The
Umbraculum—
ItalianItalian is a Romance language spoken by about 60 million people in Italy, and by a total of around 70 million in the world. In Switzerland, Italian is one of four official languages. It is also the official language of San Marino, as well as the primary language of Vatican City...
:
Ombrellino (from Latin
umbra 'shade' for a sun-umbrella)—is an historic piece of the
papal regalia and insigniaPapal 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 sovereign of the Vatican City State.- Regalia :...
, once used on a daily basis to provide shade for the
popeThe pope is the Bishop of Rome and, as such, is leader of the worldwide Catholic Church...
(Galbreath, 27). Also known as the
pavilion, in modern usage the umbraculum is a symbol of the
Roman Catholic ChurchThe Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church. With more than a billion members, over half of all Christians and more than one-sixth of the world's population, the Catholic Church is a communion of the Western, or Latin Rite Church, and...
and the
authorityIn government, authority is often used interchangeably with the term "power". However, their meanings differ: while "power" is defined as "the ability to influence somebody to do something that he could not have done", "authority" refers to a claim of legitimacy, the justification and right to...
of a pope over it. It is found in the contemporary Church at all the
basilicaThe Latin word basilica , was originally used to describe a Roman public building , usually located in the forum of a Roman town. In Hellenistic cities, public basilicas appeared in the 2nd century BC.Basilicas were also used for religious purposes...
s throughout the world, placed prominently at the right of their main
altarAn altar is any structure upon which offerings such as sacrifices and votive offerings are made for religious purposes, or some other sacred place where ceremonies take place. Altars are usually found at a shrines, and they can be located in temples, churches and other places of worship...
s.
The
Umbraculum—
ItalianItalian is a Romance language spoken by about 60 million people in Italy, and by a total of around 70 million in the world. In Switzerland, Italian is one of four official languages. It is also the official language of San Marino, as well as the primary language of Vatican City...
:
Ombrellino (from Latin
umbra 'shade' for a sun-umbrella)—is an historic piece of the
papal regalia and insigniaPapal 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 sovereign of the Vatican City State.- Regalia :...
, once used on a daily basis to provide shade for the
popeThe pope is the Bishop of Rome and, as such, is leader of the worldwide Catholic Church...
(Galbreath, 27). Also known as the
pavilion, in modern usage the umbraculum is a symbol of the
Roman Catholic ChurchThe Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church. With more than a billion members, over half of all Christians and more than one-sixth of the world's population, the Catholic Church is a communion of the Western, or Latin Rite Church, and...
and the
authorityIn government, authority is often used interchangeably with the term "power". However, their meanings differ: while "power" is defined as "the ability to influence somebody to do something that he could not have done", "authority" refers to a claim of legitimacy, the justification and right to...
of a pope over it. It is found in the contemporary Church at all the
basilicaThe Latin word basilica , was originally used to describe a Roman public building , usually located in the forum of a Roman town. In Hellenistic cities, public basilicas appeared in the 2nd century BC.Basilicas were also used for religious purposes...
s throughout the world, placed prominently at the right of their main
altarAn altar is any structure upon which offerings such as sacrifices and votive offerings are made for religious purposes, or some other sacred place where ceremonies take place. Altars are usually found at a shrines, and they can be located in temples, churches and other places of worship...
s. Whenever a pope visits a basilica, its umbraculum is opened.
Translated from the
Latin languageLatin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. Through the Roman conquest, Latin spread throughout the Mediterranean and a large part of Europe...
into the
Italian languageItalian is a Romance language spoken by about 60 million people in Italy, and by a total of around 70 million in the world. In Switzerland, Italian is one of four official languages. It is also the official language of San Marino, as well as the primary language of Vatican City...
, it is known as an
ombrellino or in the
English languageEnglish is a West Germanic language that developed in England during the Anglo-Saxon era. As a result of the military, economic, scientific, political, and cultural influence of the British Empire during the 18th, 19th, and early 20th centuries, and of the United States since the mid 20th century,...
as an
umbrella. It is shaped as a
BaldachinA baldachin, or baldaquin , is a canopy of state over an altar or throne. It had its beginnings as a cloth canopy, but in other cases it is a sturdy, permanent architectural feature, particularly over high altars in cathedrals, where such a structure may be called a ciborium when it is sufficiently...
