One hundred and forty-two (142) members of the Accra East Grand Ladies’
Auxiliary (AEGLA), Knights of St. John International (KSJI), have been honoured with the Mystical Rose Award at a beautiful ceremony held at the St. Thomas Aquinas Senior High School Chapel, Cantonments, in Accra.
Dressed in their immaculate plane cream military uniform, laced with blue and white or blue and gold lanyard around the left arm sleeve, accompanied by black shoes with white socks and white net gloves, the candidates matched smartly in batches towards the altar for their awards. Candidates took instructions from Sister Cecilia Schall, aided by the performing District 1 military team.
Award Ceremony and Qualification
The awards were conferred on the candidates by their superiors led by Noble Sister Eugenia Ekua Enyimayew, Supreme 2nd Vice President, for their continuous dedication to the Order, the church and the community for a decade or more but less than 20 years. They were each decorated with a silver breastpin medallion on a short blue and white ribbon, which is to be worn solely on their military uniforms during turnouts.
The award also came with a silver breastpin to be worn on top of the patch on their meeting uniforms. Each awardee also received a beautiful frame of Mother Mary with the Mystical Rose Prayer. After receiving the award, the Supreme Subordinate 1st Vice President, Noble Sr. Emma Ethel Asomani, exhorted sisters to be friendly and attract other ladies to join the Order.
The criteria for qualification are: 10 to less than 20 continuous years’ membership in the Order, good financial standing in the Church and the Order, and regularity of attendance at meetings and events of the Order.
Selection of candidates for the award is done at Subordinate Auxiliary level with oversight by the District and Grand Auxiliary. Selected candidates are assessed on the Church, the Order and the community through a research paper.
All the 142 successful candidates for the 2nd edition of the biennial awards emerged from 17 out of the 23 Auxiliaries under the Accra East Grand Ladies’ Auxiliary. They were duly prepared through a retreat and a rehearsal for the ceremony.
Giving a brief background to the Mystical Rose Award, Noble Sr. Cherie Lawson Adamu, Grand 1st Vice President, noted that the “objective is to recognize and encourage members who have served the Order diligently and with dedication for a minimum of 10 continuous years and who are not yet due to receive the Noble Degree”, or the Queen of Saints award, which is for 20 years and above.
In a homily during Mass prior to receiving the awards, Rev. Fr. Jonas Abaifar Dong-Purye entreated the honorees and the Ladies’ Auxiliary to stand for the truth at all times and do a careful introspection to assess themselves if indeed they are doing the work of He who has called them to the Order of the Knights of St. John International, and make amends where necessary.
According to the Secretary of Accra East Grand Ladies’ Auxiliary, Sr. Patience Dapaah, ‘the Mystical Rose Award ceremony which was first held at the Holy Spirit Cathedral on May 6, 2023, is to be held biennially, in the uneven year, during the month of May, the month of Mother Mary, in her honour, as the role model of the Ladies’ Auxiliary.’
She said the venue for the second edition of the Mystical Rose Award Ceremony held on May 3, 2025 was carefully selected because of the Mystical Rose Grotto on the premises of St. Thomas Aquinas Chaplaincy, Cantonments.
Brief Background: The Mystical Rose Award (MRA)
The Mystical Rose Award (MRA) is second to the highest honour [i.e. the Queen of Saints Award or Noble Degree] bestowed on members of the Ladies’ Auxiliary, Knights of St. John International, in the Catholic Church.
The Queen of Saints or Noble degree is the highest honour bestowed on sisters in good standing, having served the Order faithfully for a minimum of twenty (20) years. The degree gives recognition to members for their sacrifices for Mother Church and the Order.
The first Queen of Saints Award ceremony was held in 1988. There has since been a growing concern among members over the minimum twenty-year length of service required to qualify for the award, with the view that many members who joined the Order late in life and served with dedication and diligence for many years might not get the opportunity to receive the Noble degree due to ill health, old age or death. These proponents advocated for a reduction in the requirement of twenty years’ unbroken service to ten or fifteen years.
In response, the then Supreme Subordinate President, Noble Sister Eugenia Ekua Enyimayew, supported by the then Supreme Subordinate Recording-Corresponding Secretary, Noble Sister Cecilia Aisha Armah, conceived the idea of granting a separate award to members who have served the Order, the Church and their Community for a period of at least ten years.
The proposal was discussed by the Supreme Subordinate Board in 2020 and subsequently approved to be implemented. The award was thus named the “Mystical Rose Award” in honour of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Mystical Rose.
The Mystical Rose – Spiritual Meaning
Roses have long been considered highest in the hierarchy of flowers. This is likened to the state of perfect innocence in the Garden of Eden where Adam and Eve lived. Mary is regarded as the highest in the order of grace. She lives as a flower in the garden of God’s grace. Like our first parents before the fall, she was set apart from the world, mystically united with the Holy Trinity.
Through Mary’s Immaculate Conception, God set her apart for Himself, as one would cherish the prettiest flower in the garden. Because of that, she is referred to as “Mystical Rose.” Mary is believed to be the most beautiful flower ever seen in the spiritual world. It is by the power of God’s grace that from this barren and desolate earth there sprung up at flowers of holiness and glory; and Mary is seen as the Queen of them all.
She is the Queen of spiritual flowers. The white rose is referred to as the spirit of prayer, the red rose; the spirit of expiation and sacrifice, with the yellow or golden rose representing the spirit of penitence.
‘Mystical Rose’, pray for us.
