Papal coat of arms

For at least 800 years, each Pope has had his own personal coat of arms that serves as a symbol of his papacy.[1] The first Pope whose arms are known with certainty is Pope Innocent IV (1243-1254). Earlier popes were only attributed arms in the 17th century.[2]

All recent popes' coats of arms contained the image of the papal tiara. Benedict XVI has altered heraldic custom and used instead the mitre and pallium (see article: Coat of arms of Pope Benedict XVI). The papal coat of arms traditionally features a gold and silver key, representing the power to bind and to loose on earth (silver) and in heaven (gold). These are a reference to St Matthew's Gospel, chapter 16, verses 18-19:

"You are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. I will give you the keys to the kingdom of heaven. Whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven; and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven."

Thus in ecclesiastical heraldry, the keys symbolise the spiritual authority of the Papacy as the Vicar of Christ on Earth.

Coats of arms of Popes

Related coats of arms


Coat of Arms of the Holy See.
Coat of Arms of Vatican City.

Emblem of Vatican City (from the Flag).
Sede vacante emblem of Holy See, used when there is no reigning pope. Keys disposed as customary for Papal arms, not Vatican City, at least since 1929[3]

Notes

  1. ^ Coat of Arms of His Holiness Benedict XVI Vatican. Accessed 2008-03-15.
  2. ^ Michel Pastoreau (1997). Traité d'Héraldique (3e édition ed.). Picard. pp. 283–284. ISBN 2-7084-0520-9. 
  3. ^ "Vatican City (Holy See)". fotw.net. 2006-03-25. http://www.fotw.net/flags/va2.html. Retrieved 2007-11-07.