Papal Shoes

shoes of Pope Pius XII

My blogging friend Rosemary, of Where Five Valleys Meet, posted on traditions surrounding the election of a pope, and mentioned the papal tradition of red shoes. I thought that I would expand on the subject.

Crown Jewels  |  Crescent Books

The red shoes of the pope are said to symbolize martyrdom, but the tradition possibly stems from the slippers worn by Byzantine emperors. The Norman kings of Sicily adopted the Byzantine custom of red slippers. Their heirs, the Holy Roman Emperors, also wore red slippers like the ones above at their coronations.

St. Peter and The Vatican  |  wikimedia.org

The shoes above were probably worn by Pope Pius VII (1742-1823), remembered for his contentious relationship with Napoleon. These are properly called "liturgical slippers," and would have been worn on high church occasions.

Northampton Museums & Art Gallery  |  britannica.com

This handsome shoe was worn by the oldest pope, Leo XIII (1810-1903). It dates to 1888.

papalartifacts.com  |  Time

This is the style of Pope Pius XII (1876-1958).

St. Peter and The Vatican  |  archlaos.com

It looks as though Pope John XIII (1881-1963) might have gotten a lot of use from these liturgical slippers, perhaps during the Second Ecumenical Council. They would have been laced with ribbons that had tassels at each end.

St. Peter and The Vatican  |  wordpress.com

Paul VI (1897-1978) was the last pope to wear liturgical slippers. These were his.

Adriano Stefanelli  |  nndb.com

By contrast, Pope John Paul II (1920-2005) opted for simple burgundy loafers, and later dispensed with them altogether and wore brown shoes.

Adriano Stefanelli  |  CNN.com

Pope Benedict XVI (b. 1927) retained the leather loafers, but reverted to the traditional ruby red color. In retirement, he'll wear brown shoes.

 The header photograph is from the exhibition catalogue, St. Peter and The Vatican.

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