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

Etiquette, the Pope and Attire

It's not the size, ladies. It's the view. Papal etiquette does not countenance decollete gowns in the Pope's presence. 

The Pope and Decollete Gowns

It is not generally known that Papal etiquette does not countenance decollete gowns in the Pope's presence. Moreover, his Holiness holds them in great abhorrence. This is rather awkward for those who are not aware that it is considered a breach of etiquette to appear at a Papal reception in ordinary Court dress.

For instance, a short-time since some American women who were visiting Rome wishing to attend one of his receptions made their appearance in ordinary Court dress, having availed themselves to the fullest extent of the decolletage. His Holiness was horrified when he noticed them, but at the time refrained from taking any personal notice. Nevertheless, he determined to take steps for its prevention in future. 

A certain well-known Cardinal was instructed by him to inform the ladies, of their breach of etiquette. The Cardinal was a man of the world, and realized that the matter must be approached with the utmost tact and delicacy. 

After due consideration he approached the ladies and addressing them said: "The Pope is old-fashioned and does not like decollete; but," he continued, waving his hand lightly in the air, "for me, I am quite accustomed to them, you know; I have been so much among savages that I do not mind them."  — Chicago Times-Herald, 1900

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

Vatican Etiquette and a Pope's Dance

Pope Pius X declared tango dancing as immoral in 1913, and off-limits to Catholics. But when the tango proved to be too popular to declare "off-limits," Pope Pius X tried a different tactic, mocking the tango as "one of the dullest things imaginable," and recommending people take up dancing the furlana instead, a popular Venetian dance from the 17th and 18th centiuries. By February of 1914, the New York Times was reporting: 
"POPE'S DANCE' IS THE RAGE; The Furlana Now Rivals the Tango in Popularity Among Italians.
By Marconi Transatlantic Wireless Telegraph to The New York Times"

The Vatican authorities have given the strictest notice to those who recommend people for audience with the Pope that they must guarantee that such persons will conform to Vatican etiquette in kneeling and kissing the hand of the Pope. This notification was issued as a result of the conduct of some Americans, a few weeks ago, who refused to kneel when the Pope appeared. — The Sausalito News, 1904

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

Etiquette, a Pope and Royalty

Regarding an 1899 visit – When visiting the Pope it is customary to kiss his slipper. The King of Sweden, a staunch Protestant, had not done this when visiting His Holiness. He had shaken hands.

In 1889, Emperor William II visited the Pope. He wished to make the visit in such a manner that the Quirinal might not be offended. He therefore paid his visit from the German Embassy in his own carriage, which had been brought from Berlin. 

To show, however, that he did not mean to make obeisance to the Pope he appeared, in military uniform. When visiting the Pope it is customary to kiss his slipper. The King of Sweden, a staunch Protestant, had not done this when visiting His Holiness. He had shaken hands. 

The Emperor went further. He embraced the Pope. The Empress dressed in white. Papal court etiquette prescribes black dress. This matter of etiquette, however, would have created no offence.

The German Emperor likes to do things out of the common. But, again, Bismarck's intrigues very nearly spoilt the game. The Pope had retired with the Emperor into his private apartments. They were alone. This was an extraordinary privilege and recalled to all the interview between Napoleon and Pius VII in Paris. 

Hardly had Leo XIII retired with his guest when Count Herbert Bismarck, the son of the great statesman, caused the Emperor's brother, Prince Henry, to step into the Pope's room and interrupt the conversation. The visit was at once terminated, and in the excitement the Emperor forgot the agreed arrangements and ordered his coachman to drive to the Quirinal. Personal explanation and presents fortunately set matters right.

I mention this incident to show what extraordinary influence Bismarck had, and how basely he made use of it. He was a clever and a great man. We cannot help admiring him, but we cannot give him our esteem.

It is befitting to conclude this article by a word of praise for the heroic German bishops and priests, for Herr Windhorst, the undaunted leader of the Catholic party in the German Parliament, for the three German Emperors who showed good-will in spite of the opposition of their Governments, and above all, for our Holy Father, Pope Leo XIII, who labored so ardently for the spiritual and temporal well-being of his German children. – The Indian Advocate, 1901

 

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

8 Etiquette Breaches Around the World

1. Ben Affleck in a Breach of Yemeni Etiquette 

The sole cause of Ben Affleck's breach of etiquette? His soles.

