A Look Ahead to May 29th on Papal Artifacts: Pope Paul VI & Archbishop Wojtyla

May 29th on Papal Artifacts: Pope Paul VI Announces His Intention to Name Archbishop Karol Wojtyla a Cardinal in the Consistory of June, 1967

An announcement that was made by Pope Paul VI on May 29th, 1967, was his intention to elevate Archbishop Karol Wojtyla to the sacred college of cardinals in the June 26th, 1967, consistory.   He was forty-seven years of age.

Today both of them are canonized saints.

Here is Father’s Commentary

Father Richard Kunst, Curator & Commentator

This zuchetto  is actually a very historically significant item. Although it is not absolutely certain, it is very likely that this is the zucchetto given to Cardinal Wojtyla by Pope Paul VI. The reason this is plausible is because on the inside there is a small tag that says, “K J Wojtyla, 1967, San Cesareo in Palatio”. That is the name of the church that he was given as his titular church upon his elevation. Because more than one man is elevated to the cardinalate at a time and because they are of different sizes, it is important to specify which zucchetto belongs to which cardinal. Therefore tags are put inside to assure each receives the correct hat.

This is a very rare item owned by the most recently beatified pope, and it is very likely the one given to him by Pope Paul VI.

May 29th on Papal Artifacts: Papal Election, Ordinations, Canonization & More! Pope Paul VI Announces His Intention to Name Archbishop Karol Wojtyla a Cardinal in June, 1967

It’s so fascinating to think that Karol Wojtyla wore this on the day that he was made a cardinal. And the way we know this to be true is because of that tag on the inside of the hat.

Also, since each cardinal is always given a titular church that, in and of itself, is proof that this is his original zucchetto.

I’ve also done a little research with the person I actually got the zucchetto from. And other people who have been secretaries to cardinals when they were elected have said it is a common thing when someone is made cardinal to put this little tag inside the hat. This is because every cardinal wants a different size zucchetto that feels comfortable to wear.

I have a number of zucchettoes in the Collection. This one, historically speaking is the most important one because it’s so associated with Karol Wojtyla, John Paul II, in regards to his consistory, which, of course, lead to his election as our Holy Father.

The origin of the zucchetto was to cover tonsures of priests. When they joined a religious order and were ordained a little piece of their hair was cut from the crowns of their heads. We see that in pictures of St. Anthony of Padua in particular. As European winters were very, very cold they just used a little piece of cloth to cover their heads–like a winter hat**.

The zucchetto dates back to the 13th century. The pope’s zucchetto is white. Cardinals’ are red and bishops’ are violet.

Saint John Paul II &  Saint  Paul VI, pray for us!