It is easy to forget anniversaries but Catholic Under the Hood has helped us with his post Today in Catholic History – Pius IX receives the Belgian Tiara.
On 18 June 1871, the Ladies of the Royal Court of the King of the Belgians gave a tiara to Blessed Pope Pius IX in honour of the 25th anniversary of his pontificate. It may also have been given by the devoutly Catholic King as a gesture of support for the Blessed Pio Nono after the loss of the Papal States the previous year.
The tomb of Blessed Pius IX (above) is in the crypt of the Church of San Lorenzo fuori le mura; when Fr Briggs and I are in Rome, we go to make a visit. He is a great devotee of the saintly Pontiff and knows far more about him than I do. Over lunch today, he did not mention the auspicious anniversary of the Donation of the Belgian Tiara, which makes me think that he was sparing my blushes at being so ignorant.
I very much hope that the Mgrs Ganswein and Marini persuade the Holy Father that the restoration of the tiara is the next step in the reform of the Papal Liturgical Ceremonies and that the visit to Great Britain would be the perfect opportunity to wear the Belgian Tiara. As all Germans and Italians know, the British love ceremony and are very good at it. Furthermore, everyone has heard of the Crown Jewels and knows that Her Majesty the Queen is one head of state who would not be upstaged by such fine headgear.
The other day, Fr Briggs showed me this photo of his ordination 25 years ago this year. The organiser of the Papal Visit, Mgr Summersgill, was Deacon at the ceremony. I might suggest to Fr Briggs that he could use his influence to - well, you know - "pull a few strings."
13 comments:
The question is, why is Deacon Summersgil wearing a stole as if a priest (at least it looks like he's crossed it)?
I'm not ordinarily a fan of the tiara, b/c the ones I’ve seen seemed so heavy, but my heavens, I found this one *beautiful* -- lovely!
Oh, yes...Praised be Jesus!
Absolument!
@Gladiolus - I think it is an apparelled alb or amice rather than a stole.
I bet I know who that other Deacon (the one cut off by the photo) is...
It may be my memory at fault, but I seem to remember that for some reason a Tiara had to be made very quickly for the Coronation of (I think) Benedict XV (did he have rather a small head, perhaps - I know he was a tiny man generally), and it was made by a London Theatrical Costumier . . . wouldn't a British one be more appropriate than a Belgian one - lovely as it is ?
@Dominic Mary - there is probably a shop in Jermyn Street or nearby where the assistant would be completely unfazed and say "Papal Tiara, Sir? Certainly - gold or silver base colour?"
No one has ever answered my question: Why isn't Pio Nono buried in the Vatican grottos?
Presumably the "humour" tag refers to the suggestion that the HF should revive use of the tiara for his visit to England. Hardly appropriate, in view of everything, to be seen wearing what will appear to most of our compatriates as a crown. I think of myself as a a loyal Catholic but I for one hope that he is not so persuaded. Incidentally, didn't Pope Benedict replace the tiara on the papal arms with a mitre?
Denita - I don't know, but apparently he was originally buried there and his body was moved in a procession to San Lorenzo.
Re: the tiara...not going to happen. Bring it back on the coat of arms first and worry about whether or not he actually wears one another time.
Pius IX wasn't buried in the Vatican because Popes (just like any bishop in fact) have as the prerogative of their rank the right to choose where they wish to be buried and Pius IX expressly wished to be buried in San Lorenzo!
ref;
as a matter of hard fact, I'm not aware that any Pope has worn the Tiara anywhere outside Rome, at least since the days of Pio Nono : and I'm quite sure that the Holy Father wouldn't do so in the UK.
However, as it does not symbolise temporal sovereignty, I am quite sure that her Majesty would not be worried if he did do so.
Father;
I'm sure you're right . . . indeed I wouldn't be surprised to find Lock's had one in stock 'in case of emergency' !
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