There is a blog on papal clothing which tells the significance of the new staff.
A New Year a New Pastoral staff – Alleluia!
11/28/09 01:18:38
11/28/09 01:18:38
At last Pope Benedict has his own pastoral staff which has been donated by the Circolo San Pietro. It will be used during the First Vespers of Advent in the Vatican Basilica on Saturday evening, the service which marks the beginning of the new liturgical year.
Monsignor Guido Marini made the announcement on Friday in L'Osservatore Romano. He said it is similar in shape to the staff of Pius IX, which the Pope currently uses, and this can be considered the papal staff of Pope Benedict XVI. It is 184 centimetres high, weighs about 2.5 kilos and is easier to handle than the staff of Pius IX, because of its smaller size. It is also lighter by 140 grams than the silver staff with a crucifix made by Lello Scorzelli, which was used by Pope Paul VI, and later by Pope John Paul I and John Paul II. It was also used by Pope Benedict for the first three years of his papacy.
From Palm Sunday 2008, he began to use the gold Greek cross, which belonged to Pius IX, also donated to the Pope by St. Peter's Circle in 1877. This ancient Roman association now renews its tradition of loyalty to the Pope since its foundation in 1869.
On the front of the new staff there is a paschal lamb at the centre and at the four points of the cross symbols of four evangelists Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. The gold is etched with the pattern of a net -a reference to St Peter the fisherman. Engraved on the back in the middle is the Chi Rho, the first two Greek letters for the word Christos, which is the monogram of Christ. At the four points are the faces of the fathers of the Eastern and Western Church, Augustine and Ambrose, Athanasius and John Chrysostom. His coat of arms is on the top of the cross. "The lamb and the monogram of Christ at the centre - says Monsignor Marini - reflect the unity of the paschal mystery: the cross and resurrection."
Thank goodness the Pope will no longer have to wrestle with the Pius IX staff which was always far too big and unwieldy for him. It is a pity that he did not go immediately from using the Scorzelli staff - so deeply associated with Papa Wojtyla, and which was a potent symbol of the transition from one great Pope to another - to his own staff. Using the staff of Pius IX gave the impression that the Scorzelli staff was being "abandoned" and that this abandonment signified something far more than a mere change in style. For those who vividly recalled the way the Scorzelli staff served as a visible support for Papa Wojtyla during his years of suffering, it was hurtful to see it replaced by the brash and brassy staff of Pius IX.
Now at last Papa Ratzinger has his own staff. I hope he lives many long years so that it becomes indelibly associated with him.
Monsignor Guido Marini made the announcement on Friday in L'Osservatore Romano. He said it is similar in shape to the staff of Pius IX, which the Pope currently uses, and this can be considered the papal staff of Pope Benedict XVI. It is 184 centimetres high, weighs about 2.5 kilos and is easier to handle than the staff of Pius IX, because of its smaller size. It is also lighter by 140 grams than the silver staff with a crucifix made by Lello Scorzelli, which was used by Pope Paul VI, and later by Pope John Paul I and John Paul II. It was also used by Pope Benedict for the first three years of his papacy.
From Palm Sunday 2008, he began to use the gold Greek cross, which belonged to Pius IX, also donated to the Pope by St. Peter's Circle in 1877. This ancient Roman association now renews its tradition of loyalty to the Pope since its foundation in 1869.
On the front of the new staff there is a paschal lamb at the centre and at the four points of the cross symbols of four evangelists Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. The gold is etched with the pattern of a net -a reference to St Peter the fisherman. Engraved on the back in the middle is the Chi Rho, the first two Greek letters for the word Christos, which is the monogram of Christ. At the four points are the faces of the fathers of the Eastern and Western Church, Augustine and Ambrose, Athanasius and John Chrysostom. His coat of arms is on the top of the cross. "The lamb and the monogram of Christ at the centre - says Monsignor Marini - reflect the unity of the paschal mystery: the cross and resurrection."
Thank goodness the Pope will no longer have to wrestle with the Pius IX staff which was always far too big and unwieldy for him. It is a pity that he did not go immediately from using the Scorzelli staff - so deeply associated with Papa Wojtyla, and which was a potent symbol of the transition from one great Pope to another - to his own staff. Using the staff of Pius IX gave the impression that the Scorzelli staff was being "abandoned" and that this abandonment signified something far more than a mere change in style. For those who vividly recalled the way the Scorzelli staff served as a visible support for Papa Wojtyla during his years of suffering, it was hurtful to see it replaced by the brash and brassy staff of Pius IX.
Now at last Papa Ratzinger has his own staff. I hope he lives many long years so that it becomes indelibly associated with him.