Cardinal Jean-Claude Hollerich, S.J., speaking at the press conference in the Vatican on Aug. 26, 2022. / Vatican News YouTube Channel
Vatican City, Oct 18, 2022 / 10:00 am (CNA).
Cardinal Jean-Claude Hollerich, the relator general of the Synod on Synodality, has said that he is convinced that the Second Vatican Council “saved the Church.”
“If we did not have that point of reform that was the Second Vatican Council, the Church today would be a small sect, unknown to most people,” Hollerich said in an interview with the Spanish news outlet Vida Nueva published on Oct. 17.
The archbishop of Luxembourg added that he believes that if Vatican II had not taken place the Church “would have been reduced to a group that performs beautiful rites, but that nobody knows anything about.”
“Today we must adapt to the changing mindsets. People are still interested in the Gospel and we must rediscover the authenticity of being true disciples of Jesus,” he said.
When asked about resistance to the Second Vatican Council, Hollerich replied that “the strongest comes from the traditionalists, who curiously are also a postmodern phenomenon.”
“They choose only one point of reference in history, without looking before and after. They forget how the growth of tradition develops. It is a bit like what happens with Netflix series: they tell you a part of the story, but invented, not real,” he said.
“That’s why it’s no coincidence that traditionalist movements attract young people from France and the United States.”
Hollerich currently serves as the president of the commission of European bishops’ conferences. Pope Francis chose the Luxembourg cardinal and Jesuit to serve as relator general of the ongoing Synod on Synodality, which was recently extended to 2024.
The cardinal said that he is very happy with the working document for the continental phase of the Synod on Synodality that is expected to be published in late October or early November “because of how it reflects the synodal Church model.”
“All of Francis’ synodality comes from the council: it is a treasure to actualize the Church,” he said.
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Father Ivan Montelongo, age 30 (seated at left), of El Paso, Texas, is one of 11 U.S. delegates to the Synod on Synodality. / Credit: Daniel Ibáñez/EWTN
Vatican City, Oct 20, 2023 / 12:30 pm (CNA).
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The facade of St. Mark’s Basilica in Venice, Italy. / Credit: Marco Rubino/Shutterstock
CNA Staff, Dec 8, 2023 / 17:00 pm (CNA).
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Altar of the Chair in St. Peter’s Basilica, where Bernini’s gorgeous bronze monument to the Chair of Peter acts as a massive
bronze reliquary for the historic wooden chair. / Credit: Vatican Media
Vatican City, Nov 9, 2024 / 06:00 am (CNA).
For the first time in over a century, the historic Chair of St. Peter, a wooden throne symbolizing the pope’s magisterial authority, has been removed from its gilded bronze reliquary in St. Peter’s Basilica to be displayed for public veneration.
Pilgrims and visitors can now behold this storied relic directly in front of the basilica’s main altar, just above the tomb of St. Peter, where it will remain on display until Dec. 8, the solemnity of the Immaculate Conception.
The last major public viewing of the chair occurred in 1867, when Pope Pius IX exposed the Chair of Peter for the veneration of the faithful for 12 days on the 1,800th anniversary of the martyrdoms of St. Peter and St. Paul, according to Pietro Zander, head of the Necropolis and Artistic Heritage Section of the Vatican.
It was the first time that the centuries-old wooden throne had been exhibited to the public since 1666 when it was first encased within Gian Lorenzo Bernini’s monumental bronze sculpture under the stained-glass Dove of the Holy Spirit window at the basilica’s apse.
The historic wooden Chair of St. Peter as it is currently on display in St. Peter’s Basilica. Credit: Courtney Mares/CNA
Formally known as the Cathedra Sancti Petri Apostoli, or more simply as Cathedra Petri, the chair has held a revered place in Catholic tradition over the centuries, representing papal authority from St. Peter to the present.
“The chair is meant to be understood as the teacher’s ‘cathedra,’” art historian Elizabeth Lev told CNA. “It symbolizes the pope’s duty to hand down the teaching of Christ from generation to generation.”
