The death of Pope Benedict XVI on 31 December 2022 and his subsequent burial has afforded us the opportunity to look at his coat of arms and associated heraldry. When he became Cardinal he adopted his coat of arms that contained the escallop shell, the head of a moor and a brown bear.
Cardinal Andrea Cordero Lanza di
Montezemolo (b. 1925, d. 2017) was made a cardinal by Pope Benedict XVI in 2006. In 2005 he designed the coat of arms of Pope Benedict and shortly
afterwards, on 31 May 2005, was named Archpriest of the Basilica of St Paul Outside the Walls.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andrea_Cordero_Lanza_di_Montezemolo
Pope Benedict XVI receives a
gift of a stole with the coat of arms of then Blessed John Paul II during the general
audience in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican May 2, 2012. (CNS/Paul Haring)
The scallop shell is a symbol with multiple meanings. It is said to represent the unfathomable mystery of the Holy Trinity, as Saint Augustine once meditated on the subject while walking along the seashore. As Joseph Ratzinger, Benedict XVI wrote his dissertation on The People of God and the House of God in Augustine’s Teaching. The shell therefore holds a personal connection to his thoughts on the Church. The scallop shell is also an allusion to the Sacrament of Holy Baptism. The shell is also a symbol of pilgrimage. This symbol also alludes to “the pilgrim people of God”, a title for the Church which Pope Benedict championed at the Second Vatican Council as a theological advisor. It is also found in the insignia of the Schottenkloster in Regensburg, where the major seminary of that diocese is located, a place where Pope Benedict taught as a professor of theology. Finally, the pilgrimage symbolism of 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.
The head of a moor, wearing a red crown and collar represents Pope Benedict’s origins and is also a reference to the Order of Saint Benedict.
The brown bear trippant, carrying a red pack tied with black bands, represents Pope Benedict’s trust in God and his calling to spread the faith to others. It is also a reference to Saint Corbinian, who is said to have tamed a bear that had killed his pack horse and made it carry his bags on its back.
https://ucatholic.com/blog/learn-the-meaning-behind-pope-benedict-xvis-coat-of-arms/
https://adoremus.org/2005/05/explanation-of-the-popes-name-and-symbolism-in-the-papal-coat-of-arms/
https://www.papalartifacts.com/portfolio-item/holy-card-with-cardinal-ratzingers-coat-of-arms/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZUfR8ZMTsqc
(ETWN)
Archbishop Georg Gänswein
(left to the viewer), the long time personal secretary of Benedict XVI kneels to pay his respects, at the coffin of Pope Emeritus Benedict on January 5 2023
at St Peter's Square.
Before the burial, a ribbon was placed around the coffin, along with three seals: from the Apostolic Chamber, the Pontifical Household, and the office of liturgical celebrations. The coffin was then placed in a zinc coffin and sealed.
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The third coffin (oak) and coffin plate
https://adoremus.org/2005/05/explanation-of-the-popes-name-and-symbolism-in-the-papal-coat-of-arms/
This photograph of Pope Benedict with President Mary McAleese in 2007 shows Benedict wearing a stole that displays his coat of arms on either side, also included are the crossed keys, mitre and pallium.
In a 2013 interview, Cardinal Montezemolo said that Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI needed a new coat of arms now that he was no longer the pontiff. “The problem now is whether the Pope Emeritus can keep that same coat of arms or not”. “And as a person who has always dedicated himself to this, I say ‘no’”. He drew up a new coat of arms, which he believed could be used by the former pontiff. He moved the big keys of Saint Peter from the back of the coat of arms to the top part of the shield and made them much smaller. “But this is only a proposal, it isn’t official,” Montezemolo qualified.When designing the arms, the cardinal added the keys of Saint Peter behind the coat of arms. Below, he added the pallium, which had never been done by a previous Pope, to show the collegiality between the Pope and the bishops. Pope Benedict chose not to include the papal mitre.
https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/27139/benedict-xvi-needs-new-coat-of-arms-designer-says
https://aleteia.org/2018/08/19/the-day-the-pope-who-gave-up-his-papal-tiara-to-feed-the-poor/
Since Pope Paul VI gave up the tiara, none of his four successors have worn one. Pope Benedict XVI, in fact, had the image of the tiara removed from the papal coat of arms, substituting it with a more humble bishop’s mitre. However he was presented with a tiara in 2011 by a group of Germans.
Below are shown the suggestions for the coat of arms for Pope Benedict Emeritus from 2013. The first was the suggestion of Cardinal Montezemolo and second from Leonardo Piccioni, a native of Brazil.
https://create-recreate.blogspot.com/2013/08/benedict-xvi-as-pope-emeritus.html
https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/news/nation-world/story/2022-12-31/live-updates-reactions-to-pope-benedict-xvis-death
Coat of arms of Vatican State
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