Canonical coronation

This article is about a Papal rite. For May crowning ritual, see May devotions to the Blessed Virgin Mary.

Pope Benedict XVI placing a crown on Our Lady of Lourdes for the plenary indulgence he attached for pilgrims of the World Day of the Sick. 11 February 2007. The Basilica of Saint Peter, Rome.

A canonical coronation (Template:Lang-la) is a pious institutional act of the Pope, duly expressed in a papal bull, in which he bestows an ornamental crown, diadem or aureole to a Marian, Christological, or Josephian image or statue that is widely venerated in a particular diocese or locality.

The formal act is generally carried out by a representing proxy of the Pontiff, via the designated Apostolic Nuncio to a country or kingdom, or at times a lesser papal legate, or on rare occasions by the pontiff himself, by ceremonially attaching a crown, tiara, or stellar halo to the devotional image or statue.

The Holy Office originally issued the authorisation of a canonical coronation through a dicastery, called the "Vatican Chapter". Subsequently until 1989, the Vatican's Sacred Congregation of Rites was assigned this duty. Since then, the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments arranges to execute the ceremonial act which the decree authorizes.

History

The Nursing Madonna an early "coronation" by friar Jeronimo (Girolamo) Paolucci di Calboldi di Forli on 27 May 1601.

See also: List of Pontifically crowned images

The formal act of coronation towards Marian images began with the Order of Friars Minor Capuchins, who on their evangelising missions collected great quantities of jewellery associated with the practice of indulgences, which funded at the request of the faithful, the gold crowns or accessories for images of the Virgin Mary, mainly in Italy. A particular Capuchin homosexual celibate friar, Jeronimo Paolucci di Calboldi di Forli (1552—1620), was a Marian fanatic and major advocate for this practice, and was known during his life as a self-proclaimed "Apostle of the Blessed Lady." After a simple homily, Forli crowned the Nursing Madonna now permanently enshrined within the Sanctuary of Santa Maria della Steccata in the Italian city of Parma on 27 May 1601.

Later, on 3 July 1636, the Marquis of Piacenza and Count of Borgonovo, Alessandro Sforza Cesarini died, having bequeathed in his will a large sum of money to the Vatican Chapter, for investment in the production of crowns of precious metals for the coronation of the most celebrated Marian images in the world. Funds from his bequest went towards the restoration of ‘’Madonna della Febbre’’ now enshrined in the sacristy of Saint Peter's Basilica in Rome.

Development of the rite

The famed Madonna della Febbre, first to be canonically crowned by Pope Urban VIII in 27 May 1631. The surrounding marble frame is a ciborium by Donatello - Sacristy of Saint Peter's Basilica, Rome.

The enactment of the rite of the coronation of a venerated image became widely popular in the Papal states prior to 1800, when approximately 300 coronation rites were performed. On 29 March 1897, an official rite titled “Ordo Servandus in Tradendis Coronis Aureis Quae Donantur a Reverendisimi Capitulo Sancti Petri de Urbe Sacris imaginibus Beatae Mariae Virginis” was included in the Roman Pontifical, for which a plenary indulgence was also conceded to the faithful who participated in such rites.

• 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 on 5 April 1616. Pope Benedict XV later granted an official Papal decree of coronation titled “Quae Civitatis Istius” in 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 Blessed Virgin Mary that was pontifically crowned was Lippo Memmi’s painting of La Madonna della Febbre (Madonna of “Malaria” Fever) in the sacristy of Saint Peter's Basilica in Rome on 27 May 1631, by Pope Urban VIII through the Vatican Chapter.
• The first Marian image pontifically crowned outside of Rome is the “Madonna of Trsat” of Croatia on 8 September 1715 by Pope Clement XI.
• The first Marian image personally crowned by a pope himself instead of a proxy papal legate was the “Madonna del Popolo” on 3 June 1782 by Pope Pius VI at the Cesena Cathedral.
• The first image of Christ granted a pontifical decree of canonical coronation was granted by Pope Leo XII for the Infant Jesus of Prague on 24 September 1824 now enshrined at the Church of Our Lady of Victory in Prague, Czech Republic.
• The first image of Saint Joseph granted a pontifical decree of canonical coronation was granted by Pope Pius VI for the Sanctuary of Saint Joseph in Kalisz, Poland on 15 May 1796. Pope John XXIII gifted the venerated image his personal ring, accompanied with an epistle of “consecration” in 1963. Accordingly, its paired Madonna and Child ensemble merited their own separate pontifical decrees in 1984 under the auspices of Pope John Paul II.

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

Further reading

• Santoro, Nicholas Joseph (2011). Mary in Our Life: Atlas of the Names and Titles of Mary, the Mother of Jesus, and Their Place in Marian Devotion. iUniverse. ISBN 978-1-4620-4022-3.
• Brie, Steve; Daggers, Jenny; Torevell, David, eds. (2009). Sacred Space: Interdisciplinary Perspectives within Contemporary Contexts. Cambridge Scholars Publishing. ISBN 978-1-4438-0642-8. See especially chapter 4, "Consumption, Sacred Places and Spaces in Profane contexts: A comparison between the UK and India" by Jan Brown, John Phillips and Vishwas Maheshwari which draws an analogy between traditional religious veneration and contemporary preoccupations with sport, shopping and film.
• de Lubac, Henri. The Eternal Feminine: a study on a text by Teilhard de Chardin. Trans. René Hague. New York: Harper & Row, 1971. See pp. 125-6. de Lubac SJ upholds the view, first promoted by Teilhard de Chardin SJ, which claims that the cult of Mary (devotion to, coronations etc.) is an essential corrective of the over-masculinisation of the Old Testament godhead in the person of Yaweh, and hence is the incarnation of the femininity of God.