Galero

A galero (pl. galeri; L. galerum, pl. galera) in the Roman Catholic Church is a large, broad-brimmed tasseled hat worn by clergy. Over the centuries the galero was eventually limited in use to individual cardinals as a crown symbolizing the title of Prince of the Church. The red galero was first granted to cardinals by Pope Innocent IV in 1245 at the First Council of Lyon. Tradition in the Archdiocese of Lyon is that the red color was inspired by the red hats of the canons of Lyon. According to Noonan, Pope Innocent wanted his favorites to be distinct and recognizable in the lengthy processions at the council.

When on 28 April 1285 at Girona, during the Aragonese Crusade, Jean Cholet crowned Charles of Valois with his galero and pronounced him King of Aragon, he earned Charles the nickname roi du chapeau ("king of the hat").

Second Vatican Council

When creating a cardinal, the Pope used to crown the candidate with a scarlet galero in consistory, the practice giving rise to the phrase "receiving the red hat." In 1969, a papal decree following the Second Vatican Council ended the use of the galero as an act of humbling the Church hierarchy. It was deemed that by removing such elaborate regalia, the people could better identify with their pastoral leaders. Today, only the scarlet zucchetto and biretta are placed over the heads of cardinals in consistory. A few cardinals from eastern rites wear distinctive oriental headgear. However, some cardinals continue to obtain galeri privately so that the old ceremony of its suspension over their tombs may be observed.

When a cardinal dies, it is traditional that it be suspended over his tomb, where it remains until it is reduced to dust, symbolizing how all earthly glory is passing. It is said that when it falls, the cardinals soul has entered Heaven. In the United States, where only a few cathedrals have crypts, the galeri of past archbishops who were cardinals are suspended from the ceiling. Hence, St. Patrick's Cathedral, New York (where past archbishops are entombed beneath the sanctuary), Holy Name Cathedral in Chicago, Illinois, the Cathedral Basilica of Saint Louis in St. Louis, Missouri, the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels in Los Angeles, California, and the Cathedral of St. Matthew the Apostle in Washington, D.C. are five Cathedral churches in the United States that hang the galeri of past Cardinals from their ceilings.

Ecclesiastical heraldry

The galero (or "ecclesiastical hat") is still in use today in ecclesiastical heraldry as part of the achievement of the coat of arms of an armigerous Roman Catholic cleric. The galero replaces the helmet and crest, because those were considered too warlike for the clerical state. The color of the galero and number of tassels indicate the cleric's place in the hierarchy. Depiction in arms can vary greatly depending on the artist's style, but even when it looks like a cappello romano with tassels, in heraldry it is still considered a galero.

References

• "Instruction on the dress, titles and coat-of-arms of cardinals, bishops and lesser prelates." L'Osservatore Romano, English ed. 17 Apr 1969: 4. ISSN 0391-688X. Online at http://www.fiu.edu/~mirandas/instruction69.htm
• Noonan, Jr., James-Charles (1996). The Church Visible: The Ceremonial Life and Protocol of the Roman Catholic Church. Viking. ISBN 0-670-86745-4.

External links

• Pictures of clerical headgear, information and literature in German language