“It’s antiquity [ninth century] speaks to a papacy that has endured through the ages — from St. Peter who governed a church on the run trying to evangelize with the might of the Roman Empire trying to shut him down, to the establishment of the Catholic Church and its setting down of roots in the Eternal City, to our 266th successor of St. Peter, Pope Francis,” she explained.
Pope Francis venerates the Chair of St. Peter at the end of the closing Mass of the Synod on Synodality on Oct. 27, 2024, the first day the chair was displayed for public veneration. Credit: Vatican Media
A storied history
The wooden chair itself is steeped in history. According to the Vatican, the wooden seat was likely given by the Holy Roman Emperor Charles the Bald to Pope John VIII in A.D. 875 for the emperor’s Christmas coronation in the old St. Peter’s Basilica. A depiction of the emperor appears on the crossbeam of the chair, and its ivory panels illustrate the labors of Hercules along with other scenes from Greek mythology.
The informational sign near the chair in St. Peter’s Basilica informs visitors that “shortly after the year 1000, the Cathedra Petri began to be venerated as a relic of the seat used by the apostle Peter when he preached the Gospel first in Antioch and then in Rome.”
The Fabric of St. Peter, the organization responsible for the basilica’s upkeep, maintains that “it cannot be ruled out that this ninth-century imperial seat may have later incorporated the panel depicting the labors of Hercules, which perhaps originally belonged to an earlier and more ancient papal seat.”
Before returning the chair to its place within Bernini’s monumental reliquary, Vatican experts will conduct a series of diagnostic tests with the Vatican Museums’ Cabinet of Scientific Research. The ancient seat was last removed and studied from 1969 to 1974 under Pope Paul VI but was not shown to the public.
Closer details can be seen of the historic relic of the Chair of St. Peter. For the first time in over a century, the wooden throne symbolizing the pope’s magisterial authority has been removed from its gilded bronze reliquary in St. Peter’s Basilica to be displayed for public veneration. Credit: Daniel Ibanez
The recent restoration of Bernini’s works in the basilica, funded by the Knights of Columbus in preparation for the Catholic Church’s 2025 Jubilee Year, made it possible for the chair to be moved from the bronze sculpture in August.
Pope Francis got a sneak peak of the relic in early October and a photo of the moment — showing him sitting in a wheelchair before the Chair of St. Peter — quickly went viral. Afterward, the pope requested that the relic be displayed for public veneration.
Francis ultimately decided that the Chair of St. Peter — a symbol of the Church’s unity under the instruction of Christ — would be unveiled for the public at the closing Mass for the Synod on Synodality.
“Pope Francis has been exceptionally generous to the faithful about displaying relics,” Lev said. “He brought out the bones of St. Peter shortly after his election, he had the Shroud of Turin on view in 2015, and now he has taken the Chair of Peter out for veneration in the basilica.”
“In our virtual age, where much confusion reigns between what is real and what is not, Pope Francis has encouraged us to come face to face with these ancient witnesses of our faith and our traditions.”
Pope Francis venerates the Chair of St. Peter at the end of the closing Mass of the Synod on Synodality on Oct. 27, 2024, in Rome. Credit: Vatican Media
Feast of the Chair of St. Peter
The Feast of the Chair of St. Peter, celebrated each year on Feb. 22, dates back to the fourth century. St. Jerome (A.D. 347–420) spoke of his respect for the “Chair of Peter,” writing in a letter: “I follow no leader save Christ, so I enter into communion with … the Chair of Peter, for this I know is the rock upon which the Church is built.”
As Pope Benedict XVI explained in a 2006 catechesis: “‘Cathedra’ literally means the established seat of the bishop, placed in the mother church of a diocese, which for this reason is known as a ‘cathedral.”
“It is the symbol of the bishop’s authority and in particular, of his ‘magisterium,’ that is, the evangelical teaching which, as a successor of the apostles, he is called to safeguard and to transmit to the Christian community,” he said.
When a bishop takes possession of the particular Church that has been entrusted to him, he sits on the cathedra, Benedict explained: “From this seat, as teacher and pastor, he will guide the journey of the faithful in faith, hope, and charity.”
