Seeing the rather frail pope trying to hold his head up I looked at his hat. What is it made out of? Is it heavy?
Bigger question,
Is the Pope’s hat Catholic?!
BADA-BING!
Perhaps, but what about the rest of his tastes?
The Pope’s hat, a miter, is the same type of liturgical (i.e., for use mainly in prayer services) hat that all Roman Catholic bishops wear. (After all, the Pope is the bishop of Rome.)
A miter is simply a cloth covered piece of cardboard or plastic (which is used to keep its pointy shape). It can’t be any heavier than a cowboy hat.
The Pope is bowed over due to old age and Parkinson’s disease. I wouldn’t be surprised if there were even other contributing medical problems which the Vatican isn’t discussing. It’s certainly not because of the hat.
Peace.
Now ask me about how slippers can be considered formal wear.
And he’s always sort of squinting. He must be concentrating really hard to keep it from falling off.
This (About 1/4 way down) says mitres are made of silk or linen. It also says:
So, presumably, the current pope’s cap weighs less.
The same web page also indicates that the info is pre-Vatican II. Its historical info is probably historically accurate, but its info on current practices is outdated.
Here are some pictures of miters. There are no longer three types of miters (as the other web site refers to), rather, miters are decorated to match the bishop’s chasuble (poncho-type vestment worn during Mass) or copes (cape-like vestment for other types of liturgical services) and colored to match the color of the liturgical season (though, white or gold can be used at any time).
Peace.
OK, here’s the scoop on slippers. Search the page for ‘slippers.’
The same web page also indicates that the info is pre-Vatican II. Its historical info is probably historically accurate, but its info on current practices is outdated.
Here are some pictures of miters. There are no longer three types of miters (as the other web site refers to), rather, miters are decorated to match the bishop’s chasuble (poncho-type vestment worn during Mass) or copes (cape-like vestment for other types of liturgical services) and colored to match the color of the liturgical season (though, white or gold can be used at any time).
Peace.
OK, here’s the scoop on slippers. Search the page for ‘slippers.’
The same web page also indicates that the info is pre-Vatican II. Its historical info is probably historically accurate, but its info on current practices is outdated.
Here are some pictures of miters. There are no longer three types of miters (as the other web site refers to), rather, miters are decorated to match the bishop’s chasuble (poncho-type vestment worn during Mass) or copes (cape-like vestment for other types of liturgical services) and colored to match the color of the liturgical season (though, white or gold can be used at any time).
Peace.
OK, here’s the scoop on slippers. Search the page for ‘slippers.’
The same web page also indicates that the info is pre-Vatican II. Its historical info is probably historically accurate, but its info on current practices is outdated.
Here are some pictures of miters. There are no longer three types of miters (as the other web site refers to), rather, miters are decorated to match the bishop’s chasuble (poncho-type vestment worn during Mass) or copes (cape-like vestment for other types of liturgical services) and colored to match the color of the liturgical season (though, white or gold can be used at any time).
Peace.
OK, here’s the scoop on slippers. Search the page for ‘slippers.’
And that, folks, is what happens when the hamster gets smote for his sins…
Ah, it must be those 1920’s-style miters…
So, it’s a Pre-Vatican II style “Pope-miter” ?
As moriah pointed out the current pontiff suffers from health problems and it is these rather than the weight of his headdress that bows his head.
Will the mitres probably aren’t very heavy the old papal tiaras almost certainly were. This Wikipedia article is filled with all sorts of interesting details about the old style triple crowns.
It’s also a handy way to boost one’s post count.
You know, for the longest time I was so self-smug in the knowledge I never multi-posted. In this case, I kept getting that the site couldn’t be found. Damned hamsters were playin’ me for a fool.
When the revolution comes, the hamsters will be the first against the wall.
Just so this isn’t a wasted off topic post, let me just say: Wouldn’t it be fun if the miter came off the bishop on a chess board? Then you can dress the piece with different colored miters, to add a splash of color to the drab chess board. And why stop at the miter? Let the crowns on the king and queen be interchangeable. In fact, let’s make clothes for all the chess pieces. Flags for the rooks. Armor for the pawns. A saddle for the knight. Long flowing robes for the courtier pieces made of taffeta with rhinestones sewn in…
In a metaphorical sense, I imagine its quite heavy. You know, the “weight” of all that spiritual responsibility, the infaillibility and whatnot. If JP2 really has much of an idea of what’s going on around him, that is…
I’m surprised that no one else has made this quasi-joke yet.
Do you suppose they could make allowances for the Pope’s physical condition and make a special miter filled with helium? Of course, if it’s too light, it would be embarassing to have it just float off …
Or even worse, to have it carry the poor pontiff off into the Roman skies. Actually, as a last rite, that could have a nice Viking funeral-type air of drama to it… Although wind patterns would have to be carefully analyzed beforehand.