Papal regalia and insignia
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Papal regalia and insignia are the official items of attire and decoration proper to the Pope in his capacity as the visible head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State.
Regalia
The
The Ring of the Fisherman, another item of papal regalia, is a gold ring decorated with a depiction of St. Peter in a boat casting his net, with the name of the reigning Pope surrounding it. It was first mentioned in 1265 by Pope Clement IV, who wrote in a letter to his nephew that popes were accustomed to sealing public documents with a leaden "bulla" attached and private letters with "the seal of the Fisherman". By the fifteenth century, the Fisherman's Ring was used to seal papal briefs. The Fisherman's Ring is placed on the newly elected pope's finger by the Camerlengo of the Holy Roman Church; on the Pope's death, the Cardinal Chamberlain used to deface and smash the Fisherman's Ring with a hammer as a symbolic representation of the end of the late pope's authority.
Modern popes bear the papal ferula, a staff topped by a crucifix, rather than a crozier, a bent pastoral staff styled after a shepherd's crook. The use of the papal ferula is an ancient custom, established before the thirteenth century, though some popes since that time, notably Pope Leo XIII, have used a crozier-like staff.
The use of other items of papal regalia has been discontinued, though they have not been abolished. The
Vestments
The Pope wears the
Prior to the liturgical reforms of the Second Vatican Council, there were a number of other vestments which were worn only by the Pope:
- The .
- The falda—a particular papal vestment which forms a long skirt extending beneath the hem of the alb. The skirts of the falda were so long that the Pope had train-bearers both in front and in back whenever he walked.
- The mantum—a very long cope worn only by the Pope. Originally, it was red in color, but later was made to correspond to the liturgical colours.
When the Pope would stand on his throne or at the sedia gestatoria, both the falda and the mantum would flow down to the lower steps, and had the effect of making the Pope look taller than the other dignitaries present. All three of these vestments were discontinued during the reign of Pope Paul VI.
- A special maniple, much the same in form as maniples formerly worn by priests, but with intertwined red and gold threads to symbolize the union of the Eastern and Western Churches.
Choir dress
When not celebrating religious services, the Pope wears a cassock. Choir dress is worn when attending—but not celebrating—services, and formal occasions, such as audiences. The most immediately noticeable feature is a white cassock and zucchetto (skull cap). The cassock used to have a train on it, but Pope Pius XII discontinued this custom. For convenience, the train could be folded up and fastened to the back of the cassock. He used to wear a tufted fascia (white sash-like belt fastened about the waist, the ends of which fall down past the knees and are often embroidered with the Pope's coat of arms), until Paul VI replaced it with a simpler fringed sash. Previously, the tufted fascia (terminating in gold tassels) was worn with choir dress, and the fringed fascia (terminating in a simpler gold fringe) was worn with ordinary dress. Over his cassock the Pope will wear a lace rochet. Over the rochet is worn the red
Traditionally during the Octave of Easter, the Pope wears the white paschal mozzetta, which is of white damask silk trimmed with white ermine. While the paschal mozzetta fell out of use during the pontificate of Pope John Paul II, it was returned to use in 2008 by Pope Benedict XVI. Since the 13th century many papal portraits have shown the pontiff wearing the camauro, a red velvet cap which covers the ears, and is trimmed with ermine. The camauro fell out of fashion with the death of Pope John XXIII, but has recently been revived by Pope Benedict XVI. Traditionally, he wears special red satin or velvet papal slippers indoors, and red leather papal shoes outdoors. The papal shoes were traditionally red, although Pope John Paul II would sometimes wear black or brown leather shoes. Pope Benedict XVI restored the use of the traditional red papal shoes, but Pope Francis has reverted to black shoes.
Ordinary dress
The Pope's ordinary dress (also called house dress), which is worn for daily use outside of liturgical functions, consists of a white
Insignia
The insignia of the papacy includes the image of two crossed keys, one gold and one silver, bound with a red cord. This represents the "keys to the Kingdom of Heaven" (
The primary emblem of the papacy is these two keys beneath a triregnum (
The latest two popes (as of 2013;
The yellow and white flag of
The coat of arms of the Holy See and that of Vatican City also use this papal emblem. The arms of the Holy See are blazoned: gules, two keys in saltire or and argent, interlacing in the rings or, beneath a tiara argent, crowned or. This means: on a red field are placed two keys, crossed as in the letter X, one gold, the other silver, bound by a gold cord placed through the rings, and, above the keys, a silver (white-coloured) tiara with gold (yellow-coloured) crowns. The arms of Vatican City are identical, except that the gold and silver keys are reversed[11] and the cord is red ("gules") and interlaced at the intersection of the two keys, as illustrated in Appendix B of the Fundamental Law of Vatican City State, 7 June 1929.[12]
The
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The coat of arms of the Holy See
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The coat of arms of Vatican City.
Gallery
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mantum, and the stole.
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episcopal consecration of Giacomo della Chiesa(later Benedict XV)
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Pope Pius XI in ordinary dress: zucchetto, pectoral cross, cassock, and the papal tabarro, that similar to the ferraiolo.
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Benedict XVI wearing a camauro.
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Pope Francis in ordinary dress (white cassock with matching pellegrina and with white fringed fascia, pectoral cross, and white zucchetto).
Notes
- ^ "Tiara". Holy See Press Office. 4 March 2001. Retrieved 16 September 2017.
- ISBN 978-0253212085.
- ISBN 9780865164444.
- ISBN 9789042916685. Retrieved 16 September 2017.
- ^ Seldes, George (1934). The Vatican: yesterday, today, tomorrow. Taylor & Francis. p. 97.
- ISBN 978-1402208065. Retrieved 16 September 2017.
- ^ Lyman, Eric J. (14 March 2013). "18th-century tailor shop prepares clothes for Francis". USA Today. Retrieved 16 May 2017.
- ^ "Like Benedict, bookstore will be retiring papal figure". The Beacon News. 28 February 2013. Archived from the original on 24 May 2013. Retrieved 28 May 2013.
- ^ Matthew18:18
- ^ Lanza di Montezemolo, Mons. Andrea Cordero. "Coat of Arms of His Holiness Benedict XVI". Vatican Press Office.
The Holy Father Benedict XVI decided not to include the tiara in his official personal coat of arms. He replaced it with a simple mitre which is not, therefore, surmounted by a small globe and cross as was the tiara.
- ^ "Vatican City (Holy See)". Flags of the World. 4 September 2017. Retrieved 17 September 2017.
- ^ "All. B. Stemma Ufficiale dello Stato della Città del Vaticano" [Fundamental Law of the Vatican City State] (PDF) (in Italian). Archived from the original (PDF) on 17 December 2013. Retrieved 17 September 2017.
External links
- Procession with umbraculum by the collegiate chapter of the Basilica of Sts Peter and Paul in Gozo, Malta