This is one the most fascinating Stories in History!
On January 13, 1128 the Catholic Pope recognized the Knights Templar - a group full of mystery which still is fascninating today's generations. At least since the movie Da Vinci Code
So back to the Day - Pope Honorius II grants a papal sanction to the military order known as the Knights Templar, declaring it to be an army of God - that is quite a message and responsibility! The Knights Templar were led by the French Hughes de Payens with their mission to protect Christian pilgrims on their way to and from the Holy Land.
To start they had only 9 members that helped during the Crusades to defeating Muslims in Palestine. The team had strict rules like you had to be from noble birth, live in poverty, obedience and chastity and more, this changed a bit and the influence increased. At the end of the crusades the order was really wealthy and earned jealousy by many powers which resulted in the destruction led by The Pope Clement V and King Philip IV of France in the 14th century!
Myths and legends have grown over the centuries and nowadays the Catholic Church admitted that the persecution of the Knights Templar was wrong and unjustified. One of the biggest myths has always been that they may have discovered holy relics at Temple Mount, including the Holy Grail which inspired movies and novels as we all enjoy on TV.
