Papal Etiquette at Home

At dinner he drinks a glass or two of old Bordeaux, which is the only wine for which he cares, and as the etiquette of the Vatican requires that the Sovereign Pontiff should always dine alone he amuses himself by reading the newspapers… 
–Portrait of Pope Leo XIII – Public domain image

At 1 o'clock the Pope usually dines, although when he has a long succession of audiences dinner is often put back to 2, and some times even to 3, o'clock. The simple meal consists of soup, roast, and dessert. At dinner he drinks a glass or two of old Bordeaux, which is the only wine for which he cares, and as the etiquette of the Vatican requires that the Sovereign Pontiff should always dine alone he amuses himself by reading the newspapers. 

When the Pope wishes to do do special honor to some foreign royalty or other distinguished personage, he invites them to his breakfast of coffee and rolls after early mass. To this honor only Roman Catholics are admitted, since it is an essential preliminary that the guest should have attended the Pope's mass and received the communion from his hands. Even then the guest, however high may be his rank, never sits at the same table with the Bishop of Rome, a small table being placed for him adjoining that of his host. 

After dinner the Pope takes an hour's nap in an armchair, and then, if the weather be fine, he has a walk in the Vatican gardens. The Pope takes great interest in gardening, and often astonishes the head gardener with the extent of his botanical lore. After his return from the garden Pope Leo gives further audiences or works with his secretaries, as occasion may require, and at 6 o'clock he takes a bowl of soup and a glass of Bordeaux. 

From 8 to 10, there are yet further audiences, save when the Pontiff shuts himself up in his room to prepare the morrow's work. At 10, by way of evening prayers, he says the rosary, and half an hour later he sups on the remains of dinner. So abstemious are the Pope's habits that it is not difficult to believe the statement that the expenses of his table are less than £10 a month. 

At 11 he retires, but not always to sleep. His Holiness suffers from insomnia, which he endeavors to chase away by mentally composing the elegant and polished Latin and Italian verses which have earned for him some right to be considered a poet.– From Cassell's Saturday Journal of London, in The New York Times, 1888

🍽Etiquette Enthusiast, Maura J Graber of The RSVP Institute of Etiquette, is the Site Editor for the Etiquipedia© Etiquette Encyclopedia

Papal Dining Etiquette

Pope Leo XIII, reigned as Pope from early in 1878, until his death in 1903. He was the oldest Pope, and had the third longest pontificate, behind those of Pius IX and John Paul II.

Pope Leo's Habits

Most of the modern Popes, says The St. James's Gazette, have been ascetics, and Leo XIII is no exception to the rule. His holiness rises at 6 o'clock alike in summer and winter, and immediately he is dressed he says mass in his private chapel. Then he "assists" at another mass celebrated by a prelate of the household, and at 7 he breakfasts. 

The Papal breakfast consists of coffee and two boiled eggs. The midday dinner is as simple as the breakfast; soup, a dish which it pleases the Italians to regard as a beef steak, dessert, and one glass of Bordeaux—of course not the Bordeaux which common people drink. After dinner the Pope takes an hour's nap. The early supper is composed of salad and eggs, and a very admirable supper that is in a hot climate. 

It is etiquette for the Pope to take all his meals alone—a custom which must be very bad for the digestion. Leo XIII works as hard in his study as Queen Victoria does, but he enjoys splendid health for so old a man, and promises to wear the tiara for many a year to come. —1887

Etiquette Enthusiast, Maura J Graber, is the Site Editor for the Etiquipedia© Etiquette Encyclopedia