Ring of the Fisherman

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Ring of the Fisherman

The Ring of the Fisherman, also known as the Piscatory Ring, Annulus Piscatoris (in Latin) and the Pescatorio (in Italian

Italian language

Italian is a Romance languages spoken by about 63 million people as a first language, primarily in Italy. In Switzerland, Italian is one of four Linguistic geography of Switzerlands....
), is an official part of the regalia

Papal regalia and insignia

Papal regalia and insignia are the official items of attire and decoration proper to the Pope in his capacity as the head of the Roman Catholic Church and Monarch of the Vatican City....
worn by the Pope

Pope

The Pope is the Bishop of Rome, the leader of the Roman Catholic Church and head of state of Vatican City. The current pope is Pope Benedict XVI, who was elected April 19, 2005 in Papal conclave, 2005....
, who is described by the Catholic Church (of which he is the head) as the successor

Apostolic Succession

Apostolic Succession is the doctrine in some of the more ancient Christian communions that the succession of bishops, in uninterrupted lines, is historically traceable back to the original twelve Apostles Within Catholic Christianity it "is one of four elements which define the true Church of Jesus Christ" and legitimizes the existing sacr...
of Saint Peter

Saint Peter

Saint Peter was a leader of the early Christianity church, who features prominently in the New Testament Gospels and the Acts of the Apostles....
, who was a fisherman

Fisherman

A fisherman or fisher is someone who gathers shellfish, or captures fish and other animals from a body of water. Worldwide, there are about 38 million Commercial fishing and Artisan fishing fishermen and fish farmers....
by trade

Trade

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What is the symbol on the new popes ring

Encyclopedia

The Ring of the Fisherman, also known as the Piscatory Ring, Annulus Piscatoris (in Latin) and the Pescatorio (in Italian

Italian language

Papal regalia and insignia

Pope

Apostolic Succession

Saint Peter

Saint Peter was a leader of the early Christianity church, who features prominently in the New Testament Gospels and the Acts of the Apostles....
, who was a fisherman

Fisherman

Trade

Tradeis the willing exchange of goods, Service , or both. Trade is also called commerce. A mechanism that allows trade is called a market. The original form of trade was barter , the direct exchange of goods and services....
. It features a bas-relief of Peter fishing from a boat, a symbolism derived from the tradition that the apostles were "fishers of men" (Mark

Gospel of Mark

The Gospel of Mark is the second of the four canonical gospels in the New Testament and was probably the first of the three synoptic gospels to be written....
1:17). The Fisherman's Ring is a signet

Seal (device)

A seal can mean a wax seal bearing an impressed figure, or an embossed figure in paper, with the purpose of authenticating a document, but the term can also mean any device for making such impressions or embossments, essentially being a Molding that has the mirror image of the figure in counter-relief, such as mounted on rings known a...
used until 1842 to seal official documents signed by the Pope.

A new ring is cast in gold

Gold

Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au and atomic number 79. It is a highly sought-after precious metal, having been used as money, as a store of value, in jewelry, in sculpture, and for ornamentation since the beginning of recorded history....
for each Pope. Around the relief image is the reigning Pope's Latin

Latin

Latin is an Italic language, historically spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. Through the Military history of the Roman Empire, Latin spread throughout the Mediterranean and a large part of Europe....
name in raised lettering. During the ceremony of a Papal Coronation

Papal Coronation

The Papal Coronation is the ceremony in which a new pope is crowned as earthly head of the Roman Catholic Church, sovereignty of Vatican City, and Monarch of the Holy See....
or Papal Inauguration

Papal Inauguration

The Papal Inauguration Mass is a liturgy of the Catholic Church for the ecclesiastical investiture of the Pope. It no longer includes the millennium-old Papal Coronation ceremony....
, the Dean of the College of Cardinals

Dean of the College of Cardinals

The Dean of the Sacred College of Cardinals is the president of the College of Cardinals in the Roman Catholic Church, and as such always holds the rank of Cardinal ....
slips the ring on the third finger of the new Pope's right hand. Upon a papal death

Pope

The Pope is the Bishop of Rome, the leader of the Roman Catholic Church and head of state of Vatican City. The current pope is Pope Benedict XVI, who was elected April 19, 2005 in Papal conclave, 2005....
, the ring is ceremonially crushed in the presence of other cardinals

Cardinal (Catholicism)

A cardinal is a senior Ecclesiology official, usually a Bishop , of the Catholic Church. They are collectively known as the College of Cardinals, which as a body elects a new pope....
by the Camerlengo, in order to prevent the sealing of backdated, forged documents during the interregnum

Interregnum

An interregnum is a period of discontinuity of a government, organization, or social order. Archetypally, it was the period of time between the reign of one monarch and the next , and the concepts of interregnum and Regent therefore overlap....
, or sede vacante
Sede vacante

Sede vacante is an expression, used in the Canon law of the Roman Catholic Church, that refers to the vacancy of the episcopal see of a particular church....
.

A letter written by Pope Clement IV

Pope Clement IV

Pope Clement IV , born Gui Faucoi called in later life le Gros , was elected Pope February 5, 1265, in a Papal conclave held at Perugia that took four months, while cardinals argued over whether to call in Charles of Anjou, the youngest brother of Louis IX of France , to carry on the papal war against the last of the house of Hohe...
to his nephew Peter Grossi in 1265 includes the earliest known mention of the Ring of the Fisherman, used for sealing all private correspondence by pressing the ring into red sealing wax

Sealing wax

Sealing wax is a material which, after melting, quickly hardens forming a bond that cannot be separated without noticeable tampering. Wax is used to verify something such as a document is unopened, to verify the sender's identity, for example with a Seal , and as decoration....
melted onto a folded piece of paper or envelope. Public documents, by contrast, were sealed by pressing the papal seal into lead

Lead

Lead is a main-group Chemical element with symbol Pb and atomic number 82. Lead is a soft, malleable poor metal, also considered to be one of the heavy metal ....
which was attached to the document. Such documents were historically called papal bulls

Papal bull

A Papal bull is a particular type of letters patent or charter issued by a pope. It is named after the bulla that was appended to the end to authenticate it....
, named after the stamped bulla of lead. Use of the Fisherman's Ring changed during the 15th century when it was used to seal official documents called papal briefs

Papal brief

The Papal Brief is a formal document emanating from the Pope, in a somewhat simpler and more modern form than a Papal Bull....
. That practice ended in 1842, when the wax with its guard of silk and the impression of the ring was replaced by a stamp which affixed the same device in red ink.

Through the centuries, the Fisherman's Ring did not become known for its practical use but by its feudal

Feudalism

Feudalism, a term first used in the early modern period , in its most classic sense refers to a Middle Ages European political system composed of a set of reciprocal law and military obligations among the warrior nobility, revolving around the three key concepts of lords, vassals, and fiefs....
symbolism. Borrowing from the traditions developed by medieval

Middle Ages

File:Karl 1 mit papst gelasius gregor1 sacramentar v karl d kahlen.jpgThe Middle Ages of European history are a period in history which lasted for roughly a millennium, commonly dated from the fall of the Roman Empire in the 5th century to the beginning of the Early Modern Period in the 16th century, marked by the division of Western Christi...
monarchs, followers showed respect to the reigning Pope by kneeling at his feet and kissing the Fisherman's Ring. The tradition continues to this day.

External links

The Ring of the Fisherman
Bulls and briefs