Ben Affleck was in hot water during his visit to the Persian Gulf in 2004, after shocking a Yemeni prince. The actor had been briefed about local customs but in a moment of tiredness he forgot about etiquette and showed the soles of his shoes. The infringement of Middle Eastern manners earned him an angry ticking off from a bodyguard. 

Affleck said: “They told me, ‘Don't show the soles of your feet.’ I forgot about that. At one point, I was in one of the Middle Eastern airports, going from one place to another, and I was tired,” he explained. “So I was sitting there, kicking back, and apparently there was some Yemeni prince that came through and this guard literally looks over at me and comes charging over. “I thought I was being terrorized on the spot.” He yelled, ‘What are you doing? Your feet!,’ and then he slaps my feet puts them on the ground.”

2. Nobel Etiquette Breached for Monolingual Mo Yan in 2012

The 57-year-old Mo Yan, was the first Chinese resident to win the prize. Chinese-born Gao Xingjian was honoured in 2000, was not a Chinese citizen.

Nobel organizers made a special exception to stringent seating rules for 2012's gala banquet in Stockholm, allowing literature laureate Mo Yan and his wife sit together because they both only speak Chinese.

Who gets to sit next to one of the princesses usually peaks Swedes' interest. That year, chemistry laureate Brian Kobilka was seated next to Crown Princess Victoria's right, as Mrs Kobilka sat directly opposite the heir to the throne. The Swedish speaker of parliament, Per Westerberg, flanked the crown princess on the left, which he usually does.

Princess Madeleine, was to be responsible for entertaining physiology laureate Shinya Yamanaka and Swedish Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt. The laureate's wife Dr. Yamanaka faced the younger princess.

Princess Madeleine had her brother Prince Carl Philip diagonally across from her. He entertained Dr. Yamanaka and Mrs. Westerberg, a psychiatrist, with Professor Yamanaka facing him.

Seating at the top table strictly follows what is commonly known as the ‘Nobel Order’, which takes into consideration the rank of the members of the royal court and then matches them with the laureates in the order set out in Alfred Nobel's last will and testament.

Nobel mentioned physics first, meaning that the laureates, that year Serge Haroche and David Wineland, and their spouses were clustered around King Carl XVI Gustav and Queen Silvia. The regent is also always seated near the president of the Nobel Foundation and the president's spouse, presently Mr. and Mrs. Storch.

“There is a protocol for the seating, but we can make modifications based on for example language abilities,” Nobel Foundation spokesperson Annika Pontikis told the TT news agency. Literature laureate Mo Yan was thus seated next to his wife Quinlan Du. Married couples are usually never seated next to each other but the Foundation found it apt to make an exception.

“Neither of them speaks anything but Chinese,” said Annika Pontikis. Seemingly to ensure the couple was not linguistically cut off from conversation, the wife of the Chinese Ambassador to Sweden was seated next to Mo Yan. Her husband was, in turn, seated next to her.

The top table takes centre stage in the main hall of Stockholm's 1920's City Hall, considered by many an important example of the National Romantic architecture style.

The Blue Hall, which is not actually blue but has walls of exposed brick soaring more than 20 metres up to the ceiling, is most famous internationally for hosting the Nobel banquet, but hosts many other events including ceremonies for immigrants when they become Swedish citizens.

3. The Emperor's Code: Breach Of Protocol Spurs Debate In Japan

Actor turned lawmaker, Taro Yamamoto, handing a letter to Japan's aging and frail monarch, Emperor Akihito, as Empress Michiko looks on, during the autumn garden party at the Imperial Palace in Tokyo on Oct. 31, 2013

 A staid and unremarkable royal garden party suddenly became the stuff of front-page scandal, when rookie lawmaker and passionate anti-nuclear activist Taro Yamamoto slipped a handwritten letter to Emperor Akihito. The mystified monarch hurriedly passed the epistle to an aide, unread — but the damage was done.

There is no audible reaction on video of the Oct. 31 incident, but the collective public gasp over an unusual breach of conduct was heard nationwide in Japan. The lawmaker's sin, officially, was violating Japan's ban on using the emperor for political gain. But the incident showed lingering sensitivity over the emperor nearly 70 years after the end of World War II. That's when Emperor Akihito's father, Hirohito, renounced his divine status.

