St. Peter and the tiara: a unique tradition in Munich

A rare spectacle in Munich's famous church

If you’re in Munich these days, make sure you pay a visit to Munich's oldest parish church, St. Peter's, right next to Marienplatz. In here, you will experience something very special: the figure of St. Peter, created in 1492 by sculptor Erasmus Grasser, is sitting bareheaded in the high altar without the usual golden crown. At Peter's side you will see the four church fathers created by Egid Quirin Asam.

On April 27 of this year, the tiara was removed from the figure of St. Peter, the patron saint of the church, as part of a solemn ceremony.

This is the custom when a pope dies, and it extends over the period of the sede vacante - i.e. as long as the papal chair is vacant. Peter will now remain without a crown on his head until the white smoke rises from St. Peter's Square in Rome as a sign that the cardinals in Rome have elected a successor to Pope Francis. Then it will once again be “Habemus Papam!”

Erasmus Grasser originally created the figure of St. Peter without a tiara. It was added much later, in 1733 to demonstrate the universal power of the Pope, who at the time was not only regarded as the “Vicar of Christ on Earth”, but also as the “Father of Princes and Kings” and the “Ruler of the World”.

The Pope in Rome has not worn a tiara for some time - Paul VI was the last Pope to be crowned with it in 1963. A year later, he took it off and gave the papal crown to the American Catholics as a thank you for their donations for the poor of the world. Since then, the tiara has been kept in Washington's National Shrine Cathedral.

This makes the Munich ritual of crowning the figure of a church leader with the tiara a truly unique spectacle.

 

Photos: Thomas Paulick