Queen of Saints Award

The Queen of Saints degree is the highest honour bestowed on members of the Ladies Auxiliary, Knights of St John International who are in good standing and have served the Order faithfully for a minimum of twenty (20) years.

The ceremony was introduced by the Ghana Grand Ladies’ Auxiliary of the Knights of St. John International at the 1986 Ghana Grand Convention held at Somanya. The late Sister Mary Dawson-Amoah, who was the Grand President at the time with Sister (now Noble Sister Dame) Josephine Sey as her Secretary, conceived the idea of the need to reward members of the Ladies Auxiliary who have served the Order and the Church faithfully.

A committee headed by the late Noble Sister Rita Cato, with Noble Sister Caroline Buckle as a member, was charged with planning an appropriate investiture ceremony for the award. The efforts and contributions of the committee made this degree a reality.

The degree gives recognition to members for their sacrifices towards the upliftment of the ideals of the Order and Mother Church.

The Queen of Saints degree was introduced to the Supreme office level at the 1996 Supreme Convention held in Buffalo, USA. At the Convention, the delegation from Ghana invested two Supreme officers with the Queen of Saints degree. Following that example, the Supreme Board adopted the degree which is now globally accepted as the third degree of exemplification for the Ladies Auxiliary.  The investiture constitutes the award of a beautiful golden medallion on a blue and white ribbon which is hung around the neck of the candidate. It is worn in the military uniform during turnouts.

Qualification for the degree is based on consistent service rendered to the Order, the Church and Country. 

Criteria for Selection of Candidates

The selection of candidates is based on the following criteria:

1. Length of service in the Order
2. Offices held
3. Regularity at meetings
4. Regularity in turnouts
5. Good standing in the Order and the Church
6. Initiative and commitment to the Auxiliary
7. Moral Standing

Objective

The award of the Queen of Saints degree of the Ladies Auxiliary of the Knights of St. John International is to promote and sustain interest in the Order by:

• Infusing into members the virtues of Our Blessed Lady, namely: faith, obedience, humility, charity, modesty, prayerfulness, etc.
• Giving general instructions relating to the Catholic faith and practice based on the Word of God.
• Bonding members and recognizing individual contributions to the service of the Church and mankind.

The Queen of Saints degree was first awarded in June 1988 on the feast of St. John the Baptist at the Holy Spirit Cathedral in Accra. It has since been awarded to deserving members biennially at ceremonies organised by the Supreme Subordinate Auxiliary at the Grand level.

As of October 2023, there were over one thousand one hundred (1,100) noble sisters in the Ladies’ Auxiliary in Ghana.