Japan's emperor has been a titular head since then, as the U.S. imposed a constitution that proscribed royal participation in the business of ruling. His life is confined to a whirlwind of goodwill trips, photo ops with foreign dignitaries, and attendance at arts events.

Since the aging and frail monarch is constitutionally powerless, the letter incident was widely seen as a pointless and shameless spotlight grab. Yamamoto argued he was only trying to draw imperial attention to the plight of Fukushima, particularly children's exposure to radiation, and workers involved in cleaning up the aftermath of the March 2011 nuclear plant accident.

4. The Ultimate Sucker Punch: A Breach of Boxing Protocol in 1991, Cost “Macho Camacho” a Title

The late-boxer, “Macho Camacho” – The crucial moment in the late-Hector Camacho’s loss of his World Boxing Organization junior-welterweight title against Greg Haugen in 1991, came down to an impromptu decision by the bout’s referee, Carlos Padilla.

 At the start of the 12th and final round, Padilla, a 57-year-old Las Vegas resident, watched and waited for the fighters to touch gloves, as boxing protocol dictates. Camacho extended his gloves but Haugen was disinclined to reciprocate, even when Padilla urged him to. That led Camacho, always an impulsive sort, to throw a punch at Haugen, and Padilla to decide this was a breach of conduct. He instructed the three judges to penalize Camacho a point. 

Delighted, Haugen leaped into the air with a big smile on his face for having suckered Camacho into that gaffe. Had he known just what effect Padilla's decision would have on the outcome, Haugen might have gone into orbit. The 1-point deduction turned out to be pivotal in the final result. 

Two judges, Dalby Shirley and Bill McConkey, scored the bout, 114-112, Shirley for Camacho and McConkey for Haugen. The other judge, Art Lurie, had it 114-113 in Haugen's favor. 

Had Camacho not been penalized the point, Lurie's scorecard would have read, 114-114, and the bout would have been declared a draw, with Camacho retaining his title. But that was not the case, and because of that Camacho lost for the first time in a professional career spanning 40 bouts. 

For the time being at least he also lost a chance for a big-money match with Julio Cesar Chavez, the World Boxing Council-International Boxing Federation junior-welterweight champion.

5. The Breach of Etiquette and Cringeworthy "Selfie," Witnessed by the World, at Nelson Mandela's Memorial Service

Etiquipedia cannot think of a better caption than the one penned by Seema Goswami

People around the globe gasped collectively at the sight of  Danish Prime Minister Helle Thorning-Schmidt, US President Barack Obama and British Prime Minister David Cameron clicking a "selfie," not at Disneyland, but at the memorial of the late, great South African leader, Nelson Mandela. "The three world leaders, grinning cheesily into the camera, craned their necks together to get into the frame, oblivious to the thunder-faced Michelle Obama who looked pointedly away." wrote one Hindustand Times columnist, Seema Goswami.

Memorial services and funerals are to remember and honor a life lived. They are definitely not the proper forum for taking "selfies," especially on the world stage.  This almost makes one forget this same U.S. President's breach of etiquette in skipping the funeral of Polish President Lech Kaczynski to go golfing. Almost.

6. Route 40 in the State of Maryland: Breaches of Diplomatic Etiquette and Protocol Cause of International Crises 

Route 40 played a role in the passage of the Civil Rights Act

Diplomats from newly independent African nations suffered a series of indignities during the 1950s and early 1960s, traveling through a segregated State of Maryland, on their way from the United Nations to the White House. Newspapers in their respective home countries, railed against American racism whenever a diplomat was ejected from a “whites only” establishment. 

The State Department eventually was forced to establish an agency just to deal with the discrimination against black diplomats, things had gotten so out of hand. The Kennedy administration officials argued that ending segregation was vital to winning the Cold War. Many believe this ultimately helped pass the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

7. The Man Dubbed “The Lizard of Oz” After a Breach of Royal Etiquette, and Those Who Have Followed in His Footsteps

Well at least he didn't hug her.

In 1992 Paul Keating was given the nickname of 'Lizard of Oz' after he touched the Queen's lower back with his arm as he guided her through a crowd of people.  In 2000 another Australian premier, John Howard, denied touching the monarch as he introduced her to MPs at a VIP reception. 