“The Church’s first ‘seat’ was the upper room, and it is likely that a special place was reserved for Simon Peter in that room where Mary, mother of Jesus, also prayed with the disciples,” he added.
Benedict XVI described Peter’s ministry as a journey from Jerusalem to Antioch, where he served as bishop, and ultimately to Rome. He noted that the See of Rome, where Peter ultimately “ended his race at the service of the Gospel with martyrdom,” became recognized as the seat of his successors, with the cathedra representing the mission entrusted to Peter by Christ.
“So it is that the See of Rome, which had received the greatest of honors, also has the honor that Christ entrusted to Peter of being at the service of all the particular Churches for the edification and unity of the entire people of God,” he said.
The Altar of the Chair in St. Peter’s Basilica, where Bernini’s bronze monument to the Chair of Peter acts as a massive bronze reliquary for the historic wooden chair. Credit: Vatican Media
Bernini’s Baroque masterpiece
Bernini’s monumental reliquary for the chair, commissioned by Pope Alexander VII and completed in 1666, is one of the most iconic artworks in St. Peter’s Basilica. Bernini encased the wooden relic within a bronze-gilded throne, dramatically raised and crowned by a stained-glass depiction of the Holy Spirit, symbolized as a dove, surrounded by sculpted angels.
The bronze throne is supported by massive statues of four doctors of the Church — two from the West, St. Augustine and St. Ambrose, and two from the East, St. John Chrysostom and St. Athanasius — symbolizing the unity of the Church through the ages, bringing together the teachings of both the Latin and Greek Church Fathers. And at the top of the throne, cherubs hold up a papal tiara and keys symbolizing papal authority.
On the chair itself, there are three gold bas-reliefs representing the Gospel episodes of the consignment of the keys (Matthew 16:19), “feed my sheep” (John 21:17), and the washing of the feet (John 13:1-17).
The ongoing restoration of Bernini’s monument at the Altar of the Chair, along with the recently finished restoration of the baldacchino, is significant not only in light of the 2025 Jubilee Year but also the upcoming 400th anniversary of the consecration of the current St. Peter’s Basilica in 2026.
“Celebrating the ‘Chair’ of Peter,” Benedict XVI said, “means attributing a strong spiritual significance to it and recognizing it as a privileged sign of the love of God, the eternal Good Shepherd, who wanted to gather his whole Church and lead her on the path of salvation.”
Hollerich [Cardinal and Synod relator] has a point. Many of us may mightily disagree with some of his proposals, although whether the Church would have slowly dissolved into a fraction is feasible if the Council did not occur [would a pre Vat II Church have survived intact during the sexual revolution and the pill and its theological supporters?].
Hollerich’s error is assuming anyone who holds to traditional truths is a traditionalist. Traditionalism is an ideology of intransigence, whereas a traditional believer holds to what remains true, inclusive of development within a hermeneutic of continuity.
Opines Cardinal Hollerich: “[the Church] would have been reduced to a group that performs beautiful rites, but that nobody knows anything about.”
And now, who WITHIN the Church “knows anything about” the Church? Now, with weekly Mass attendance below 10% and with no memory of “beautiful rites”? Says our oracle from on high: “(t)oday we must adapt to the changing mindsets,” meaning overturning our innate natural law and the Catechism on such elementary matters as human sexuality and much else.
Some empty-suit red hats ought to spend more time outside of the echo chamber. Today, a hollow Church being swallowed up by a “sect” called Secular Humanism.
Cardinal Hollerich, here, deploys Modernist disputation, same as when he deposed that “blessings” for “same-sex unions” is “not a settled matter”.
People are carrying on as if the Modernist heresy has been extinguished or has subsided. No, what we must be doing is, learning to spot its markers and manifestations as it continues; and recognizing when the hierarchy is skipping on it. For instance, my Archbishop has declared that “we have gone past Modernism and Postmodernism”; but this formulation is itself fit with Modernist styling and NOT the Church’s response to Modernism. The very word “post-modern” is part of the Modernist coding, a signifier.
