A canonical coronation () is a pious institutional act of the

pope The pope is the bishop of Rome and the Head of the Church#Catholic Church, visible head of the worldwide Catholic Church. He is also known as the supreme pontiff, Roman pontiff, or sovereign pontiff. From the 8th century until 1870, the po ...

, duly expressed in a formal decree of a

papal bull A papal bull is a type of public decree, letters patent, or charter issued by the pope of the Catholic Church. It is named after the leaden Seal (emblem), seal (''bulla (seal), bulla'') traditionally appended to authenticate it. History Papal ...

, in which the pope bestows the

pontifical right In Catholicism, "of pontifical right" is the term given to ecclesiastical institutions (religious and secular institutes, societies of apostolic life) either created by the Holy See, or approved by it with the formal decree known by the Latin na ...

to impose an ornamental crown, a diadem or an aureole to an image of

Christ Jesus ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ, Jesus of Nazareth, and many other names and titles, was a 1st-century Jewish preacher and religious leader. He is the Jesus in Christianity, central figure of Christianity, the M ...

, Mary or

Joseph Joseph is a common male name, derived from the Hebrew (). "Joseph" is used, along with " Josef", mostly in English, French and partially German languages. This spelling is also found as a variant in the languages of the modern-day Nordic count ...

that is widely venerated in a particular diocese or locality. The act was later regulated to Marian images only, through the ''De coronatione imaginum B.V. Mariae'' that was issued on 25 March 1973. The formal act is generally carried out by a representing proxy of the pope, via the designated

apostolic nuncio An apostolic nuncio (; also known as a papal nuncio or simply as a nuncio) is an ecclesiastical diplomat, serving as an envoy or a permanent diplomatic representative of the Holy See to a state or to an international organization. A nuncio is ...

to a country or kingdom, or at times a lesser

papal legate 300px, A woodcut showing Henry II of England greeting the Pope's legate. A papal legate or apostolic legate (from the ancient Roman title '' legatus'') is a personal representative of the Pope to foreign nations, to some other part of the Catho ...

, or on rare occasions by the pope himself, by ceremonially attaching a

crown A crown is a traditional form of head adornment, or hat, worn by monarchs as a symbol of their power and dignity. A crown is often, by extension, a symbol of the monarch's government or items endorsed by it. The word itself is used, parti ...

tiara A tiara (, ) is a head ornament adorned with jewels. Its origins date back to ancient Greco-Roman world. In the late 18th century, the tiara came into fashion in Europe as a prestigious piece of jewelry to be worn by women at formal occasions ...

, or stellar

halo HALO, halo, halos or haloes may refer to: Most common meanings * Halo (optical phenomenon) * Halo (religious iconography), a ring of light around the image of a head * ''Halo'' (franchise), a sci-fi video game series (2001–2021) Arts and en ...

to the devotional image or statue. The

Holy Office The Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith (DDF) is a department of the Roman Curia in charge of the religious discipline of the Catholic Church. The Dicastery is the oldest among the departments of the Roman Curia. Its seat is the Palace o ...

originally issued the authorisation of a canonical coronation through a

dicastery A dicastery (; ; from ) is the name of some departments in the Roman Curia of the Catholic Church The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest C ...

, called the "Vatican Chapter". Subsequently, until 1989, the Vatican's

Sacred Congregation of Rites The Sacred Congregation of Rites was a Congregation (Roman Curia), congregation of the Roman Curia, erected on 22 January 1588 by Pope Sixtus V by ''Immensa Aeterni Dei''; it was divided into two separate congregations by Pope Paul VI on 8 May 196 ...

was assigned this duty. Since then, the

Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments The Dicastery for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments () is the dicastery (from , from δικαστής, 'judge, juror') of the Roman Curia that handles most affairs relating to liturgical practices of the Latin Church as distin ...

makes the formal consultation and arrangement to execute the ceremonial act which the decree authorizes.

History

The formal act of coronation towards Marian images began with the

Order of Friars Minor Capuchin The Order of Friars Minor Capuchin (; postnominal abbr. OFMCap) is a religious order of Franciscan friars within the Catholic Church, one of three " First Orders" that reformed from the Franciscan Friars Minor Observant (OFMObs, now OFM), the ...

s, who on their evangelising missions collected great quantities of jewellery associated with the practice of

indulgences In the teaching of the Catholic Church, an indulgence (, from , 'permit') is "a way to reduce the amount of punishment one has to undergo for (forgiven) sins". The ''Catechism of the Catholic Church'' describes an indulgence as "a remission bef ...

