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| shoes of Pope Pius XII |
My blogging friend Rosemary, of
Where Five Valleys Meet, posted on traditions surrounding the election of a pope, and mentioned the papal tradition of red shoes. I thought that I would expand on the subject.
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| Crown Jewels | Crescent Books |
The red shoes of the pope are said to symbolize martyrdom, but the tradition possibly stems from the slippers worn by Byzantine emperors. The Norman kings of Sicily adopted the Byzantine custom of red slippers. Their heirs, the Holy Roman Emperors, also wore red slippers like the ones above at their coronations.
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| St. Peter and The Vatican | wikimedia.org |
The shoes above were probably worn by Pope Pius VII (1742-1823), remembered for his contentious relationship with Napoleon. These are properly called "liturgical slippers," and would have been worn on high church occasions.
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| Northampton Museums & Art Gallery | britannica.com |
This handsome shoe was worn by the oldest pope, Leo XIII (1810-1903). It dates to 1888.
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| papalartifacts.com | Time |
This is the style of Pope Pius XII (1876-1958).
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| St. Peter and The Vatican | archlaos.com |
It looks as though Pope John XIII (1881-1963) might have gotten a lot of use from these liturgical slippers, perhaps during the Second Ecumenical Council. They would have been laced with ribbons that had tassels at each end.
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| St. Peter and The Vatican | wordpress.com |
Paul VI (1897-1978) was the last pope to wear liturgical slippers. These were his.
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| Adriano Stefanelli | nndb.com |
By contrast, Pope John Paul II (1920-2005) opted for simple burgundy loafers, and later dispensed with them altogether and wore brown shoes.
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| Adriano Stefanelli | CNN.com |
Pope Benedict XVI (b. 1927) retained the leather loafers, but reverted to the traditional ruby red color. In retirement, he'll wear brown shoes.
The header photograph is from the exhibition catalogue, St. Peter and The Vatican.
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Hello Mark, Who knew that all these papal shoes were still extant? It is interesting how the history and symbolism have gotten mixed up to the point that no one really knows for sure what they mean or how the traditions developed.
ReplyDeleteHello, Jim,
DeleteAnd for that matter, it's entirely possible that Byzantine emperors copied popes. It occurs to me that regal red shoes might go further back to antiquity, though, and that the custom might have to do with the rarity of bright read dyes.
Hello hello Mark!
ReplyDeleteAfter a bit of an absence, I'm back and am delighted to catch up with your posts(I so enjoyed the series on Mr. Eastman's safari adventures!). The Papal shoes are so interesting and full of ceremonial history. I'm drawn to thinking about their makers: the embroiderers, the cobblers, and wondering about the pressure and honor of such a important commissions... There's another very interesting story of a sewing workroom where the ladies worked on the space suits for Apollo 11... Amazing how rooms full of ladies sewing with needle and thread have had such an impact on the major events of our civilization! I'm a collector of Stubbs and Wootton slippers, and remember hearing that Pope John Paul II wore them as well... Exalted company, for sure!
Thanks for another wonderful post, Mark!
Warm regards,
Erika
Hello, Erika, and welcome back.
DeleteHow interesting that the space suits were hand-sewn. I would never have guessed that, but then I suppose they were pieced together with special materials, including any thread. Your comment reminds me of a fact I read a long time ago that said that the width of the vehicle that transported NASA rockets to their launching pad was based upon the measurement of Roman roads (it was a fascinating book on connections of that sort, but I'm blanking on the title now — possibly simply "Connections").
I would love to own a pair of Stubbs and Wooton slippers, but I'm not yet in your exalted company, or the late pope's!
Dear Mark - I was wondering whether the pope emeritus would consider handing his lovely red shoes on to you. They would compliment your Federico da Montefeltro, Duke of Urbino outfit perfectly.
