given a scapular as an outward mark of their membership.[3]

A Christian is made a knight or dame through an investiture, as with the Order of Saint John (Bailiwick of Brandenburg), a chivalric order.[1]

Government

Investiture is the installation of individuals in institutions that usually have been extant from feudal times. For example, the installation of heads of state and various other state functions with ceremonial roles are invested with office. Usually the investiture involves ceremonial transfer of the symbols of the particular office.

Judges in many countries, including justices of the Supreme Court of the United States, are invested with their office. American justices typically take two oaths: one to uphold the Constitution of the United States, and the other to apply justice equally.[4] Likewise, university presidents, rectors and chancellors are invested with office.

Other uses
Lieutenant General Miles Dempsey is invested with his knighthood as Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath, in the field of battle, by King George VI on 15 October 1944, while General Bernard Montgomery looks on.

In the United Kingdom, around 2,600 people are invested personally by Queen Elizabeth II or another member of the royal family each year. A list of those to be honoured is published twice a year, in either the New Year Honours or the Birthday Honours. Approximately 25 investitures are held annually, most in the Ballroom at Buckingham Palace, although the Waterloo Chamber in Windsor Castle and the Palace of Holyroodhouse in Edinburgh, Scotland, are also used.[5] In 2014 The Prince of Wales held an investiture at Hillsborough Castle in Northern Ireland.[6] Investitures are also held in other Commonwealth realms, when the governor-general acts on behalf of the Queen.[7]

The poem "The Investiture" by English poet, writer, and soldier Siegfried Sassoon is about a young man who was killed in battle during World War I.[8]

The term is used in the Scout Association when enrolling a new youth member or an existing member is moving to a different section such as from Cubs to Scouts,[9] and for the ceremony in which a new member of the Boy Scouts declares their commitment to Scouting traditions.[10]

See also

References
  1. "Palomares-Fernandez honored with knighthood". Texas Woman's University. 8 May 2018. Retrieved 26 April 2022. Ronald S. Palomares-Fernandez, Ph.D., a Texas Woman’s University assistant professor of psychology, has been knighted by the Johanniter Order, a 900-year-old spiritual service organization dedicated to assisting the sick, the poor and the infirmed. Palomares-Fernandez received the honor for his humanitarian work in his church and around the world. Palomares-Fernandez was approved to serve as a Knight of Honor in March by the Herrenmeister, Prince Oscar of Prussia, Lord Master of the Brandenburg Bailiwick of the Knightly Order of Saint John of the Hospital of Jerusalem. His investiture and knighting ceremony occurred on April 7 in Boston, Massachusetts.
  2. "Investiture in the Red Scapular: A Lifelong Devotion to Honor the Lord's Passion". Clallam Catholic. Retrieved 26 April 2022. scapular blessed by a priest. In wearing the scapular there is a promise (consecration) by the individual to pray and perform acts of charity and devotion. Investiture is done only once, and subsequent to being invested, the person wears the scapular at all times as a sign of that promise.
  3. "The Confraternity of the Immaculate Conception". Congregation of Marian Fathers of the Immaculate Conception. Retrieved 26 April 2022. By joining the Confraternity of the Immaculate Conception, the faithful take upon themselves certain obligations and receive spiritual benefits. The ceremony of admittance into the Confraternity includes the investiture with the Blue Scapular. Confraternity members ought to piously wear the Scapular always as an outward mark of veneration for the Immaculate Conception of the B.V.M. and a symbol that sets them apart as people particularly dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary.
  4. "Preparations Begin for Roberts' Swearing In". Fox News. 29 September 2005.
  5. "Investitures". Royal Household.
  6. "Prince of Wales gives OBE and MBE honours at Hillsborough Castle". BBC News.
  7. Investiture Ceremonies, Governor General of Australia, accessed 2021-20-07
  8. Sassoon, Siegried (1918). The Investiture  – via Wikisource.
  9. "Scout Investiture Fact Sheet" (PDF). 4 September 2012.
  10. "Scout Investiture Ceremony". ScoutDocs Resources for Scouting in Canada. Retrieved 25 September 2020.

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