Order of Saints Maurice and Lazarus

Order of Saints Maurice and Lazarus
Grand cross of the Order of Saints Maurice and Lazarus
Awarded by House of Savoy
Type	Dynastic order of knighthood
Royal house	House of Savoy
Religious affiliation	Roman Catholic
Ribbon	Green
Motto	FERT
Eligibility	Military, civilian
Awarded for	Distinguished merits
Status	Active in exile
First Grand Master	Emmanuel Philibert, Duke of Savoy (1528–1580)
Grand Master	Vittorio Emanuele, Prince of Naples (disputed)
Chancellor	Johannes Theo Niederhauser
Statistics
Established	16 September 1572 (Order of Saint Maurice: 1434) (Order of Saint Lazarus: 1119)
Precedence
Next (higher)	Supreme Order of the Most Holy Annunciation
Next (lower)	Military Order of Savoy
Ribbon bar of the Order of Saints Maurice and Lazarus

The Order of Saints Maurice and Lazarus (Italian: Ordine dei Santi Maurizio e Lazzaro) is a Roman Catholic dynastic order of knighthood bestowed by the House of Savoy, founded in 1572 by Emmanuel Philibert, Duke of Savoy, through amalgation approved by Pope Gregory XIII of the Order of Saint Maurice, founded in 1434, with the medieval Order of Saint Lazarus, founded circa 1119, considered its sole legitimate successor. Its headquarters are situated at the Lierna Castle in Lombardy, Italy. Its current Grand Master is Vittorio Emanuele, Prince of Naples, since 1983, albeit contested by his cousin and throne rival Prince Amedeo, Duke of Aosta.

The order was formerly awarded by the Kingdom of Italy (1861–1946) with the heads of the House of Savoy as the Kings of Italy. Originally a chivalric order of noble nature, it was restricted to subjects of noble families with proofs of at least eight noble great-grandparents. The order's military and noble nature was and is still combined with a Roman Catholic character.

After the abolishment of the monarchy and the foundation of the Italian Republic in 1946, the legacy of the order is maintained by the pretenders of the House of Savoy and the Italian throne in exile.