With Courtney Mares

Vatican City, 9 November 2024 / 06:00

For the first time in more than a century, the historic St. Peter’s Chair, a wooden throne symbolizing the pope’s sovereign authority, was removed from its gilded bronze reliquary in St. Peter’s Basilica for public display.

Pilgrims and visitors can now view this historical monument directly in front of the main altar of the basilica, just above the tomb of St. Peter; it will remain on display here until December 8, the glory of the Immaculate Conception.

According to Pietro, the last major public display of the chair was in 1867, at the inauguration of Pope Pope IX. 1,800th anniversary of the martyrdoms of Pope Pius XII, St. Peter and St. Paul. On the anniversary of Pope Pius IX’s 1,800 commemoration of the martyrdoms of St. Peter and St. Paul. It took place for 12 days on the anniversary, when the faithful paraded the Chair of Peter in veneration. Zander is head of the Vatican’s Department of Necropolis and Artistic Heritage.

The centuries-old wooden throne was on public display for the first time since 1666, when it was placed inside Gian Lorenzo Bernini’s monumental bronze statue beneath the stained-glass Dove of the Holy Spirit window in the basilica’s apse.

Officially known as Cathedra Sancti Petri Apostoli, or more simply Cathedra Petri, the chair has held a revered place in Catholic tradition for centuries, representing papal authority from the time of St. Peter to the present day.

“The chair needs to be understood as the ‘cathedra’ of the teacher,” art historian Elizabeth Lev told CNA. “This symbolizes the Pope’s duty to pass on the teaching of Christ from generation to generation.”

“Antiquity (ninth century) speaks of a papacy that survived through the ages – from St. Peter ruling a runaway church and trying to spread the Gospel with the power of the Roman Empire trying to close it down, until the founding of the Papacy. “The Catholic Church and its roots trace back to Pope Francis, the 266th successor of St. Peter in the Eternal City,” he explained.

A storied history

The wooden chair itself is steeped in history. According to the Vatican, the wooden seat was probably created by Holy Roman Emperor Charles the Bald in 875 AD, when it was designed by Pope John VIII for the emperor’s Christmas coronation in the ancient St. Peter’s Basilica. It was given to John. The chair’s beam bears a depiction of the emperor, and its ivory panels show the labors of Hercules and other scenes from Greek mythology.

An information sign next to the chair in St. Peter’s Basilica informs visitors: “Shortly after the year 1000, the Cathedral Petri was venerated as a relic of the chair used by the apostle Peter while preaching the Gospel, first in Antioch and then in 1000.” He started to see. Rome.”

The Fabric of St. Peter’s, the organization responsible for the maintenance of the Basilica, says “it cannot be excluded that this ninth-century imperial seat may have later incorporated the panel depicting the labors of Hercules, probably originally from an earlier and more ancient period” . the older papal seat.”

Vatican experts will carry out a series of diagnostic tests with the Vatican Museums’ Cabinet for Scientific Research before returning the chair to its place in Bernini’s monumental reliquary. The ancient seat was last removed and examined under Pope Paul VI from 1969 to 1974, but was not shown to the public.

The recent restoration of Bernini’s works in the basilica, funded by the Knights of Columbus as part of preparations for the Catholic Church’s 2025 Jubilee Year, made it possible to move the chair from the bronze statue in August.

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Pope Francis gave a brief glimpse of the relic in early October, and a photo of the moment quickly went viral, showing him sitting in a wheelchair in front of St. Peter’s lectern. The pope then requested that the relic be displayed for public veneration.

Francis ultimately decided that the Head of St. Peter, a symbol of the unity of the Church under Christ’s instruction, would be publicly unveiled at the closing Mass of the Synod on Synodality.

“Pope Francis has been extremely generous to the faithful regarding the display of relics,” Lev said. “Shortly after his election, he unveiled the bones of St. Peter, had the Shroud of Turin on display in 2015, and has now brought out the Chair of St. Peter for veneration in the basilica.”

“In our virtual age, where so much confusion reigns between what is real and what is not, Pope Francis encouraged us to come face to face with these ancient witnesses of our faith and traditions.”

Feast of the Head of St. Peter

The history of the Feast of St. Peter’s Chair, celebrated every year on February 22, dates back to the fourth century. St. Jerome (AD 347-420) spoke of his reverence for the “Head of Peter” in a letter: “I follow no other leader than Christ, so I enter into communion with the Head of Peter, for this I know that he is the rock on which the Church is built. ”

As Pope Benedict XVI explained in 2006 catechism: “’Cathedra’ literally means the resident seat of the bishop placed in the main church of a diocese and is therefore known as a ‘cathedral’.

“This is symbolic of the bishop’s authority and, in particular, his ‘magisterium’, that is, the evangelical teaching that he, as the successor of the apostles, is charged with preserving and transmitting to the Christian community,” he said.

Benedict explained that when a bishop takes possession of a particular Church entrusted to him, he sits in the cathedral: “From this seat, as teacher and priest, he will guide the faithful on their journey of faith, hope and charity.”

“It was the first ‘seat’ upper room of the church, and it is possible that a special place was reserved for Simon Peter in the room where Mary, the mother of Jesus, also prayed with the disciples,” he added.

Benedict XVI described Peter’s ministry as a journey from Jerusalem to Antioch, where he served as bishop, and eventually to Rome. He noted that the Roman See, where Peter “ended his race in the service of the Gospel by martyrdom,” was recognized as the seat of his successors, with the cathedral representing the mission entrusted to Peter by Christ.

“Therefore, the See of Rome, which receives the highest honors, also has the honor of being at the service of all the particular Churches for the education and unity of all the people of God, which Christ entrusted to Peter.” he said.

Bernini’s Baroque masterpiece

Bernini, Pope VII. The monumental chair chest, commissioned by Alexander II and completed in 1666, is one of the most iconic works of art in St. Peter’s Basilica. Bernini placed the wooden relic in a bronze-gilded throne; It was dramatically elevated and crowned with a stained glass depiction of the Holy Spirit, symbolized as a dove surrounded by sculpted angels.

The bronze throne symbolizes the unity of the Church, two from the West, St. Augustine and St. Ambrose and the two from the East, St. John Chrysostom and St. It is supported by colossal statues of four doctors of the Church, including Athanasius. It brings together the teachings of both the Latin and Greek Church Fathers throughout the ages. On top of the throne, angels hold the papal crown and keys symbolizing papal authority.

Above the chair are three gold reliefs representing Bible passages regarding the handing over of the keys (Matthew 16:19), “feed my sheep” (John 21:17), and the washing of feet (John 13). :1-17).

The ongoing restoration of Bernini’s monument at the Altar of the Chair and the recently completed restoration of the baldacchino are important not only in light of the Jubilee Year 2025, but also in view of the upcoming 400th anniversary of the consecration of the existing St. Peter’s Basilica. In 2026.

Pope Benedict is on the path to salvation.”

Courtney Mares is the Catholic News Agency’s Rome Correspondent. The Harvard University graduate has reported for news bureaus on three continents and was awarded the Gardner Fellowship for her work with North Korean refugees. He is the author of “Blessed Carlo Acutis: A Saint in Sneakers” (Ignatius, 2023).