-type
canopyA canopy is an overhead roof or structure that is able to provide shade or shelter. A canopy can also be a tent, generally without a floor.A canopy is an architectural projection that provides weather protection, identity or decoration, and is supported by the building to which it is attached and...
with broad alternating
goldGold is a chemical element with the symbol Au and an atomic number of 79. It has been a highly sought-after precious metal for coinage, jewelry, and other arts since the beginning of recorded history. The metal occurs as nuggets or grains in rocks, in veins and in alluvial deposits. Gold is...
and
redRed is any of a number of similar colors evoked by light consisting predominantly of the longest wavelengths of light discernible by the human eye, in the wavelength range of roughly 630–740 nm. Longer wavelengths than this are called infrared , and cannot be seen by the naked human eye...
stripes, the traditional colors of the pontificate (white did not begin to be used as the papal color until after the
Napoleonic warsThe Napoleonic Wars were a series of conflicts declared against Napoleon's French Empire and changing sets of European allies by opposing coalitions that ran from 1803 to 1815. As a continuation of the wars sparked by the French Revolution of 1789, they revolutionized European armies and played...
). It also featured a staff with small bells, which often chimed to announce the arrival of a pope travelling by horse and carriage. The controversial
Borgiathumb|right|150px|Coat of Arms of the House of Borgia.The Borgias or Borjas were a Valencian-Italian noble family who became prominent during the Renaissance. They are remembered today for their corrupt rule when one of them was Pope...
Pope Alexander VIPope Alexander VI , born Roderic Llançol, later Roderic de Borja i Borja was Pope from 1492 to 1503. He is one of the most controversial of the Renaissance popes, and his surname became a byword for the debased standards of the papacy of that era...
was the first pope to use the umbracullum as a symbol of the temporal powers of the papacy (Galbreath, 31); royalty during those days commonly walked outdoors under a canopy. A member of the
Papal GentlemenThe Papal Gentlemen, also called the Gentlemen of His Holiness, are the lay attendants of the pope and his papal household in Vatican City. They serve in the Apostolic Palace near St...
would often follow behind a pope with the umbracullum in hand.
The umbraculum is part of the
coat of armsA coat of arms, more properly called an armorial achievement, armorial bearings or often just arms for short, in European tradition, is a design belonging to a particular person and used by them in a wide variety of ways. Historically, they were used by knights to identify them apart from enemy...
of the
Holy SeeThe Holy See is the episcopal jurisdiction of the Bishop of Rome, commonly known as the Pope, and is the preeminent episcopal see of the Catholic Church, forming the central government of the Church. As such, diplomatically, and in other spheres the Holy See acts and speaks for the whole Catholic...
sede vacanteSede 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...
, i.e., between the reigns of two popes. It was first used as an
interregnalAn 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 regency therefore overlap...
emblem in this way on coins minted in 1521 (Galbreath, 34).
The umbraculum is one of the symbols bestowed by the pope when he elevates a church to the rank of a
basilicaThe Latin word basilica , was originally used to describe a Roman public building , usually located in the forum of a Roman town. In Hellenistic cities, public basilicas appeared in the 2nd century BC.Basilicas were also used for religious purposes...
.
The coat of arms of the Camerlengo of the Holy Roman Church are ornamented with a pair of gold and silver keys in
saltireA saltire, Saint Andrew's Cross, or crux decussata , is a heraldic symbol in the form of a diagonal cross or letter X...
surmounted by an umbraculum.
External links
- Procession with umbraculum by the collegiate chapter of the Basilica of Sts Peter and Paul in Gozo
Gozo is an island of the Maltese archipelago in the Mediterranean Sea. The island is part of the Southern European country of Malta; after the island of Malta itself, it is the second-largest island in the archipelago...
, MaltaMalta , officially the Republic of Malta , is a densely populated developed European country in the European Union. The Southern European island nation is an archipelago that includes the inhabited islands of Malta, Gozo and Comino, along with a number of smaller, uninhabited islands...