Was Christopher Columbus A Knights Templar?

In Portugal, following an inquiry, the Knights Templars were exonerated and merely changed their name to become the Knights of Christ. This new order included notable figures like Vasco da Gama, who was a Knight of Christ, and Prince Henry the Navigator, who served as its Grand Master. The ships of the Knights of Christ bore the recognizable Knights Templar red cross pattee, originally associated with the Knights Templars. The Knights of Christ retained the Templar’s distinctive red cross pattee, which was also depicted on the sails of Columbus’ ships during his historic voyage. It was under this red cross emblem that Columbus’ three caravels, the Nina, the Pinta, and the Santa Maria, embarked on their journey across the Atlantic to discover the New World.

Columbus was connected to this order through marriage, being wed to the daughter of a former Grand Master, which provided him access to valuable navigational charts and diaries. Stephen Howarth, in his book “The Knights Templar,” notes that due to the secretive nature of the Templars and the lack of clear historical records, many myths and fantastic ideas, including the notion that the Templars found the Ark of the Covenant, may never be discovered.

Some speculate that Christopher Columbus was a Templar. Brother John J. Robinson in “Dungeon Fire and Sword” explains that King Denis I of Portugal absorbed the Templars’ men and assets into a new secular order called the Militia of Jesus Christ, or more commonly, the Knights of Christ, which was directly answerable to the King. In 1319, this order was officially recognized by Pope John XXII as a continuation of the Knights Templar.