The Tiaras of the Popes: Pope Leo XIII

Pope Leo XIII reigned as pope from 1878 until 1903, the fourth longest serving pope in history. He was known as the pope of the Rosary for reason of his frequent mention of this particular devotion, but he is also well known for his promotion of the revival of Thomism (the philosophical-theology of St. Thomas Aquinas) as well as his contributions to the social teaching of the Church. 

In terms of the tiaras that were specific to him there are two we'd like to look at today.

The first is the Parisian Tiara, presented to Pope Leo XIII in 1888 by the Catholics of Paris, France in celebration of the golden jubilee of Leo XIII's ordination to the priesthood. It was designed by the French goldsmith Emile Froment-Meurice. The French influences may certainly be found on the three golden crowns which are ornamented by the fleur-de-lys, much as were the historical crowns of French royalty. 

Here Leo may be seen wearing it in this official portrait:

Secondly we have the Golden Tiara which was presented in 1903 to Leo XIII on behalf of the world's Catholics to commemorate his silver jubilee as Roman pontiff.  Stylistically it is very similar to the Parisian Tiara

Two other tiaras were also given to Leo during his pnotificate, the "German Tiara" of 1887 (a gift of Kaiser Wilhelm I of Germany) and the Austrian Tiara of 1894 (a gift of Kaiser Franz Joseph I of Austria). 

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