, which funded at the request of the faithful, the gold crowns or accessories for images of the

Blessed Virgin Mary Mary was a first-century Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Saint Joseph, Joseph and the mother of Jesus. She is an important figure of Christianity, venerated under titles of Mary, mother of Jesus, various titles such as Perpetual virginity ...

, mainly in Italy. Although the crowning of statues and paintings occurred occasionally in antiquity and the Middle Ages, the early modern practice of the canonical coronation began with the Capuchin friar and "Apostle of the Blessed Lady", Girolamo Paolucci di Calboldi di Forlì (1552–1620), who on 27 May 1601 crowned the Madonna now enshrined at the Sanctuary of Santa Maria della Steccata in Parma, Italy. When the

Marquis A marquess (; ) is a nobleman of high hereditary rank in various European peerages and in those of some of their former colonies. The German-language equivalent is Markgraf (margrave). A woman with the rank of a marquess or the wife (or wido ...

Piacenza Piacenza (; ; ) is a city and (municipality) in the Emilia-Romagna region of Northern Italy, and the capital of the province of Piacenza, eponymous province. As of 2022, Piacenza is the ninth largest city in the region by population, with more ...

and Count of Borgonovo, Alessandro Sforza Cesarini died in 1636, he bequeathed in his

will Will may refer to: Common meanings * Will and testament, instructions for the disposition of one's property after death * Will (philosophy), or willpower * Will (sociology) * Will, volition (psychology) * Will, a modal verb - see Shall and will ...

a large sum of money to the Vatican Chapter for the coronation of the most celebrated Marian images in the world. Funds from his bequest went towards the restoration of the ''Madonna della Febbre'', which is now enshrined in the sacristy of

Saint Peter's Basilica The Papal Basilica of Saint Peter in the Vatican (), or simply St. Peter's Basilica (; ), is a church of the Italian Renaissance architecture, Italian High Renaissance located in Vatican City, an independent microstate enclaved within the cit ...

in Rome.

Development of the rite

The enactment of the rite of the coronation of a venerated image became widely popular in the

Papal States The Papal States ( ; ; ), officially the State of the Church, were a conglomeration of territories on the Italian peninsula under the direct sovereign rule of the pope from 756 to 1870. They were among the major states of Italy from the 8th c ...

prior to 1800, when approximately 300 coronation ceremonies were performed. On 29 March 1897, an official rite titled ''Ordo Servandus in Tradendis Coronis Aureis Quæ Donantur a Reverendisimi Capitulo Sancti Petri de Urbe Sacris imaginibus Beatæ Mariæ Virginis'' was included in the '' Roman Pontifical'', for which a

plenary indulgence In the teaching of the Catholic Church, an indulgence (, from , 'permit') is "a way to reduce the amount of punishment one has to undergo for (forgiven) sins". The ''Catechism of the Catholic Church'' describes an indulgence as "a remission bef ...

was also conceded to the faithful who participated in such rites.Roman Ritual: Blessings, Praenotanda num. 28, ''Ritual coronation of an image of the Blessed Virgin Mary'', nos. 10 and 14. * The first Marian image ceremoniously crowned without direct papal approbation was performed by Cardinal Orazio Spinola for the Madonna of the Vineyards venerated at the Basilica of Santa Maria delle Vigne in

Genoa Genoa ( ; ; ) is a city in and the capital of the Italian region of Liguria, and the sixth-largest city in Italy. As of 2025, 563,947 people live within the city's administrative limits. While its metropolitan city has 818,651 inhabitan ...

on 5 April 1616.

Pope Benedict XV Pope Benedict XV (; ; born Giacomo Paolo Giovanni Battista della Chiesa, ; 21 November 1854 – 22 January 1922) was head of the Catholic Church from 1914 until his death in January 1922. His pontificate was largely overshadowed by World War I a ...

later granted a decree of coronation titled ''Quae Civitatis Istius'' on 1 November 1920, signed and executed by the Archbishop of Genoa, Cardinal Tommaso Pio Boggiani in honor of the Pope's native birthplace. * The first image of the

that was pontifically crowned was Lippo Memmi's painting of ''La Madonna della Febbre'' in the

sacristy A sacristy, also known as a vestry or preparation room, is a room in Christianity, Christian churches for the keeping of vestments (such as the alb and chasuble) and other church furnishings, sacred vessels, and parish records. The sacristy is us ...

