It is not a novelty that Francis’ little symbols and gestures greatly attract people’s attention. At the beginning of his pontificate, it was the pectoral cross or the fact that he himself carried his briefcase on papal flights. This time, in Ecuador, all eyes were on the crozier he is using in Eucharistic celebrations.
It is made by hand and carved in olive wood, and is an exact copy of one that was given to him by the prisoners of San Remo prison in Italy. The first time he used it was on Palm Sunday 2014 in Saint Peter’s Square. Unfortunately, the crozier was damaged during the Pope’s trip to the Holy Land. However, as the Pontiff really liked that crozier, an identical one was made for him in Bethlehem in olive wood.
During a press conference on Monday night in Quito, Father Federico Lombardi, Director of the Holy See Press Office, explained the history of the crozier, adding that “probably, this crozier will be used by the Pope on many other trips.”
