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Image:Cathedralgalerohung.jpg Upon the death of a cardinal diocesan bishop, his galero is raised above the sanctuary of his cathedral church. This galero was raised in 1924 for Michael Cardinal Logue, Archbishop of Armagh in Ireland. Only Holy Name Cathedral in Chicago continues the tradition today.
'''Galero''', in the
Roman Catholic Church, is a large, broad-brimmed tasseled hat worn by clergy. Over the centuries it was eventually limited in use to individual
cardinals as a symbol befitting of the title "Prince of the Church." When creating a cardinal, the
Pope would crown the candidate with a
scarlet galero in
consistory.
==Second Vatican Council==
In
1969, a papal decree following the
Second Vatican Council ended the use of the galero as an act of humbling the Church hierarchy. It was deemed that by removing such elaborate regalia, the people could better identify with their pastoral leaders. Today, only the scarlet
zucchetto and
biretta are placed over the heads of cardinals in consistory.
The galero is hung forever over the congregants of a cathedral, where they remain until they are reduced to dust symbolizing how all earthly glory is passing.
==Ecclesiastical Heraldry==
{| align=right id=toc style="margin-left: 15px;"
|---
|align=center bgcolor=#ccccff|This article is part of the
'''Hats and Headgear''' series:
|---
|Overview of headgear
|---
|Hats; Bonnets; Caps
|---
|Hoods; Helmets; Wigs
|---
|Masks; Veils; Scarves
|---
|Tiaras; Crowns
|---
|align=center bgcolor=#ccccff|'''List of hats and headgear'''
|}
The galero is still in use today in ecclesiastical
heraldry as part of the achievement of the
coat of arms of an armigerous Roman Catholic cleric. It replaces the
helmet and
crest because those were considered too warlike for the clerical state. The color of the galero and number of tassels indicate the cleric's place in the hierarchy. A
bishop's galero is green with six tassels. An
archbishop's galero is also green but has ten tassels. Both
patriarchs and
cardinals have a galero with fifteen tassels, but the patriarch's is green while the cardinal's is red or scarlet. Even a
priest uses the galero in his arms, but uses a simple black with two tassels. However, priests who hold additional offices, such as
Vicar General or
Abbot, or who have additional honors such as
Chaplain of His Holiness gain additional tassels and different colored hats.