In 2010, the Queen visited Canada. A racehorse owner, Don Romero, put his hand on her back as she presented a trophy to the owner of the winning horse at the Queen's Plate Stakes in Toronto. This breach of royal etiquette was swiftly corrected, however, by his jockey, of all people. Jockey Eurico Da Silva, showed some real panache and executed two bows so low that his head was level with the Queen's waist.

8. Republic of China's Vice President Wu, Breaches Religious Protocol at the Vatican

Vice President Wu Den-yih, 5th right, is pictured with a group of guests that Wu invited for lunch during his visit to the Vatican City, in May of 2014.

According to the Taipei Times, Vice President Wu Den-yih (吳敦義) was seen partaking in the Sacrament of the Eucharist, which should only be done by baptized Catholics. 

In a letter to the Liberty Times (a sister newspaper of the Taipei Times), a reader surnamed Tung (董) criticized the vice president over what he said was ignorant and imprudent conduct by partaking in the Eucharist. 

“Wu is not a Catholic, but during the ritual he ingested the Eucharist offering of bread and wine. This is very improper conduct. His behavior was disrespectful to the diplomatic relationship between Taiwan and the Vatican,” Tung wrote. “In the future, when the president or the vice president attend an important international event, they should put more effort into learning proper protocol and etiquette. This can prevent them from becoming a laughingstock in the international community,” Tung said. 

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

Vatican Etiquette and Protocol

 

The privilege of wearing a white dress during hearings with the Pope is only granted to Catholic queens or Catholic spouses of Kings

Vatican protocol states that for papal hearings, women should wear long sleeves, formal black clothing and a black veil to cover the head. Since the 1980's, however, the dress code (tailcoat for men, black dress and veil for women) has become far less rigid.

Only in private hearings with the Pope are women required to cover their heads and wear mourning clothes. In hearings with the Holy Father, women are required to wear a dress with a sober cut and color, which should preferably be black, must never be low cut, it must cover the shoulders and the skirt part should be below the knee.

At the end of the pontifical ceremony, the faithful are called to greet the Pope by kissing his hand, though Pope Francis recently bowed before Queen Rania of Jordon, who was visiting the Vatican with her husband, King Abdullah II, breaking once again with protocol that requires visitors to bow to him when they see him at the Holy See. In March, Pope Francis kissed Argentina's President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner. "Never in my life has a pope kissed me!" she reportedly exclaimed, after becoming the first foreign head of state to meet with the new pope.

Flashy jewellery should be avoided: something discreet and elegant is fine. If one has to choose, it is better to wear less than to overdo it. In general, one should not exaggerate with accessories and these should not have any loud colors. It is important to remember to keep the head covered at all times. The Pope should be always be addressed as "Your Holiness".

The privilege of wearing a white dress during hearings with the Pope is only granted to Catholic queens or Catholic spouses of kings. They are allowed to wear a white dress instead of the usual prescribed black. Currently, this privilege extends only to the queens of Catholic monarchies.

When there was still a monarchy in Italy, the privilege was also granted to the Queen of Italy. Despite their being Catholic, the privilege does not extend to the Princedoms of Monaco and Liechtenstein. The wives of the presidents of the republic are not granted the privilege of wearing white.

Many female leaders no longer choose to wear black during papal audiences. Neither Mary Robinson nor Mary McAleese, two female Irish Presidents, ever wore black during John Paul II's audiences, while Russia's first lady Raissa Gorbaciova wore a red dress to one of the papal audiences. Cherie Blair, the wife of the British Prime Minister Tony Blair sparked controversy when she wore a white dress to the audience held by Pope Benedict XVI in 2006.

The Vatican carries its own dress code. In brief;
Ensure your knees and shoulders are covered as a sign of respect. Tank-tops, sundresses and short shorts are not appropriate attire and will not be allowed. Women can add to their outfits by bringing shawls or wearing tights. Long sleeves and long pants are most appropriate for men.
Wear comfortable shoes for walking. Many people spend the whole day on their feet while in the Vatican City. Preparation for one's comfort is important for when one is walking on the hard surfaces and waiting in line for great lengths of time.
Italy and the Vatican City are extremely warm in the summer months and can be rainy in the winter. Pack clothing that dries easily and is lightweight. This will help if you do need to cover up during your visit.

From various sources including; The Vatican Insider, Wiki How, and "St.PetersBasilica"   

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