Last week during the Jan. 6 closing of the Holy Door of St. Peter’s Basilica, Pope Leo XIV used a new papal staff, or ferula, which is used by pontiffs in solemn ceremonies and represents their leadership as bishop of Rome and supreme pastor of the entire Church.
According to the Office of Liturgical Celebrations of the Holy See, popes have traditionally received this insignia after their election, when they took possession of their see in St. John Lateran Basilica.
The papal staff, used only by the pope and topped with a cross or a crucifix, is different from the bishop’s crozier — the shepherd’s staff — which ends in a curve and is used by bishops and archbishops.
It was St. Paul VI who, in 1965 on the occasion of the closing of the Second Vatican Council, used a silver ferula with a crucifix designed by the sculptor Lello Scorzelli. The pontiff began to use this cross with increasing frequency in liturgical celebrations, as his successors would later do.
St. John Paul II also chose to use the papal ferula from the beginning of his pontificate. Even in the last years of his life, the late pontiff leaned on it while convalescing in his room.
Benedict XVI used a ferula topped with a golden cross, previously used by Blessed Pius IX. Leo XIV used Benedict XVI’s ferula on May 18 during his first Mass as pope and has also used the one designed by Scorzelli for St. Paul VI.
The new papal ferula used by Pope Leo XIV is in continuity with those used by his predecessors, linking the mission of proclaiming the mystery of love expressed by Christ on the cross with its glorious manifestation in the Resurrection.
Furthermore, as the Vatican explains, its style is reminiscent of Scorzelli’s work, as it depicts Christ no longer bound by the nails of the Passion but with his glorified body in the act of ascending to the Father.
The ferula bears the motto chosen by Pope Leo XIV: “ In illo uno unum,” (“In the one Christ we are one”), which captures the theological dimension of his magisterium, founded on the unity and communion that makes us the Church.
The use of the papal ferula is seen as carrying a profound symbolic meaning: It expresses the specific mission of the successor of Peter to confirm his brothers in the faith and preside over the Church in charity.
This story was first published by ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language news partner. It has been translated and adapted by CNA.
