You can read the original text in Portuguese here.
The rooster awakens those who sleep—just as it once awakened the first Pope. And it reminds us of the sorrowful fragility of human nature: always prone to sin, and thus always in need of God’s mercy.
In the ancient ceremonies marking the beginning of the Petrine ministry, one constant and unmistakable concern stood out: it was essential to remind the new Pope that, despite the office he was assuming, he remained a mere mortal.
One of these rites—quite famous—consisted of burning a tuft of tow before the Pontiff while the master of ceremonies solemnly proclaimed: Sancte Pater, sic transit gloria mundi! — “Holy Father, thus passes the glory of the world!”
This gesture took place during the old papal coronation Mass. Paul VI was the last to celebrate it. The Bishop of Rome was crowned like a king and led in great pomp through St. Peter’s Basilica, but rituals like this served as a true antidote to vanity. They reminded everyone: the papal office is indeed noble and exalted; but the Pope is not God, nor is he above Him.
Another moving symbol with similar meaning could be found at the Basilica of St. John Lateran, during the Mass in which the Pope takes possession of the “Roman cathedra.” (Leo XIV will celebrate this Mass next Sunday, May 25.)
The ceremony involved a bronze rooster perched atop a column near the basilica’s doors. According to some historians, the rooster was pointed out to the Pope at a specific moment during the rite, evoking the Gospel rooster and urging him to “have compassion on the faults of his flock, just as Christ had compassion and forgave Peter’s threefold denial.”
This rite lasted until the 18th century, and we should not expect anything like it next Sunday. Yet the reality to which it pointed remains true, and the newly elected Pope has already alluded to it on at least two occasions.
First, in his audience with the cardinals two days after his election:
“The Pope, from Saint Peter to myself, his unworthy successor, is a humble servant of God and of the brethren—nothing more.”
And again, in the homily for the inauguration Mass of the Petrine ministry:
“If the rock is Christ, Peter must shepherd the flock without ever yielding to the temptation of becoming a solitary leader or a chief placed above others, becoming a master over those entrusted to him. Rather, he is called to serve the faith of his brothers, walking with them.”
Let us not forget, then: the Pope is the successor of Peter, the vicar of Christ, the Pontiff of pontiffs—yes; but ultimately, he is also a man, like us. When personal dislikes (or emotional enthusiasms!) toss us to and fro, threatening to shake our faith… let us remember the rooster!
For the rooster awakens those who sleep—just as it once awakened the first Pope. And it reminds us of the sorrowful fragility of human nature: always prone to sin, and thus always in need of God’s mercy.