ReplyDeleteOne of my catholic commenters said that the red shoes represent the blood of christ and I read that they are also considered to represent the blood of the martyrs. However, I think it is most likely that Benedict enjoyed wearing them, unlike his predecessor who obviously was not interested in making such a statement.
It was surprising how many people were unaware of the pope's red shoes, I have enjoyed your round up of the shoe situation.
Dear Rosemary,
DeleteI think I would prefer to match Paul VI's red liturgical slippers to my red hat, but of course I would accept the red loafers, at least to wear around the house. Clearly Benedict was more of a clothes horse than John Paul II — it does not surprise me that he will continue to wear white in his retirement!
Great post, Mark!! Wonderful research. We just came back from Europe, and there was quite a buzz about the Vatican / future Pope on the televisions. But nothing as interesting as this post :) I love the liturgical slippers.....bring them back!!
ReplyDeleteCheers,
Loi
Hi, Loi! Thank you for that nice comment! Any time you want a pair of liturgical slippers to wear around your shop, I will be more than happy to design them. I think a good Gustavian match would laurel green with silver trim.
DeleteCheers,
Mark
Dear Mark,
ReplyDeleteI seem to recall seeing some of these slippers in a museum exhibition some years ago.
I like the green embroidered slippers of Pope Pius XII.
Incidentally seeing the photograph of Pope Leo XIII reminds me that there is a scratchy old recording of him chanting the Ave Maria. He was the first pope to record his voice and the first to be filmed.
We were eagerly watching for white smoke this evening via CNN - black smoke came out so perhaps white will appear tomorrow.
Bye for now
Kirk
Dear Kirk,
DeleteI have actually watched that very short and jerky outdoor movie of Leo XIII. It struck me as rather comical, which of course was not the intention. Did you know that Queen Victoria recorded greetings to a number of potentates? Apparently none exist because she realized that they would be played over and over for entertainment, and therefore instructed her ambassadors to play them once through and then destroy them. History's loss (but I would have done the same in her shoes).
Regarding the colors: each pope (and actually, each bishop, for most of these pictures show episcopal sandals that are appropriately worn by any bishop during certain celebrations) would have had a set of these corresponding to the various liturgical colors: green, violet, rose, red, and white (or gold). Pontifical footwear is not worn with black vestments.
ReplyDeleteThank you for that additional information, Titus. In fact the first photograph (with Pope Pius XII's green shoes) also showed a pair of rose-colored liturgical slippers.
DeleteNone of this surprises. Perhaps Francis the First will be less interested in the style and trappings, over the real point of being pope; if anyone can remember.
ReplyDeleteColumnist, it will be interesting to watch his approach unfold. Certainly his choice of a name might be an indicator.
DeleteFascinating post , I read that Pope Benedict XV1 was taken with liturical vestments , more so than his predessecor.
ReplyDeleteI once read a short story about a modern day pope whose blood stained slipper became a symbol for the poor and dispossessed, maybe it was a Jeffrey Archer story but I cant find a reference to it
Thanks for your comment, smr — if you ever locate that story, I'd be interested in reading it. It's fascinating to see how one person projects through personality and another projects through the trappings of the office. Personality tends to trump.
DeleteThis is a fascinating post Mark! I need to rethink my career as a decorative artist and start painting shoes! The ones worn by Leo XIII are , of course, embroidered, but I think I could do a pretty good trompe of them....I remember the first time I was in Rome and walked down Via delle Carrozze and saw the tailors for the Vatican and those red leather shoes in the window!
ReplyDeleteHi, Theresa! I think that particular shoemaker is going to need to come up with some new alternatives, perhaps papal sandals.
DeleteSo interesting to see these, Mark. Such beautiful shoes. Even the plain leather ones. Needless to add, I love red shoes and own several pairs. Though mine are not symbolic in any way. :)
ReplyDeleteDear Yvette - I think it would be very good to invent symbolism for your red shoes. Perhaps they are your "This Is Gonna Be One Great Day!" shoes.
Delete