This week in Christian history: The final papal coronation; Andraé Crouch born

Final papal coronation performed – June 30, 1963

This week marks the anniversary of the papal coronation of Pope Paul VI, a formal ceremony that has not been held since then.

For centuries, newly elected popes underwent a special coronation ceremony with the papal tiara, a large crown also known as the Triregnum, or “triple crown.”

Pope Paul VI held an outdoor ceremony at St. Peter’s Square in Rome, Italy, with Cardinal Alfredo Ottaviani, senior cardinal deacon at the time, laying the crown on his head.

However, the following year, Paul VI donated his papal crown to the poor, and his successor, Pope John Paul I, refused to hold a coronation ceremony, preferring a simpler mass instead.

“[John Paul I] asked his master of ceremonies to develop an ‘inauguration Mass’ that did not include a coronation,” explained the Catholic publication Aleteia. “This act was in accord with John Paul I's official motto, Humility.”

“Subsequent popes always have the option of reinstating the tiara, but none has done so, no longer seeking to be seen as a temporal ruler, but only as a humble pastor who serves the sheep of Jesus Christ.”