About Our Order
ITS FOUNDING
William Harper Bennett founded the Order of Alhambra on February 29,
1904, in Brooklyn, New York as a Catholic fraternal and social
association. It was named after the Alhambra, a Moorish palace in Granada,
Spain; where the Moors surrendered to Ferdinand and Isabella in 1492, after
occupying Spain for almost 800 years. Within sight of the Alhambra’s red
towers the saintly Columbus received the first favorable reply to his lifelong
prayers for assistance to embark on his voyage of discovery. The
Order, in addition to adopting the name of the Moorish palace, uses the
colorful Oriental costuming and settings. The emblem of the Order is the
red tower of Castile surmounting the crescent of the Saracen typifying
the triumph of Christianity over the Moors. The Fez worn by members
of the Order has this emblem as its prominent centerpiece. The Order has been honored by Pope John Paul II accepting a Fez.
ITS HISTORY
The long and illustrious history of the Order is documented in a 100
page book titled THE ORDER OF ALHAMBRA: ITS HISTORY AND ITS MEMORIALS.
It was researched and written by Rev. Vincent A. Lapomarda, of Al Salib
Caravan No. 243, and published by the International Order of Alhambra in
1994. It carries the Library of Congress Catalog Card Number 94-78195.
Anyone interested in purchasing this publication should contact the
Executive Secretary for cost and availability.
See also the Historical Information Page
ITS STRUCTURE
The structure of the Order comprises its members, who are known as Sir Nobles
after experiencing a qualifying ceremonial. Groupings of members are designated
as Caravans with a name of Moorish origin, and a number. Caravans currently
exist in the United States and Canada. The governing body of the Order is the Supreme Divan,
which meets biennially. The Supreme Divan comprises representatives from
all Caravans and Supreme Officers. One of the major functions of the Supreme
Divan is to elect the Supreme Officers who supervise the operations of
the Order between Supreme Divan meetings. Supreme Officers collectively
are known as the Council of Viziers, which in commonly used terminology
is the Board of Directors. A Headquarters
Office is located in Baltimore, Maryland. Its permanent staff, headed by
an Executive Secretary, provides administrative support for the Order,
its caravans, committees and Supreme Officers. Caravans
are grouped by their regions
and are governed by Grand Divans, which are the officers elected by the
caravan membership, annually. Membership is
open to any Catholic male 18 years of age or older who is in good standing
in the Catholic church.
SOCIABILITY...
... is a dominant characteristic of the Order. It flows from another stated purpose
of the Order, namely, “To promote social, fraternal and intellectual associations
and through its Caravans provide a practical means to form enduring fellowship
and friendship among its members.” The Order is a “fun” organization
dedicated to doing worthwhile charitable work.
ITS WORKS
Service and Support to institutions and individuals characterize the
fundamental purpose of the Order’s existence. These take various forms.
Many are conducted in the local areas where caravans exist. Others are
in the form of Programs or Projects administered at the headquarters
level from caravan donations and interest earned on the Alhambra Charity
Fund, Inc. Examples of service and support at the local level are:
Donations to private schools educating developmentally disabled children
and providing them with vocational skills; participating in Special
Olympics; conducting recreation, field day programs and summer camps;
providing field trips, boat rides, zoo trips, circus trips, picnics,
Christmas parties, dinner dances, etc.
The Order provides
assistance, education and residences for persons developmentally disabled by mental retardation.
It identifies, marks, preserves, and commemorates Catholic historical places,
events and persons of international or regional importance. The
members of the Order focus on sociability and fund raising to advance its
goals and objectives. The wives and lady friends of the members are an
integral part of these functions. The sociability aspect provides camaraderie
and lasting friendships. Fund raising provides the means to conduct the
charitable programs and projects of the Order.
In addition to the charitable work done at the Caravan level, the Order sponsors
various PROGRAMS and PROJECTS from its headquarters level under the auspices of
the Council of Viziers. Currently, these are:
SCHOLARSHIPS:
Grants
are made to undergraduate students who apply and are approved by
a standing Scholarship Committee. These grants are made from interest earned
on the Alhambra Charity Fund, Inc., and from donations made expressly for
scholarships.
ALHAMBRA HOUSE PROJECT:
a relatively new commitment of the Order. The first Alhambra House
to receive financial assistance was approved in 1993 and is now in existence.
It functions under the auspices of Gabriel Homes, has six residents, and
is located in Herndon, Virginia. Others have been approved for grants or interest free loans,
in California, Florida, Illinois, Michigan, New York, Ohio and Pennsylvania.
MEMORIALS:
one of the original purposes of the Order. It remains as an important
function, which is: “To mark, preserve, memorialize, commemorate and identify
Catholic historical places, persons or events of international or regional
importance.” Over 160 such memorials have been established in the
United States and Canada.
FUND RAISING...
... is the essential ingredient to carry out the charitable endeavors of the Order.
The Alhambra Charity Fund, Inc. is the repository of funds donated for
charity. Donations to this fund remain intact and only the interest is
used to fund the programs and projects of the Order. The Alhambra Charity
Fund, Inc. is incorporated and approved by the Internal Revenue Service
as a non-profit corporation and, as such, all money donated to this fund
are tax deductible to the extent permitted by law.
The Alhambran
The Alhambran newspaper is the house organ of the International Order of
Alhambra. It is published bi-monthly and distributed to its members and
Catholic Bishops. It is used to publish special messages from the
Supreme Chaplain and the Supreme Commander, and to report on the
activities and accomplishments of the other Supreme Officers; and to
share information about caravan events throughout the Order. Download issues of The Alhambran HERE
100th Anniversary Testimonials
Five citations were presented at our 100th Anniversary Mass
in Brooklyn, the place of our Founding on February 29th, 1904