Many people have asked me when, after the election, we will know what the new pope’s coat of arms looks like. That question is difficult to answer. We can only speculate based on what has happened in the recent past.
Pope Benedict made rather drastic changes in his coat of arms upon being elected pope. So, the design of his arms wasn’t available until just the eve of his installation Mass which took place five days later. However, it was a further two weeks before the blazon and the emblazonment appeared on the Vatican’s website because there, was, apparently some ongoing discussion even after the installation Mass.
Pope John Paul II also slightly modified his arms (changing the tinctures) when he became pope. Bruno B. Heim worked on that and prepared several sketches in an effort to convince John Paul II to use a different charge to represent Mary than the letter "M". John Paul II stuck to his guns and the final design was settled upon on October 17th, just a day after his election. It was made public within a week.
John Paul I also modified his coat of arms when he became pope in order to borrow charges from the arms of Pope John XXIII and Pope Paul VI, his two immediate predecessors both of whose names he took. Heim again worked on this and the design was settled on August 28, 1978 just two days after he was elected. His arms were made public by the time of his Installation Mass which did not take place until eight days after his election on September 3 (because John Paul I was elected on a Saturday afternoon and his Installation, desirable on a Sunday, couldn’t take place the very next day but was delayed a week). They were embroidered on the fanons of his mitre.
Paul VI used the same arms he had as an archbishop and cardinal so they were available almost immediately. The same is true for John XXIII.
My point is simply that it will depend on whether or not the new pope wishes to modify his personal arms and also how many days will pass between his election and his Installation Mass before we know, for sure, what the coat of arms of the new pope will look like. Since this election is also coming very close to Easter I would say that by Easter Sunday we should know what the new pope’s coat of arms looks like.
Thank you for this information, Father.
gselvester;97745 wrote:
However, it was a further two weeks before the blazon and the emblazonment appeared on the Vatican’s website because there, was, apparently some ongoing discussion even after the installation Mass.
"discussion" between Benedict and whom? Does the Chruch have some informal ad-hoc committee of heralds who meet with the new Pope?
Presumably with now-Cdl. Montezemolo, the who wrote up the description now found on the Vatican’s website. He’s now even older than Benedict XVI, so I doubt he’ll do it this time around.
Dcgb7f;97749 wrote:
Presumably with now-Cdl. Montezemolo, the who wrote up the description now found on the Vatican’s website. He’s now even older than Benedict XVI, so I doubt he’ll do it this time around.
You refer to Andrea Cardinal Cordero Lanza di Montezemolo (age 87)? Was he involved in Benedict’s heraldic design process?
http://www.araldicavaticana.com/Cordero Lanza di Montezemolo Andrea.JPG
Dcgb7f;97749 wrote:
Presumably with now-Cdl. Montezemolo, the who wrote up the description now found on the Vatican’s website. He’s now even older than Benedict XVI, so I doubt he’ll do it this time around.
Sorry to disagree with you, Daniel, but my friends in Italy have suggested that he almost certainly will be involved in the design of the new pope’s coat of arms for two reasons. Although already almost 88 Cardinal Montezemolo is in excellent health and is very highly respected within the Curia as "the" person to go to on matters heraldic. In addition, while his ability to draw may be diminished by age he, like other heraldic experts, has disciples who are capable of doing the artwork in collaboration with him.
My Italian friends aren’t huge fans of his but they see it as a great likelihood that his opinion will be sought. I hope they are wrong. I’d rather see others advising the new pope on his coat of arms.
steven harris;97753 wrote:
Was he involved in Benedict’s heraldic design process?
He wasn’t just involved. He designed Pope Benedict’s coat of arms and provided the artwork himself as well as wrote the description.
gselvester;97757 wrote:
I hope they are wrong. I’d rather see others advising the new pope on his coat of arms.
Amen to that, dear Father.
I had a conversation just last night with a friend about the coat of arms of the pope-to-be. He asked me if I thought the mitre with hints of the tiara used by Benedict XVI would be used again to ensign the coat of arms or if we’d see a flat out return of the tiara. I told him honestly that I certainly hoped that the tiara as a fitting heraldic symbol (regardless of whether or not it is actually worn) would be used on the new pope’s coat of arms. John Paul I famously refused to be crowned and yet there was never any discussion of not including the tiara on his arms. John Paul II likewise never even contemplated not using the crown on his arms. So, I hoped that since the tiara and keys remain the quintessential symbol of the Holy See and the Church as well as the Vatican City-State it would, indeed, be used on the coat of arms of the new pope.
