Coat of arms of Pope Benedict XVI

Thepersonal papal coat of armsofPope Benedict XVIwas designed by ArchbishopAndrea Cordero Lanza di Montezemolo(who was later created a Cardinal) soon after thepapal election in 2005.

Coat of arms of Pope Benedict XVI
Armiger	Benedict XVI
Adopted	2005

History

The coat of arms was published in April 2005, afterthe papal election,in theOsservatore Romano.

Shield

The shape of theshieldvaries from artist to artist. In the official rendering of the coat of arms ofPope Benedict XVIthe shape chosen is that of achalice.

Blazon

Theblazon(the written description, in terminology peculiar to heraldry, of the contents of the coat of arms) given on the Vaticanwebsiteis as follows:

Gules, chape ployé Or, with the scallop shell Or; the dexter chape with a moor's head Proper, crowned and collared Gules, the sinister chape a bear trippant (*passant) Proper, carrying a pack Gules belted Sable.

This means, in non-technical English:

A red shield mantled in gold and with a gold scallop shell; the right (for the bearer of the shield, the left for the viewer) part of the mantle has the head of a moor in her natural colour (brown) wearing a red crown and red collar; the left part of the mantle has a walking bear in its natural colour (brown) carrying a red pack tied with black bands.

Note 1. A mantle outside the shield does not normally containcharges(an heraldic term for objects). Within the shield, as here, it is a religious symbol, and indicates ideals inspired in monastic spirituality.It is also a reference to theOrder of Saint Benedict.

Charges

Coat of arms of Joseph Ratzinger, as cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church

The charges of the arms — theMoor's head,Corbinian's bear, andscallop— appeared on Ratzinger's previous coat of arms, used when he wasArchbishop of Munich and Freising.However, they relate not only to his origins, but also to his trust in God, as well his calling to spread this faith to others.

Scallop shell

The symbolism of thescallopshell is multiple.Saint Augustineis said to have been walking along the seashore, meditating on the unfathomable mystery of theHoly Trinity.A boy was using a shell to pour sea water into a little hole. When Augustine asked him what he was doing, he replied, "I am emptying the sea into this hole." Thus didAugustineunderstand that man would never penetrate to the depths of the mystery of God. While a doctoral candidate in 1953, Fr. Joseph Ratzinger wrote his dissertation onThe People of God and the House of God in Augustine's Teaching is always about the Church,and the shell therefore has a personal connection with the thought of this great Doctor of the Church.

The scallop shell is also an allusion to theSacramentof HolyBaptism.In the Roman Catholic Church, a sea shell is often used to pour water over the head of the child being baptized. Thus, a sea shell is used to evoke the imagery of this rite which is fundamental to the Christian life.

The shell also stands forpilgrimage.When topped with ascallop shellapilgrim's staff,or "Jacob's staff",is the sign of a pilgrim. In Church art it is a symbol of the apostleSaint James the Great,and his sanctuary atSantiago de Compostelain Spain, perhaps the principal place of pilgrimage during the Middle Ages. This symbol also alludes to "the pilgrim people of God", a title for the Church which Joseph Ratzinger championed at theSecond Vatican Councilasperitus(theological adviser) to CardinalsJosef Fringsof Cologne andJulius Döpfnerof Munich-Freising (his episcopal predecessor). When he became Archbishop he took the shell in his coat of arms. It is also found in the insignia of the Schottenkloster in Regensburg, where the major seminary of that diocese is located, a place where Benedict taught as a professor of theology.

Finally, thepilgrimagesymbolismof the shell may also refer both to the reconfigured role of the pope as not only ruler, but also pilgrim among the peoples and nations of the world.Pope Paul VI—who created Joseph Ratzinger as acardinalin 1977—was often called the "Pilgrim Pope" for his ground-breaking travels to theHoly Land,India,theUnited States,Colombia,thePhilippines,and elsewhere. This precedent was greatly elaborated upon byPope John Paul IIwith his historic trips, numbering over a hundred. As a result, Benedict may be paying homage to these men and the new role for the papacy.

