POPE FRANCIS' RING

Vatican City, 19 March 2013 (VIS) – This is the history of the Fisherman’s Ring that, beginning today, Pope Francis will wear on the ring finger of his right hand.

Archbishop Pasquale Macchi, the personal secretary of Pope Paul VI, kept the wax cast of the ring that had been designed for Paul VI by the Italian artist Enrico Manfrini. (He also made several medals and other artistic objects for Paul VI.) The ring depicts St. Peter holding the keys. It was never cast into metal therefore Paul VI never wore it. Instead, he always wore the ring that was commissioned at the time of the Second Vatican Council.

When he passed away in 2006, the cast, along with other objects, was left by Archbishop Macchi to Monsignor Ettore Malnati, who had worked closely with him for many years. Msgr. Malnati made a ring of gold-plated silver from the wax cast. This ring was offered to Pope Francis, along with several other possible options, by the Papal Master of Ceremonies, through the auspices of Cardinal Re. Pope Francis chose it for his Ring of the Fisherman and it was bestowed upon him at this morning's Mass of the Inauguration of his Petrine Ministry.