Papal Cross

The papal cross or ferula is an emblem of the papal court. As a material cross, it was carried before the Roman pontiff in processions or was used by him as his pastoral staff.

Statue of Pope Sylvester I carrying the traditional papal cross.

In the past, this design of the cross was often used in ecclesiastical heraldry, as a distinctive mark of his office. It has three horizontal bars near the top, in diminishing order of length as the top is approached. It is thus analogous to the two-barred cross used in heraldry to indicate an archbishop, and seems to have been used precisely to indicate an ecclesiastical rank still higher than that of archbishop.

Symbolism connected with the papal powers have been attached to the three crossbars, similar to the symbolism attached, with greater historical foundation, to the three bands on the papal tiara. The crossbars have also been said to represent the three crosses on Calvary.

Pope John Paul II holding his modern papal cross.

The pastoral staff carried by the popes since Pope Paul VI is a contemporary single-barred crucifix, designed by the Italian artist Lello Scorzelli^[1] and carried in the same manner as a crozier. However, the cross bar is bent much like the paterissa carried by an Eastern Christian bishop. On 16 March 2008, at the Palm Sunday celebrations in St Peter's Square, Pope Benedict XVI used the Papal Cross that had been previously used by Popes Pius IX and Pius XII. This cross was used until 28 November 2009. The replacement cross was a gift of the Circolo San Pietro (an organization founded in the 19th century to support the papacy) and, according to Msgr. Guido Marini, the Papal Master of Ceremonies, it "can be considered to all intents and purposes the pastoral staff of Benedict XVI."

Crosses associated with particular popes

The Pope's Cross, standing in the Phoenix Park, Dublin.

Various physical crosses have been called papal crosses because of their association with a pope. An example is the large white cross situated in Phoenix Park, Dublin, Ireland, generally spoken of as "the Papal Cross". It was erected for the visit of Pope John Paul II in September 1979. At this cross he held Mass for over a million people.

When he died on 2 April 2005, people gathered in tribute to Pope John Paul at this Papal Cross, leaving flowers and other tokens of remembrance of him.

References

Further reading

• Bühren, Ralf van: Kunst und Kirche im 20. Jahrhundert. Die Rezeption des Zweiten Vatikanischen Konzils (Konziliengeschichte, Reihe B: Untersuchungen). Paderborn: Ferdinand Schöningh 2008 (ISBN 978-3-506-76388-4)

See also

• Cross
• High cross
• Christian symbolism
• Crosier

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