Papal Regalia and Insignia - Vestments

Vestments

The Pope wears the Pallium over his chasuble when celebrating Mass. The pallium is a circular band of fabric about two inches wide, from which two twelve-inch-long pendants hang down, one in the front and one in back. It is ornamented with six small, red crosses distributed about the shoulders, breast and back, and is fixed in place by three golden pins, symbolic of the nails with which Christ was crucified. Only the pope wears the pallium by right, and he may wear it at all ecclesiastical functions without restriction. In the Latin/Western rite of the church, metropolitans (that is, archbishops who are the senior bishops of an ecclesiastical province) also wear a form of the pallium within their own province, and which they must receive from the pope, either personally or in a ceremony at which another bishop delegated by the pope presides. Pope Benedict XVI, for his inauguration in 2005, introduced a special type of pallium that is worn only by the pope. The new papal pallium is based upon the earlier form of the pallium (similar to the omophorion which is still worn by Eastern Christian bishops to this day). The papal pallium is wider and longer than the ordinary pallium, and has red crosses on it, representing the blood of Christ.

A vestment which is restricted to the pope alone is the Fanon made out of alternating silver and gold stripes. The fanon is similar to a shawl, one end of which is passed under the stole and the second over the chasuble; the pallium is then placed over the fanon. The fanon has gone out of common use in recent times but its use has not been altogether abolished, as Pope John Paul II made use of the fanon on a few occasions.

Prior to the liturgical reforms of the Second Vatican Council, there were a number of other vestments which were worn only by the pope:

• The Sub-cinctorium—a strip of embroidered fabric similar to a maniple which was suspended from the cincture. It was embroidered with a cross and the Agnus Dei.
• The Falda—a particular papal vestment which forms a long skirt extending beneath the hem of the alb. The skirts of the falda were so long that the pope had train-bearers both in front and in back whenever he walked.
• The Mantum—a very long cope worn only by the pope. Originally, it was red in color, but later was made to correspond to the liturgical colours.

When the pope would stand on his throne or at the sedia gestatoria, both the falda and the mantum would flow down to the lower steps, and had the effect of making the pope look taller than the other dignitaries present. All three of these vestments were discontinued during the reign of Pope Paul VI, but not abolished.

• A special maniple, much the same in form as maniples formerly worn by priests, but with intertwined red and gold threads to symbolize the union of the Eastern and Western Churches.