I wish the Holy Father would put the Tiara on and get it over with. Time to link to that Hermeneutic of Continuity that is so often referenced. Most previous Popes have worn the Tiara. I don't see the Continuity by not wearing it. At least once in a while. Perhaps once a year.
Oh, that "crazy illogic", was decided by Pope Benedict himself who felt he had to be consequent with his predecessor Pope John Paul I who had renounced the tiara upon being raised to the throne of Peter. He did so not only in keeping with the spirit of the church gathered during Vatican II but also the loss of the Papal States many years before that. Pope Benedict was only being faithful to the Popes who came before him. The drawing of the Arms of the Holy Father are therefore completely inaccurate since he personally instructed his heraldry expert to design a new coat of arms.
Pope Benedict XVI chose the mitre that was given to him by Pope Paul VI, because it was Paul VI who elevated him to the Sacred College of Cardinals, etc. Apparently Paul VI bequeathed his mitres to then-Cardinal Ratzinger.
The ecclesial heraldist James-Charles Noonan covered this at length in an issue of "Inside the Vatican" magazine. The tiara and keys remain the emblem of the Holy See, and will more than likely return in a future papal coat of arms.
The coat of arms of the Holy Father may ALWAYS be depicted with the tiara. The decision of the pope to use a tiara-like mitre on his personal arms was just that: a personal decision. The Holy See later issued instructions verifying that the TIARA and keys remain the symbols of the papacy. In many instances, even in the Vatican itself, including on the pope's own vestments, his coat of arms has been displayed with the tiara and there has been no objection from the pope.
Anyone who thinks that the coat of arms must always be displayed in just one particular way knows nothing about heraldry.
Pope Paul VI wore the tiara DURING the council so how could it be congruent with the "spirit of the Church gathered during Vatican II" to reject the tiara?
Noonan's "guess" at why Pope Benedict used a mitre instead of the tiara is an interesting but inaccurate one. The mitre depicted on the pope's coat of arms bears NO resemblance to the mitre Pope Paul gave to the then Cardinal Ratzinger because that mitre only has one horizontal bar, not three.
If one looks at the coat of arms on the lawn outside the Governorate Palace of the State of Vatican City one will see the use of the Holy Father's coat of arms surmounted with the crossed keys and tiara. So it doesn't get more clear than that. If we are going to be strictly legalistic; it is OK to present Pope Benedict's coat of arms in the traditional format and it is done on an official capacity. (I presume he has visited the palace in the last five years and seen it!)
For those remaining sceptics; maybe there was a difference created in the employment of the pope's coat of arms as sovereign of the VCS and as Supreme Pontiff of the Universal Church when he didn't chose the tiara on his personal arms as the keys and tiara remain the symbols of the state in written law (Art 20 new fundamentals of VCS); it all sounds wrong and very sad but who knows. To think Pope Benedict has given us this discussion!
Actually it's from http://www.marcofoppoli.com/index.php?p=araldica_ecclesiastica
ReplyDeleteThis is a true papal coat of arms!
ReplyDeleteI wish the Holy Father would put the Tiara on and get it over with. Time to link to that Hermeneutic of Continuity that is so often referenced. Most previous Popes have worn the Tiara. I don't see the Continuity by not wearing it. At least once in a while. Perhaps once a year.
ReplyDeleteHurrah for Fr Guy ! When do we see the triregno used again generally ? And by what crazy illogic was it ever dropped ?
ReplyDeleteOh, that "crazy illogic", was decided by Pope Benedict himself who felt he had to be consequent with his predecessor Pope John Paul I who had renounced the tiara upon being raised to the throne of Peter. He did so not only in keeping with the spirit of the church gathered during Vatican II but also the loss of the Papal States many years before that. Pope Benedict was only being faithful to the Popes who came before him. The drawing of the Arms of the Holy Father are therefore completely inaccurate since he personally instructed his heraldry expert to design a new coat of arms.
ReplyDeletePope Benedict XVI chose the mitre that was given to him by Pope Paul VI, because it was Paul VI who elevated him to the Sacred College of Cardinals, etc. Apparently Paul VI bequeathed his mitres to then-Cardinal Ratzinger.
ReplyDeleteThe ecclesial heraldist James-Charles Noonan covered this at length in an issue of "Inside the Vatican" magazine. The tiara and keys remain the emblem of the Holy See, and will more than likely return in a future papal coat of arms.
"there is no need to be more papal than the Pope" (old Hungarian proverb)
ReplyDeleteThe coat of arms of the Holy Father may ALWAYS be depicted with the tiara. The decision of the pope to use a tiara-like mitre on his personal arms was just that: a personal decision. The Holy See later issued instructions verifying that the TIARA and keys remain the symbols of the papacy. In many instances, even in the Vatican itself, including on the pope's own vestments, his coat of arms has been displayed with the tiara and there has been no objection from the pope.
ReplyDeleteAnyone who thinks that the coat of arms must always be displayed in just one particular way knows nothing about heraldry.
Pope Paul VI wore the tiara DURING the council so how could it be congruent with the "spirit of the Church gathered during Vatican II" to reject the tiara?
Noonan's "guess" at why Pope Benedict used a mitre instead of the tiara is an interesting but inaccurate one. The mitre depicted on the pope's coat of arms bears NO resemblance to the mitre Pope Paul gave to the then Cardinal Ratzinger because that mitre only has one horizontal bar, not three.
If one looks at the coat of arms on the lawn outside the Governorate Palace of the State of Vatican City one will see the use of the Holy Father's coat of arms surmounted with the crossed keys and tiara. So it doesn't get more clear than that. If we are going to be strictly legalistic; it is OK to present Pope Benedict's coat of arms in the traditional format and it is done on an official capacity. (I presume he has visited the palace in the last five years and seen it!)
ReplyDeleteFor those remaining sceptics; maybe there was a difference created in the employment of the pope's coat of arms as sovereign of the VCS and as Supreme Pontiff of the Universal Church when he didn't chose the tiara on his personal arms as the keys and tiara remain the symbols of the state in written law (Art 20 new fundamentals of VCS); it all sounds wrong and very sad but who knows. To think Pope Benedict has given us this discussion!