Moor of Freising

Moor's head of Freising, from the coat of arms of thePrince-Bishopric of Freising.

TheMoor's headis a heraldic charge associated withWörth, Upper Bavaria,Germany.The origin of the Moor's head in Freising is not entirely known. It typically faces to the heraldic right, the viewer's left (dexterin heraldic terms) and is depicted in natural brown colourcaput Aethiopum(literally "Ethiopian head" ) with red lips, crown and collar. This is the ancient emblem of the Diocese of Freising, founded in the 8th century, which became ametropolitan archdiocesewith the name ofMünchen und Freisingin 1818, subsequent to theConcordatbetweenPius VIIandKing Maximilian Joseph of Bavaria(5 June 1817).

The Moor's head is fairly common in European heraldry. It still appears today in the arms ofSardiniaandCorsica,as well as in theblazonsof various noble families. Italian heraldry, however, usually depicts the Moor wearing a white band around his head instead of a crown, indicating a slave who has been freed; whereas inGerman heraldrythe Moor is shown wearing a crown. The Moor's head is common in theBavariantradition and is known as thecaput Ethiopicumor theMoor of Freising.

Corbinian's bear

A legend states that while traveling to Rome, SaintCorbinian's packhorsewas killed by abear.He commanded the bear to carry the load. Once he arrived, he released it from his service, and it returned to Bavaria. The implication is that "Christianitytamed and domesticated the ferocity ofpaganismand thus laid the foundations for a great civilization in the Duchy ofBavaria."At the same time, Corbinian's bear, as God's beast of burden, symbolizes the weight of office that Benedict carried.

External ornaments

The coat of arms of the Holy See.

Banner of the Swiss Guard, with the coat-of-arms of Pope Benedict XVI modified to include the papal tiara.

Traditionally, a pope's coat of arms was externally adorned only by the three-tieredpapal tiarawith lappets and the crossed keys ofSaint Peterwith a cord. No other objects nor a motto was added. The tiara represented the roles of authority of the pope, while the keys represent the power to loose and bind on heaven and earth (Matt 16:19). Pope Benedict's arms maintain the keys, but replace the tiara with a mitre and add a pallium. However, the tiara and keys remain the symbol of the papacy, and appear on the coat of arms of theHoly Seeand (reversed) on the flag ofVatican City.

Mitre

In Pope Benedict's arms, the tiara is replaced with a silvermitrewith three gold stripes.These stripes recall the three crowns of the tiara, which came to represent the three powers of the Bishop of Rome: Orders, Jurisdiction and Magisterium. The stripes preserve that meaning and are joined at the centre to show their unity in the same person.

Pallium

Thepalliumwith red crosses is also a new addition.It represents a bishop's role of being pastor of the flock entrusted to him by Christ. The form of the pallium included in the coat of arms recalls that used by metropolitan archbishops (but with black crosses) rather than the much larger pallium worn by Pope Benedict at his inauguration.

After papal abdication

Main article:Resignation of Pope Benedict XVI

Following his resignation as pope in 2013, Benedict XVI became the first pope to step down from office since the resignation ofGregory XIIin 1415. In light of this decision, CardinalAndrea Cordero Lanza di Montezemolo,the designer of the former papal coat of arms, suggested the need to create a new coat of arms for the former pope. According to the cardinal, the coat of arms of the retired pope should retain all the symbolic elements found on the shield, but the external elements, such as thetwo crossed keys,should be removed or modified as they represent an office he no longer holds.

Cordero presented two hypothetical designs of how he believed the new coat of arms of the pope emeritus should look, replacing the bishop's mitre with a whitegalerowith 15 tassels and placing the pope's episcopal motto "Cooperatores Veritatis" below the shield.

One of the versions of the coat of arms of Benedict XVI proposed by CardinalAndrea Cordero Lanza di Montezemoloafter the pope's resignation. It was never used.

External links

• "The Coat of Arms of His Holiness Benedict XVI".Libreria Editrice Vaticana.