The papier-mâché tiara is a papal tiara

Papal Tiara

The Papal Tiara, also known incorrectly as the Triple Tiara, or in Latin as the Triregnum, in Italian as the Triregno and as the Trirègne in French, is the three-tiered jewelled papal crown, supposedly of Byzantine and Persian origin, that is a prominent symbol of the papacy...

 that was made in exile for Pope Pius VII

Pope Pius VII

Pope Pius VII , born Barnaba Niccolò Maria Luigi Chiaramonti, was a monk, theologian and bishop, who reigned as Pope from 14 March 1800 to 20 August 1823.-Early life:...

's papal coronation

Papal Coronation

A papal coronation was the ceremony of the placing of the Papal Tiara on a newly elected pope. The first recorded papal coronation was that of Pope Celestine II in 1143. Soon after his coronation in 1963, Pope Paul VI abandoned the practice of wearing the tiara. His successors have chosen not to...

 in a church in Venice

Venice

Venice is a city in northern Italy which is renowned for the beauty of its setting, its architecture and its artworks. It is the capital of the Veneto region...

. In 1798, Pope Pius's predecessor Pope Pius VI

Pope Pius VI

Pope Pius VI , born Count Giovanni Angelo Braschi, was Pope from 1775 to 1799.-Early years:Braschi was born in Cesena...

 had been forced into exile when French

France

The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

 troops invaded the Vatican and stole or destroyed all the ancient papal tiaras owned by the Holy See

Holy See

The Holy See is the episcopal jurisdiction of the Catholic Church in Rome, in which its Bishop is commonly known as the Pope. It is the preeminent episcopal see of the Catholic Church, forming the central government of the Church. As such, diplomatically, and in other spheres the Holy See acts and...

. When the ill Pius VI died in exile, the College of Cardinals

College of Cardinals

The College of Cardinals is the body of all cardinals of the Catholic Church.A function of the college is to advise the pope about church matters when he summons them to an ordinary consistory. It also convenes on the death or abdication of a pope as a papal conclave to elect a successor...

 elected Giorgio Barnaba Luigi Chiaramonti

Pope Pius VII

Pope Pius VII , born Barnaba Niccolò Maria Luigi Chiaramonti, was a monk, theologian and bishop, who reigned as Pope from 14 March 1800 to 20 August 1823.-Early life:...

 to the papacy.

A coronation

Coronation

A coronation is a ceremony marking the formal investiture of a monarch and/or their consort with regal power, usually involving the placement of a crown upon their head and the presentation of other items of regalia...

 was arranged for the new pope in a church in the cramped Benedictine monastery of San Giorgio on 21 March 1800. However, the church lacked a papal tiara with which to crown him. At short notice, a temporary tiara was manufactured using papier-mâché

Papier-mâché

Papier-mâché , alternatively, paper-mache, is a composite material consisting of paper pieces or pulp, sometimes reinforced with textiles, bound with an adhesive, such as glue, starch, or wallpaper paste....

, and local aristocratic ladies donated their private jewel

Gemstone

A gemstone or gem is a piece of mineral, which, in cut and polished form, is used to make jewelry or other adornments...

s to decorate the new temporary crown.

Continuing usage

The new tiara was intended to be temporary, but it continued in use for a number of decades, even though one tiara — the Tiara of Pope Gregory XIII

Tiara of Pope Gregory XIII

The Tiara of Pope Gregory XIII is the oldest surviving papal tiara in existence. Its actual date of manufacture is not recorded. It is known however that it was manufactured during the reign of Pope Gregory XIII , the creator of the Gregorian calendar.Until 1798 many ancient tiaras existed in the...

 — survived the destruction of 1798. Although Napoleon

Napoleon I of France

Napoleon Bonaparte was a French military and political leader during the latter stages of the French Revolution.As Napoleon I, he was Emperor of the French from 1804 to 1815...

 did donate a replacement tiara to Pius VII some years later, made with jewels from the tiaras destroyed by his troops in 1798, the new tiara was deliberately made too small and too heavy to be worn. It is doubtful whether Pius would have worn it in any case, given the circumstances of its creation and given that, in the past, he had been held captive on Napoleon's orders and threatened physically on occasion. Furthermore, it is reported that originally this tiara contained small plaques engraved with the names of Napoleon's principal military victories, which a cardinal later quietly replaced with ones bearing scriptural verses.

A new silver papal tiara to replace the destroyed ones was only manufactured in 1820, but the papier-mâché tiara continued in usage for decades afterwards, its lightweight design making it a comfortable alternative to the heavier silver alternative for popes as they aged. It was finally officially retired from usage in 1845, when a new lightweight tiara was manufactured for Pope Gregory XVI

Pope Gregory XVI

Pope Gregory XVI , born Bartolomeo Alberto Cappellari, named Mauro as a member of the religious order of the Camaldolese, was Pope of the Catholic Church from 1831 to 1846...

. Contemporary reports suggested that Pope Gregory viewed it as demeaning that the Vicar of Christ

Vicar of Christ

Vicar of Christ is a term used in different ways, with different theological connotations throughout history...

 should be seen wearing a crown made not from gold or silver but from mere crushed paper.

It was however claimed that Gregory's successor, Pope Pius IX

Pope Pius IX

Blessed Pope Pius IX , born Giovanni Maria Mastai-Ferretti, was the longest-reigning elected Pope in the history of the Catholic Church, serving from 16 June 1846 until his death, a period of nearly 32 years. During his pontificate, he convened the First Vatican Council in 1869, which decreed papal...

, still occasionally wore the more comfortable papier-mâché tiara during long religious ceremonies, when it could not be easily recognised from a distance.

No pope since Pius IX is known to have worn the papier-mâché tiara. Subsequent popes had a large number of lightweight tiaras to choose from.