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on 27 May 1631, by

Pope Urban VIII Pope Urban VIII (; ; baptised 5 April 1568 – 29 July 1644), born Maffeo Vincenzo Barberini, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 6 August 1623 to his death, in July 1644. As pope, he expanded the papal terri ...

through the Vatican Chapter. * The first Marian image pontifically crowned outside of Rome was the Our Lady of Trsat of

Croatia Croatia, officially the Republic of Croatia, is a country in Central Europe, Central and Southeast Europe, on the coast of the Adriatic Sea. It borders Slovenia to the northwest, Hungary to the northeast, Serbia to the east, Bosnia and Herze ...

on 8 September 1715 by

Pope Clement XI Pope Clement XI (; ; ; 23 July 1649 – 19 March 1721), born Giovanni Francesco Albani, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 23 November 1700 to his death in March 1721. Clement XI was a patron of the arts an ...

. * The first Marian image personally crowned by a pope himself was the Madonna del Popolo on 3 June 1782 by

Pope Pius VI Pope Pius VI (; born Count Angelo Onofrio Melchiorre Natale Giovanni Antonio called Giovanni Angelo or Giannangelo Braschi, 25 December 171729 August 1799) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 15 February 1775 to hi ...

at the Cesena Cathedral. * The first image of Christ granted a decree of canonical coronation was granted by

Pope Leo XII Pope Leo XII (; born Annibale Francesco Clemente Melchiorre Girolamo Nicola della Genga; 2 August 1760 – 10 February 1829) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 28 September 1823 to his death in February 1829. ...

for the

Infant Jesus of Prague The Infant Jesus of Prague (: ) is a 16th-century wax-coated wooden statue of the Child Jesus holding a ''globus cruciger'' of Spanish origin, now located in the Discalced Carmelite Church of Our Lady of Victories in Malá Strana, Prague, C ...

on 24 September 1824. The image is now enshrined at the Carmelite Church of Our Lady of Victories in

Prague Prague ( ; ) is the capital and List of cities and towns in the Czech Republic, largest city of the Czech Republic and the historical capital of Bohemia. Prague, located on the Vltava River, has a population of about 1.4 million, while its P ...

, Czech Republic. * The first image of Saint Joseph that granted a decree of canonical coronation by

was for the Sanctuary of Saint Joseph in

Kalisz Kalisz () is a city in central Poland, and the second-largest city in the Greater Poland Voivodeship, with 97,905 residents (December 2021). It is the capital city of the Kalisz Region. Situated on the Prosna river in the southeastern part of Gr ...

, Poland on 15 May 1796.

Pope John XXIII Pope John XXIII (born Angelo Giuseppe Roncalli; 25 November 18813 June 1963) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 28 October 1958 until his death on 3 June 1963. He is the most recent pope to take ...

gifted the venerated image his personal ring, accompanied with an "epistle of consecration" in 1963. Accordingly, its paired

Madonna and Child In Christian art, a Madonna () is a religious depiction of the Blessed Virgin Mary in a singular form or sometimes accompanied by the Child Jesus. These images are central icons for both the Roman Catholic and Orthodox churches. The word ...

ensemble merited their own separate pontifical decrees in 1984 under the auspices of

Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II (born Karol Józef Wojtyła; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 16 October 1978 until Death and funeral of Pope John Paul II, his death in 2005. In his you ...

Enshrinement of the rite

An earlier reference to the coronation of Marian images is decreed in the 1973 apostolic brief ''Pluries Decursu Temporis''. The solemn rite of crowning images is contained in the '' Ordo Coronandi Imaginem Beatae Mariae Virginis'', published by the

on 25 May 1981. Prior to 1989, papal bulls authorising canonical coronations were inscribed manually on

parchment Parchment is a writing material made from specially prepared Tanning (leather), untanned skins of animals—primarily sheep, calves and goats. It has been used as a writing medium in West Asia and Europe for more than two millennia. By AD 400 ...

. After 1989, the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments began issuing the authorisations, thereby authorising a papal legate to perform the coronation of the approved devotional image on behalf of the pope via an expressed decree of

letters patent Letters patent (plurale tantum, plural form for singular and plural) are a type of legal instrument in the form of a published written order issued by a monarch, President (government title), president or other head of state, generally granti ...

History

Development of the rite

Enshrinement of the rite

References

Further reading