Is that a bee hive on his head? (I remember being a child and wondering about this.) Its the Palatine Tiara ! The Palatine Tiara is the most widely used Papal Tiara in the possession of the Vatican. It was donated to Pope Pius IX in 1877 by the Holy Sees Palatine Guard to commemorate his jubilee as a bishop. It was last worn to date by Pope John XXIII. Of all the tiaras in the papal collection, the Palatine Tiara is the most widely used, a fact reflected in the image which shows its worn lappets and its off-centre monde. It was particularly associated with the pontificates of Pope Pius XII (r 1939–1958) and Pope John XXIII (r: 1958–1963), both of whom chose to be crowned with it. It was not, however, the official coronation tiara. Traditionally, popes received their own tiara from their cardinalate see on election. An exception was Pius XII, who prior to his election had not had a see; he had been Cardinal Secretary of State, and so did not receive a tiara, instead choosing to be crowned with the 1877 tiara from the collection. In John XXIIIs case, though he did receive his own tiara, his election was so unexpected that Bergamo, his native region, which donated the tiara, did not have plans in train to manufacture a tiara quickly in the event of his election. His papal tiara was given to him in 1959. As a result he also chose to be crowned with the 1877 tiara. In 1963, the new pope, Pope Paul VI, chose to be crowned with his own tiara given to him by his former see rather than with the Palatine Tiara. (He also had a shorter rite of papal coronation than had previous popes.) He never wore any other tiara from the collection and in June 1963 formally renounced the wearing of a tiara for the remainder of his papacy by placing his tiara on the altar of St. Peters Basilica during the Second Vatican Council. However, his own 1975 Apostolic Constitution Romano Pontifici Eligendo still envisaged coronations for his successors. In 1978, his immediate successor, Pope John Paul I, chose not to be crowned, as did the next three pontiffs, John Paul II, Benedict XVI, and Francis, none of whom ever wore a tiara. They thus let the custom fall into disuse. They did not prohibit it; it would be meaningless to do so, since any new pope could at any time undo such a prohibition and choose to be crowned (with the Palatine Tiara or any other tiara specially made or already existing) in the same way as Pope John Paul I chose not to be crowned. Pope John Paul IIs 1996 Apostolic Constitution Universi Dominici Gregis on the election of a pope omitted all mention of a coronation ceremony, speaking merely of the inauguration of the pontificate. Source: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palatine_Tiara
Posted on: Sat, 11 Oct 2014 12:51:20 +0000
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