by Anura Guruge
Template for a cardinal's coat of arms showing 15-tasseled galero at top
Louis Epstein send me this link to a tantalizing picture of the 62-year old, U.S. cardinal, My Lord Raymond Leo Burke, Prefect of the Supreme Tribunal of the Apostolic Signature, created a cardinal deacon at the last cardinal-creating consistory [i.e., November 20, 2010] wearing a galero and lot of red moiré (though the picture doesn’t do it justice and makes it look like he is wearing a plastic poncho to keep out the rain). It is, nonetheless, a worthy, inspiring picture of piety and purposefulness.
The galero, in the context of cardinals came into use as of 1245 with Innocent IV (#181) at the First Council of Lyon [France]. It was part of the all red regalia prescribed for cardinals, by that pope, supposedly to signify their willingness to shed their blood in defense of the Church — this having been a time rife with imperial conflict and crusading initiatives. Furthermore, in the short-term, the red garbs, with the broad-brimmed, betasseled galero, ensured that the cardinals would stand-out (as the pope’s chosen) during all of the ceremonies, processions and gatherings that took place during the 6-week long Council. [It is said that, particularly around Lyon, that the pope got the idea for the 'red' when he saw the distinctive red hats then worn by the Canons of Lyon.]
A dusty galero suspended above a cardinal's tomb (name of the cardinal not known)
To begin with the galero symbolized a crown — befitting the status of the cardinals as the ‘Princes of the Church.’
The galero used to be bestowed upon newly created cardinals by the pope at their first consistory. This no longer happens, with a red biretta (and zuchetto) used instead. It is said that cardinals stopped wearing galeros as of 1870, as sign of mourning, at the loss of the Papal States.
In 1969, post Vatican II, a papal decree formalized the the practice of cardinals not receiving a galero when created — deeming that it was too elaborate and would detract with people identifying with their lord cardinal.
However, cardinals have the right to have a galero made so that it can be displayed in their home cathedral. There is also a tradition that a galero, paid for by the congregation, is hung above a late cardinal’s tomb. In theory the galero remains suspended until it disintegrates and falls apart, in time. When it finally falls from its perch, due to decay, it is supposed to indicate that the cardinal’s soul has entered heaven. [There is no mention whether it is permissible to infuse chemicals into the inner material of the galero to accelerate or retard the decay. Also occurred to me as I was inserting the second image ... was this the genesis for the pinata, in my mind, Mexico's greatest contribution to the World.]
Also check this link for more pictures and information on galeros as well as Lord Cardinal Burke wearing one.
9 Responses to “Newly Created U.S. Cardinal Burke Sporting A Red, 15-Tassel Galero”
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I believe the tradition is that no maintenance is done on the suspended galero.Not sure how long they take to rot though…I believe Cardinal Mundelein’s still hangs in Chicago,and possibly older ones in New York and Baltimore.
So for Mundelin that is 71 years and counting. So does that mean he still has not made it up to heaven?
As ever got me thinking. Mice? They must have mice in Catholic churches or are they banned? Gold wire. Clever.
Here … check this.
Found this picture of the tomb … taken by a seminarian … he must have had a stiff neck (which I have heard is a common problem …) … because he didn’t capture anything above the tomb.
Check the blog later today … some cardinal stats that will make YOUR day.
Cheers
Found the hat. I am now totally convinced. This is what gave the Mexicans the idea for the pinata. You probably would NOT know this. But, for child safety they now make pinatas with STRINGS that kids pull … until one makes it explode. I am not in favor of these BUT the wife insists. She, having watched too much AFVs, thinks pinatas (and trampolines) are hazardous to kids. I don’t agree. I like to give them huge heavy sticks and let them go at it. But, then again I played rugby and (pre-helmet) cricket.
Here is the picture.
It appears that Fr. Zuhlsdorf has monkeyed with the HTML to make attempts to reach the picture directly go to the front page of his blog instead.
Try http://wdtprs.com/blog/2011.03/card-burke-galero-non-plus-ultra/ to skip the opening pages!
Thank YOU. I updated the link in the posting.
Don’t you just hate it when Fathers monkey about with Fr. Zuhlsdorf certainly appearing to relish being a wit.
Not sure, the site seems to be becoming like a miniature e-bay. Hhmmm.
I have not got your size of the College data. I was thinking about it. I guess it was right when we hit the first 1978 conclave. So maybe ‘we’ can work forward from there. Pretty good documentation at that point.
Cheers.
Hi Anura,
This is interesting. Do you know the reason why galeros for Archbishops were green or for Bishops simpliciter, scarlet? I’ve never actually seen a photo of a real galero until now.
Cheers,
Will
Will,
I guess you didn’t see the GIANT galero the Sri Lankans created for the Tanned Ratzinger. I did do a post.
And to think he is not even a cricketer. Just think what we will do when we win the Cup in a few weeks. [smile]
I did do some research into galeros for the last book. I will go back and check. So, I will be back later today or tomorrow.
Glad to have you back. Hope all went well with your work.
Cheers,
Anura
Will,
From what I can deduce green was the original, traditional color for bishops — it later got changed to purple. The bishops galero shown on their coat-of-arms is ALWAYS green, with the 12 tassels, 6 on each side.
Here is an reference. I found this earlier today.
Since you liked the picture here is one of what I think is a green one. You have to concentrate and squint a bit to see it.
Recent popes in pseudo-galeros … though somebody should have given Benedict XVI a heads-up on this one. One of the MANY problems of not having a wife!
John XXIII used to wear a broad-brimmed hat quite often. He always looked good in it. This is the ONLY one I could find that was NOT classed as being virus-infected by Avast! What has the world come to when Web sites containing pictures of Bl. John XXIII are blocked as having malicious code embedded!