Dr. Joseph J. Plaud Invested by the Roman Catholic Church as a Knight in the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem

Boston, MA, January 31, 2022 --(PR.com)-- Sir Joseph J. Plaud, a clinical and forensic psychologist, the Executive Director of Applied Behavioral Consultants, LLC with offices in Naples, Florida and Boston, Massachusetts, and Director of Web Services for the Cathedral of Saints Peter and Paul in Providence, Rhode Island, was invested by His Eminence Cardinal Seán Patrick O’Malley, OFM Cap., Archbishop of Boston, as a Knight in the Roman Catholic Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem; northeastern lieutenancy of the United States of America.

The Investiture Ceremony was held on November 6, 2021 at the Cathedral of the Holy Cross in Boston, Massachusetts. A Papal Order of the Roman Catholic Church dating back almost a millennium to the ending of the First Crusade, the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem is tied to the liberation of Jerusalem in 1099 A.D. when Godfrey de Bouillon liberated Jerusalem. Promoting the organization of religious, military. and public bodies of the newly freed territories, Godfrey founded the Order of Canons of the Holy Sepulchre. Shortly thereafter, in 1103 A.D. the first King of Jerusalem, Baldwin I, assumed the leadership of this canonical order, and reserved to himself and his successors the right as the agents of the Roman Catholic Patriarch of Jerusalem to appoint Knights to it if so required. In 1847 A.D. the Patriarchate was restored and modernized by Pope Pius IX, placing the Order under the protection of the Pope and the Holy See. In 1949 A.D. Pope Pius XII decreed that the Order’s Grand Master should be a Cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church with the position of Grand Prior being assigned to the Patriarch of Jerusalem. In 1962 A.D. Pope Saint John XXIII updated the order, as did Pope Pope Saint Paul VI in 1967 A.D. In 1996 Pope Saint John Paul II further added to the Order’s status. In 2021 the Order is a Public Association of faithful with a legal Roman Catholic canonical and public personality, constituted by the Holy See under Canon Law 312, paragraph 1:1.

As promulgated by the Grand Magisterium of the Order in Vatican City, the “purpose of joining the Order is to serve the Catholic Church and promote initiatives to preserve the Christian presence in the Holy Land in a dynamic of dialogue and peace with followers of other religious traditions.” As a Knight in the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem, Sir Joseph J. Plaud joins a long line of Roman Catholic Knights and Dames in supporting the Order’s mission in the Holy Land and within the Roman Catholic Church itself as a faithful subject of His Holiness, Pope Francis. Joining the Order means making a lifelong commitment as a witness to the Roman Catholic faith and Christian life. Sir Joseph is now charged with carrying forth charitable works for the moral and material support of the Christian communities of the Holy Land, “always acting with that discretion which distinguishes Christian charitable efforts.”

Sir Joseph J. Plaud is also a clinical and forensic psychologist who holds a doctorate in clinical psychology. Over the last few decades he has published and lectured widely in psychology, and Sir Joseph’s opinion is frequently sought in forensic cases in state and federal courts across the United States. Sir Joseph was honorably discharged from the United States Naval Reserve with the rank of Lieutenant Commander in the Medical Service Corps. Among his many other personal, professional, and educational interests, Sir Joseph has also received his master of arts in theology degree and is presently enrolled enrolled in a doctor of theology program. Sir Joseph J. Plaud also created and administers the website and online services for the Roman Catholic Cathedral of SS. Peter and Paul in Providence, Rhode Island.