Order of the Sword of St. Jerome

The Order of the Sword of St. Jerome is a group inside the Catholic Church dedicated to fighting and collecting information about the Mythos. It is not clear how large the group is, or if the Church is currently aware of its existence, but it has access to the Vatican Library Z Collection. The Sword of St. Jerome maintains a monastery, thought to be located in the Alps. A likely candidate is the Sacra di San Michele, located on Mount Pirchiriano in northern Italy, near the French border.

The monastery contains a formidable library of ancient books. It is perhaps the largest single collection of Mythos writings on Earth, or at least in human hands. The Order feels that containing a book within these walls and removing it from circulation is a victory against the darkness. The monks in the monastery dedicate their lives to preserving and examining these books. To preserve their sanity, each one dedicates themselves to only one of the major works in their collection. Each senior librarian is assisted by two trainees, who learn from his experience and keep check on his mental health.

The Knights are the right hand of the Order, who can take an active role in the field. Some are recruited from the military, or even the Swiss Guard assigned to protect the Vatican. Some are recruited from Catholic seminaries sympathetic with the Order's mission. Some Knights are assigned to protect the Monastery and the elders of the Order, but most are sent out into the field. When they are in the field, they are referred to as Pilgrims, and their primary duty is to collect information. This gets sent back to the Monastery, where it will be evaluated by the Librarians. Some Pilgrims will stay in place for years if necessary. If the elders determine that action needs to be taken, a force of Knights will be assembled and sent to aid the Pilgrim.

In addition, the Order has developed an extensive network of contacts in all walks of life. These people don't know the true nature of the Order or their mission, but are willing to help them out with information. Within the Order, these contacts are referred to as the Longa manus. That can be literally translated as "long arm," but has the more colloquial translation of "cat’s paw."