What's Behind the Viral Photo of Pope Francis Worshiping a Chair?

Washington, DC Newsroom, October 4, 2024 / 6:15 p.m

On Wednesday, October 2, the Holy Father had the opportunity to view the historic relic of the Chair of St. Peter in the Ottoboni Sacristy of St. Peter's Basilica, after celebrating Mass in St. Peter's Square in advance of the second session of the Synod on Synodality. The photo of him sitting in front of the chair went viral.

Francis is the first pope since 1974 to see the relic believed to have belonged to St. Peter the Apostle.

Typically, the historic wooden chair is housed in the large chair monument created by the 17th-century sculptor Gian Lorenzo Bernini and installed directly above the altar in the apse of the Vatican Basilica.

However, according to Vatican News, the St. Peter's Foundation, a Vatican body charged with restoring and maintaining the basilica, recently removed the chair from the monument while restoration work was being carried out on Bernini's Baldacchino, the canopy that was hangs above the altar of the cathedra.

What is the story behind the “Chair Relic”?

An ancient tradition says that St. Peter himself sat in the chair during sermons to the early Christians in Rome.

However, according to Papal Artifacts, archaeologists determined that only the acacia wood skeleton of the chair in its current form dates from this period. The rest of the chair is made of oak, connected to the original skeleton by iron strips, and is believed to be a Byzantine-era reconstruction. The ivory plaques in the lower part of the throne also date from this period. They show sketches of Hercules and various constellations.

Pope Alexander VII commissioned Bernini to create the monument where the chair would normally be located during his pontificate in the 17th century. Bernini completed the monument between 1647 and 1653, but it was not installed above the altar in St. Peter's Basilica until 1666.

The bronze-gilt throne stands against a backdrop of golden clouds directly above the main altar, which is made of black and white marble from Aquitaine and red jasper from Sicily.

Above the chair is a pair of angels holding the tiara and keys symbolizing papal authority, while four large statues of Saint Ambrose, Saint Augustine, Saint Athanasius and Saint John Chrysostom surround the monument. On the chair itself there are three golden bas-reliefs depicting the Gospel episodes of the presentation of the keys (Matthew 16:19), “Feed my sheep” (John 21:17) and the washing of the feet (John 13:1-17).

What does the Chair of St. Peter symbolize?

Every year on February 22, the church celebrates the feast of the See of Saint Peter, which is also a symbolic title for the papacy itself.

In 2006, Pope Benedict XVI described in an address during his general audience on the feast of St. Peter's See, the spiritual significance of this symbol as “a privileged sign of the love of God, the eternal Good Shepherd, who wanted to gather his entire Church and lead them on the path of salvation.”

The Holy Father's veneration of the See – a symbol of the unity of the Church under the direction of Christ – takes place at the beginning of the second session of the Synod on Synodality.