The mantum was essentially a large cope, with an oversized clip called a morse. The above photo illustrates how it was draped over the faldstool kneeler when a pope knelt in prayer.
Vestments reserved exclusively for the Roman Pontiffs are symbolic of the global reach of their spiritual ministrations and papal authority. The mantum was always white or red. It was used for the most solemn occasions, including processions such as Palm Sunday. In the photo above is Pope Paul VI at Vatican Council II.
Cardinal Deacons held up and carried the front bottom corner of the mantum when the popes walked so as not to trip over the vestment. It also had a small trail in the rear that was held up off the floor in the back in order to prevent it from dragging on the pavement and collecting dust while getting soiled.
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| The difference between a cope and a mantum |
The main goal of the mantum was not that it made the popes look taller and larger and more imposting than they actually were. A larger than life vestment, it was reserved to the Holy Father for another more deeper meaning.
In the eleventh and twelfth centuries the immantatio, or bestowal of the mantum on the newly elected pope was regarded as specially symbolical of the newly elected pope's investiture with papal authority. The mantum is thus a symbol of the pope's authority and universal jurisdiction.
The words that were used in conferring the mantum during the Rite of Papal Coronation are rich with symbolism: "I invest you with the Roman papacy, that you may rule over the city and the world."
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| A morse on Cardinal Tisserant's cope |
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| As the Cardinal Archpriest, Cardinal Tisserant wears an oversized Papal Chapel cope, but it is not a mantum |
