THE’fisherman ring It is one of the signs of Pope: it is worn (to the ring finger of the right hand) on some liturgical occasions, and generally it is made of gold or golden silver. Today has a only symbolic value (represents the papal power), but in the past it was used as seal to authenticate the documents. The ring is different from Pope to Pope and often in the past depicted Peter in the act of fishing: This is why “the fisherman” is said. However, this iconography is not mandatory and the last popes have preferred to use different symbols.
For many centuries, up to 1996the rite of crushingin which the ring was broken, upon the Pope’s death, by Cardinal Camerlengo with a special hammer.
What is the fisherman’s ring and what you mean
The fisherman’s ring, also called papal ring or piscatorial ring (from the Latin Anulus Piscatoris) is one of the best known symbols of the Pope and represents the papal power. Its origins are not known: the first attestation dates back to the pontificate of Clemente IV, That in the year 1265, shortly after the election, mentioned the ring in a letter to his nephew Pietro Grossi. Dates back to Thirty hundredon the other hand, the first attestation of Peter’s iconography in the act of throwing the nets. In the past it was used as a seal, that is, it was one sort of stamp That the pontiff used, after having dipped it in boiling wax, to authenticate private acts and some other documents. Public documents were excluded, which sealed with melted lead. The use of the ring as a seal ended in the nineteenth century, but the jewel has remained in use with symbolic functions.
Because it is said “of the fisherman”
The ring is different for each pontiff. Many rings depicted St. Peter, considered the first pope of history, in the act of throw the net from a boat. This iconography is explained through an episode narrated in the Gospels: the meeting of Jesus with Peter, a fisherman whose real name was Simone. According to the evangelical story, Jesus invited the fisherman, together with his companions, to join him in the preaching of the good news. We read in the Gospel of Luca:
Jesus said to Simone: “Do not fear; from now on you will be a fisherman of men”. And, pull the boats on the ground, left everything and followed him.
From this episode derives the iconography and, by extension, the name of the papal ring.
However, the Popes have not always chosen this drawing for their ring: for example, many rings depicted Pietro without the nets and without other references to fishing, or Other Christian symbols. On the edge, however, the ring always bears the name of the Pope.
Because the fisherman’s ring was broken when a pope died
For many centuries, the tradition according to which, upon the Pope’s death, the fisherman’s ring has been in use was destroyed. The custom was used to prevent someone from appropriateing the ring and signing documents in the name of the pontiff. The Camerlengo cardinal (who is in charge of “holding” the Holy See between the death of a Pope and the appointment of the successor) had the task of destroying the ring with a hammer. This custom was eliminated after the issuance in 1996 of the Apostolic Constitution Dominici Gregis universes by John Paul II. Today the ring is only “stoned”, that is, the drawings are rigorous to “cancel” it. Some popes have it instead donate. For example, in 2004 John Paul II symbolically donated his to San Giuseppe and later the jewel was inserted in a painting of the saint kept in a monastery of Wadowice, in Poland.
The fisherman’s ring today
Each pontiff can choose the ring he prefers, about the last two, Benedict XVI He chose a gold ring, while Francesco opted for a more sober object in golden silver who bears the image of St. Peter with the keys. Not all the Popes have regularly worn the piscatorial ring and some preferred to use theepiscopal ringassigned to the bishops at the time of the appointment. Francesco, for example, wore the piscatorial ring only on some liturgical occasions, preferring the episcopal ring in all other cases.
