The very exclusive Orders of Christ and of the Golden Spur have only one degree, that of knights. The other three, at present, consist of three degrees or classes of which the second class is subdivided: (1) Grand Cross Knights; (2) Commanders with plaque and Commanders; (3) Knights. The first wear the cross of the respective order hanging from the grand cordon, that is to say a large ribbon in the colors of the respective orders passing from the right shoulder over the breast to the left side of the body. Besides, the members of this class are entitled to the _plaque_, an ornamental brooch in the form of a radiating star surrounding the emblem of the order to be worn on the chest. The knights commanders wear the cross of the order on a ribbon around the neck; the first degree commanders are entitled to a _plaque_ of minor dimensions; those of the second degree do not enjoy this privilege. The class of the knights wear the cross on a small ribbon pinned on the left chest of the uniform or suit. To the question why the Papacy bestows these decorations, the answer is given by a Pope who certainly disapproved of any vanity or show but who nevertheless recognized the value of such decorations, namely St. Pius X. In the preamble to the Brief _Multum ad excitandos_ (Feb. 7, 1905)[30] in which he reorganized the Orders of Christ, of the Golden Spur and of St. Sylvester, the holy pontiff makes this statement: “Multum ad excitandos ad egregia facinora hominum animos, praemia virtuti reddita valent, quae dum ornant egregios bene de re sacra vel publica meritos viros, ceteros exemplo rapiunt ad idem laudis honorisque spatium decurrendum.” And his predecessor, Pius IX, in the Brief _Romanis Pontificibus_ (June 17, 1847),[31] declared that orders of knighthood “are not instituted to encourage vanity and ambition, but solely to reward virtue and outstanding merits.”[32] THE SUPREME ORDER OF CHRIST MILITIA DOMINI NOSTRI JESU CHRISTI Saint Pius X in his Brief _Multum ad excitandos_, mentioned above, decreed that the Supreme Order of Christ is to be considered the highest ranking of all Pontifical Orders. It looks almost like an ironical twist of history when we recall that the highest decoration granted by the Pope at the present day proves to derive from a religious order which one of the Pope’s predecessors suppressed in the fourteenth century.