The invention and inventiveness are Hollerich’s -from Hollerich, not the Church. What we are saved by, is Jesus Christ. VATICAN II is not a novel feature, but an extension and emphasis; and it is a useful practical composition, that exists among others, giving a reliable expression of the Church’s life. It doesn’t propose to be “complete” -LG 12.
At the same time then, Hollerich succeeds in misrepresenting it and contorting the evangelical insight. This part of it would just be a serious failing for a cardinal even amounting to sin, irrespective of the problem of Modernism.
Eminence Hollerich,
Without Post-Conciliarism, Vatican II might not today be blamed for transforming the Roman Catholic Church into a small underground Sect. But from from Underground China to the Carmel of Philadelphia, from China Deal to Traditionis Custodes, the Truth is History – n’est-ce pas ?
Eminence Hollerich,
Without Post-Conciliarism, Vatican II might not today be blamed for transforming the Roman Catholic Church into a small underground Sect.
But from Underground China to the Carmel of Philadelphia, from “China Deal” to “Traditionis Custodes”, the Truth is History – n’est-ce pas ??
You mean like it is in Belgium today?
Hollerich [Cardinal and Synod relator] has a point. Many of us may mightily disagree with some of his proposals, although whether the Church would have slowly dissolved into a fraction is feasible if the Council did not occur [would a pre Vat II Church have survived intact during the sexual revolution and the pill and its theological supporters?].
Hollerich’s error is assuming anyone who holds to traditional truths is a traditionalist. Traditionalism is an ideology of intransigence, whereas a traditional believer holds to what remains true, inclusive of development within a hermeneutic of continuity.
Gag me with a spoon.
Only Christ can save us from such fetid stew as the Synod leaders have cooked up and now suggest we eat. I’ll starve first.
Opines Cardinal Hollerich: “[the Church] would have been reduced to a group that performs beautiful rites, but that nobody knows anything about.”
And now, who WITHIN the Church “knows anything about” the Church? Now, with weekly Mass attendance below 10% and with no memory of “beautiful rites”? Says our oracle from on high: “(t)oday we must adapt to the changing mindsets,” meaning overturning our innate natural law and the Catechism on such elementary matters as human sexuality and much else.
Some empty-suit red hats ought to spend more time outside of the echo chamber. Today, a hollow Church being swallowed up by a “sect” called Secular Humanism.
Cardinal Hollerich, here, deploys Modernist disputation, same as when he deposed that “blessings” for “same-sex unions” is “not a settled matter”.
People are carrying on as if the Modernist heresy has been extinguished or has subsided. No, what we must be doing is, learning to spot its markers and manifestations as it continues; and recognizing when the hierarchy is skipping on it. For instance, my Archbishop has declared that “we have gone past Modernism and Postmodernism”; but this formulation is itself fit with Modernist styling and NOT the Church’s response to Modernism. The very word “post-modern” is part of the Modernist coding, a signifier.
The invention and inventiveness are Hollerich’s -from Hollerich, not the Church. What we are saved by, is Jesus Christ. VATICAN II is not a novel feature, but an extension and emphasis; and it is a useful practical composition, that exists among others, giving a reliable expression of the Church’s life. It doesn’t propose to be “complete” -LG 12.
At the same time then, Hollerich succeeds in misrepresenting it and contorting the evangelical insight. This part of it would just be a serious failing for a cardinal even amounting to sin, irrespective of the problem of Modernism.
Eminence Hollerich,
Because of Vatican II the Roman Catholic Church today is already an underground TLM sect.
Eminence Hollerich,
Without Post-Conciliarism, Vatican II might not today be blamed for transforming the Roman Catholic Church into a small underground Sect. But from from Underground China to the Carmel of Philadelphia, from China Deal to Traditionis Custodes, the Truth is History – n’est-ce pas ?
Eminence Hollerich,
Without Post-Conciliarism, Vatican II might not today be blamed for transforming the Roman Catholic Church into a small underground Sect.
But from Underground China to the Carmel of Philadelphia, from “China Deal” to “Traditionis Custodes”, the Truth is History – n’est-ce pas ??