Sedia gestatoria
The Sedia gestatoria ( Latin , literally "seat that serves to carry") is a portable armchair for the Pope . The Sedia consists of a richly decorated throne chair, which is attached to a platform, the so-called suppedaneum . Two rods are attached to the sides, by means of which the throne is carried by twelve men, the Palafrenieri or Sediari pontifici . The flabelli , fans made of white feathers, were worn on the sides .
Pius II was probably the first Pope to give the use of the Sedia a ceremonial appearance. In his Commentarii he refers to his gout disease ; When entering Florence in 1459, the first disputes arose from the fact that Pius II did not, as was customary up to then, move into the city on a white horse. In 1460, when he entered Rome, he was carried by Roman nobles from the sixth milestone to the Porta del Popolo . The appearance of a triumphal procession was unmistakable here.
In the period that followed, the Sedia increasingly became an integral part of the papal ceremonial . Depending on the occasion, different forms of Sedia were used. On ordinary occasions, a sedes minor was used, with the seat at the level of the straps. It was carried by only eight Sediari .
The actual Sedia gestatoria in connection with the Suppedaneum was used in the ceremonial of the Pope's elevation, the Pope's mass and on solemn occasions. In earlier times it was also customary to carry a new bishop into his church on a sedia when he was inaugurated .
John XXIII was carried at the opening of the Second Vaticanum on the Sedia in St. Peter's Basilica for the opening mass. This Sedia was made for Leo XIII. made and all his successors up to John Paul I. used it. Pope John Paul I actually no longer wanted to use the Sedia because he felt it, just like the tiara , to come from a traditional ceremony. However, since he was told that otherwise people would not see him, he consented to its use. After John Paul I had only used the Sedia at a few general audiences and when the Lateran Basilica was taken over, his successor John Paul II completely rejected its use due to its triumphalistic appearance. Even during his serious illness, which made walking difficult and ultimately impossible, he only resorted to a wheeled throne. Even Benedict XVI. did not use the Sedia .
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- Claudia Märtl : Pope Pius II (1458–1464) in the chapel of the Palazzo Medici Riccardi in Florence. A contribution to the iconography and ceremonial of the Popes in the Renaissance ( PDF )
