Papal tiara

The papal tiara is a <a href="/facts/Crown_(headgear)/fREK9x0p">crown</a> that is worn by <a href="/facts/Pope/9zVokNjn">popes</a> of the <a href="/facts/Catholic_Church/rJ4F4gqH">Catholic Church</a> from as early as the 8th century to the mid–20th century. It was last used by <a href="/facts/Pope_Paul_VI/4Dbb8sHs">Pope Paul VI</a> in 1963, and only at the beginning of his reign.
The name tiara refers to the entire headpiece, including the various crowns, circlets, and diadems that have adorned it through the ages, while the three-tiered form that it took in the 14th century is also called the triregnum or the triple crown, and sometimes as the triple tiara.
From 1143 to 1963, the papal tiara was solemnly placed on the pope's head during a <a href="/facts/Papal_coronation/p0kIv511">papal coronation</a>. The surviving papal tiaras are all in the triple form, the oldest from 1572. A representation of the triregnum combined with two crossed keys of <a href="/facts/Saint_Peter/50X8naSm">Saint Peter</a> is used as a symbol of the <a href="/facts/Pope/9zVokNjn">papacy</a> and appears on papal documents, buildings and <a href="/facts/Papal_regalia_and_insignia/WkWjPCbo">insignia</a>, and on the <a href="/facts/Flag_of_Vatican_City/yk23sMsY">flag of Vatican City</a>. Actual use of the papal tiara has declined since the reign of <a href="/facts/Pope_Paul_VI/4Dbb8sHs">Pope Paul VI</a>, the last pope to have a coronation ceremony. Starting with <a href="/facts/Pope_Benedict_XVI/Kwqu9TB5">Pope Benedict XVI</a>, popes have also stopped incorporating a papal tiara into their Coat of Arms.

Papal tiara open-in-new

Papal tiara