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Papal coats of arms

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Every Pope of the Roman Catholic Church has his own personal coat of arms that serves as a symbol of his papacy.

All recent popes' coats of arms contained the image of the papal tiara. Benedict XVI has altered heraldic custom and used instead the mitre and pallium (see article: Coat of arms of Pope Benedict XVI). The papal coat of arms traditionally features a gold and silver key, representing the power to bind and to loose on earth (silver) and in heaven (gold). These are a reference to St Matthew's Gospel, chapter 16, verses 18-19:

"You are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. I will give you the keys to the kingdom of heaven. Whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven; and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven."

Thus in ecclesiastical heraldry. the keys symbolise the spiritual authority of the Papacy as the Vicar of Christ on Earth.

Coats of arms of Popes

Note:Some of the images here just show the shield of the coat of arms, and not the full achievement of arms, which had the tiara.

File:Holysee-arms.png
Holy See Coat of Arms. Also used for Vatican City. 		File:Ombrellino-keys.jpg
Sede vacante Coat of Arms, used when there is no reigning pope
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