Tuesday 26 February 2013

Benedict XVI : 18

Coat of Arms of Pope Benedict XVI.

From the beginning of his Pontificate, the decision of Pope Benedict to replace the triple tiara on the Papal Coat of Arms with an unusually-decorated mitre has excited much discussion.

The photograph above shews the Coat of Arms which is on the wall of the aula in the Pope's own Summer residence, Castelgandolfo. What it is made from, I cannot say, although I might guess that it is of bronze.

Being three-dimensional, there was an opportunity for the artist to make the headgear look like a mitre. But it is not presented as a mitre, but rather as a highly-stylised version of the triple tiara. There will be a further post on this matter during the Interregnum.