Order of Saint Stephen
| Holy Military Order of St. Stephen Pope and Martyr | |
|---|---|
Badge of the order. | |
| Awarded by Grand Duke of Tuscany | |
| Type | Military and Religious order |
| Eligibility | Noblemen over 18, not descended from heretics |
| Grand Master | disputed |
Ribbon of the order | |
The Order of Saint Stephen (officially Sacro Militare Ordine di Santo Stefano Papa e Martire, 'Holy Military Order of St. Stephen Pope and Martyr') is a Roman Catholic Tuscan dynastic military order founded in 1561. The order was created by Cosimo I de' Medici, first Grand Duke of Tuscany. The last member of the Medici dynasty to be a leader of the order was Gian Gastone de Medici in 1737. The purported dissolution of the order in 1859 by the provisional government of Tuscany to the Kingdom of Sardinia was in breach of canon law and had no effect on the status of the Order. The former Kingdom of Italy did not recognize the order as a legal entity, but today the Italian republic includes it among the non-national Orders for which permission may be given in the name of the president to wear the decorations in Italy.