Some readers have asked for images of the Cameriere di Spade e Cappa, a lay position in the Papal Court abolished in the late 1960s. This role was part of the Papal Court, by extension, part of the Roman Curia. The Curia has been since the end of the 11th century the highest ecclesiastical administrative and judicial organ in the Church. The Curia has grown over the centuries and was reorganized by Pius X in 1908 and later by Pope Paul VI.
Five laymen held this role, all from noble families. The roles included these positions: the Gran Maestro del Scar Ospizio, the Foriere Maggiore dei Sacri Palazzi Apostolici, the Cavallerizzo Maggiore di Sua Santita,' the Latore della Rosa d'Ora, a decoration reserved to sovereigns, and the Soprintendente Generale Delle Poste. These men walked in papal processions and added to the pomp of the ceremony.
Certain voices in the sixties, an age of revolution, clamored for a thorough reform of the Curia, as with every other part of the Church. Unfortunately this included a complete overhaul of the Papal Court which included the abolition of the Cameriere that was thus suppressed in 1968. Let us pray for its return. Below are images of the old uniform, seen today at the Papal Court museum display at the papal summer villa of Castel Gandolfo.
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