Ralph Smith Promoted to Officer in the Order of St. John
The Order of St. John is an 11th century Order of Chivalry of the British Crown, to which Ralph Smith (Alabama & Corpus Christi 1973) was appointed by Queen Elizabeth II in 2013 and promoted to Officer, again by the Queen, on June 24, 2018. Notice of the Queen’s action appeared in The London Gazette on July 6. St. John has a storied history and is today a major international charity. The American Priory of the Order chiefly supports the St John of Jerusalem Eye Hospitals in Jerusalem and Gaza, indirect successors of an institution founded in Jerusalem by members of the Order in 1090 to minister to sick and dying pilgrims to the Holy Land.