Papal Coronation

A papal coronation was the ceremony of the placing of the papal tiara on a newly elected pope. The first recorded papal coronation was that of Pope Nicholas I in 858. The last was the 1963 coronation of Pope Paul VI, who soon afterwards abandoned the practice of wearing the tiara. None of his successors has used the tiara, and their papal inauguration celebrations have included no coronation ceremony.

The papal inauguration celebration, with or without a coronation, has only symbolic significance, as a pope assumes office immediately on giving his consent to a valid election.

The rite is different from Coronacion Pontificia (English: Pontifical Coronation), a term sometimes used in Spanish-speaking countries, in reference to the Canonical coronation of religious images by a Pontiff.

When a conclave elects a new pope, he assumes all of the rights and authority of the papacy immediately upon his acceptance of election; however, popes traditionally numbered their regnal years from the date of their coronation. If a newly elected pope is not a bishop, he is consecrated at once. In accordance with tradition, the right of consecration belongs to the Dean of the College of Cardinals, in his absence to the Subdean, and in the absence of both of these, to the senior Cardinal Bishop. If the new pope is already a bishop, as is normally the case, his election is announced immediately to the people gathered in Saint Peter's Square and he gives them his blessing.

The episcopal enthronement of the pope takes place in his cathedral, the Archbasilica of St. John Lateran. This ceremony was once combined with the coronation. During the Avignon papacy, the pope, being in France, could not be enthroned in his cathedral in Rome. The coronations continued, while enthronements had to await a return to Rome. When Pope Gregory XI did return to Rome, the Lateran Palace was badly in need of repair, so the popes made the Vatican their residence and transferred coronations to Saint Peter's Basilica. The Lateran Basilica remains the cathedral of Rome, and the enthronement occurs there. During the "prisoner in the Vatican" period, the enthronement did not take place.

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