However, I am not at all convinced that will be the case. I think the same people who pushed for the use of the mitre on the arms of Benedict XVI will do the same for the new pope and include in their argument that Benedict XVI effectively did away with the tiara entirely especially as his arms have been widely used and recognized for the past 8 years. So, while I fervently hope that we see a return of the tiara on the papal coat of arms I don’t actually expect it. I’m hoping for the best and expecting the worst.
I will be the happiest of men if I am proven completely wrong in this expectation.
I believe that the election of Pope Francis will bring yet more innovation to papal heraldry. I think he may have to be talked into changing his present coat of arms. The principal charge is the symbol of the Society of Jesus so it might be considered a good idea to redesign the arms to reduce the prominence of the symbol of one Religious Order in the arms of a pope who is now pastor of all Catholics. I say this may be done. The pope may not wish to do so. Also, it has been said that as archbishop of Buenos Aires he used to display his arms even without the archiepiscopal cross. I’m not sure why. I mean, without the cross they are not the arms of an archbishop.
All this is to say that, once again, as I have been saying I strongly doubt the tiara will be used in Pope Francis’ coat of arms. I also believe that Cardinal Montezemolo will design the new pope’s arms.
I have even heard rumors that something totally new will be employed as the external ornament for the pope; neither a tiara or a mitre. We’ll just have to wait and see. But, in the end the heraldic traditions of hundreds of years will not be respected and heraldry will, once again, be used as a means of advancing an agenda.
gselvester;97861 wrote:
But, in the end the heraldic traditions of hundreds of years will not be respected and heraldry will, once again, be used as a means of advancing an agenda.
sacrilege!
gselvester;97861 wrote:
I also believe that Cardinal Montezemolo will design the new pope’s arms.
After a quick Google search, I certainly hope a new design is in order myself:
gselvester;97861 wrote:
Also, it has been said that as archbishop of Buenos Aires he used to display his arms even without the archiepiscopal cross. I’m not sure why. I mean, without the cross they are not the arms of an archbishop.
I’m sure I’m arguing semantics here, but of course they were the arms of an archbishop. They were his arms and he was an archbishop and he used them when he was an archbishop. Ergo…. I will concede that the arms did not convey the status of an archbishop, but is it necessary that he should use the external additaments of his rank when using his coat of arms? Did they convey some other message, indicating that he was something else entirely? That would be reason for complaint, and maybe that’s what you mean, but surely not calling attention to one’s position above others is no fault.
Speaking of popes who have been in religious orders—-for the benefit of those not familiar with papal heraldry—-it wouldn’t the first time that a pope reflected his religious order prominently in his arms. In somewhat recent history, Gregory XVI (r. 1831-1846) and Pius VII (r. 1800-1823) both impaled their arms with those of the orders from which they had come. I agree that a pope should not be depicting himself heraldicly as a religious since as pontiff of the whole Church he is not a religious anymore, but that said, it wouldn’t be the first time a pope does this. My gut tells me we’ll see the Jesuit sunburst feature prominently.
Dcgb7f;97866 wrote:
Speaking of popes who have been in religious orders—-for the benefit of those not familiar with papal heraldry—-it wouldn’t the first time that a pope reflected his religious order prominently in his arms. In somewhat recent history, Gregory XVI (r. 1831-1846) and Pius VII (r. 1800-1823) both impaled their arms with those of the orders from which they had come. I agree that a pope should not be depicting himself heraldicly as a religious since as pontiff of the whole Church he is not a religious anymore, but that said, it wouldn’t be the first time a pope does this. My gut tells me we’ll see the Jesuit sunburst feature prominently.
I would think that impaling your amrs with those of the Order would be reserved for whomever the head of the Order is.
steven harris;97867 wrote:
I would think that impaling your amrs with those of the Order would be reserved for whomever the head of the Order is.
To paraphrase Mel Brooks: It’s good to be the Pope.
steven harris;97867 wrote:
I would think that impaling your amrs with those of the Order would be reserved for whomever the head of the Order is.
It is, which is why I would call it improper and lamentable.