How is it that a chair gets a
feast? As with many things in the
Catholic Church, there is symbolism behind giving a feast to a chair. Chairs can represent many things: a role in a discussion as in, “pull up a
chair”; the authority of a judge as in the judge’s bench; the responsibility of
a monarch as in the king’s throne. But
for the Church, a chair represents the role of the bishop as priest, prophet,
and servant. Each bishop has his
cathedral. Cathedra is Latin for chair.
And in the cathedral is the bishop’s chair where he presides.
The Chair of St. Peter the Apostle
then stands for the authority of the pope, a singular mark of the Roman
Catholic Church. “The Chair represents
[the pope’s] mission as guide of the entire People of God. Celebrating the ‘Chair’ of Peter means
attributing a strong spiritual significance to it and recognizing it as a
privileged sign of the love of God” (Pope Benedict XVI). He has many titles which indicate his roles
and duties: Bishop of Rome, Vicar of
Jesus Christ, Successor of the Prince of the Apostles, Supreme Pontiff of the
Universal Church, Primate of Italy, Archbishop
and Metropolitan of the Roman Province, Sovereign of the Vatican City State,
and Servant of the servants of God. The
pope has been given this authority for the sake of the Church, for the People
of God. His authority as pope is one
that, ultimately, is meant for our salvation.
And so we pray for our pope, Pope Francis, that he may guide us by the
Spirit of God to walk in the way of Jesus to become united with the Father in
heaven.
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