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Friday, September 3, 2010

Politicos and Popes: Mantilla Action in the Vatican

There is a very specific dress code  for heads of states and their spouses when receiving a papal audience at the Vatican.

Protocol requires that women wear a mantilla or hat. And unless you're a Catholic monarch, you'd better be dressed in black.

The United States 

Barack and Michelle Obama with Pope Benedict XVI, 10 July 2009 


Laura Bush with Pope Benedict XVI, 9 February 2006


George and Laura Bush with Pope John Paul II, 4 June 2004 


Bill and Hillary Clinton with Pope John Paul II, 2 June 1994


Ronald and Nancy Reagan with Pope John Paul II, 7 June 1987 


First Lady Betty Ford at the Vatican 
with President Gerald Ford to meet Pope Paul VI, 3 June 1975


Richard and Pat Nixon with Pope Paul VI, 29 September 1970


Jacqueline Kennedy with Pope Paul VI, July 2, 1963


Jacqueline Kennedy with Pope John XXIII, 11 March 1962


The United Kingdom 

Queen Elizabeth with Pope John Paul II, 17 October 2000 


Queen Elizabeth with Pope John Paul II, 17 October 1980


Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip 
with Pope John XXIII, 5 May 1961


Baroness Thatcher with Pope Benedict XVI, 27 May 2009


Baroness Thatcher with Pope John Paul II, 1980


Margaret Thatcher with Pope Paul VI, June 1977


The First Wife: Prince Charles and Princess Diana 
with Pope John Paul II, April 1985


And the Mistress/2nd Wife:  Prince Charles and Camilla 
with Pope Benedict XVI, 28 April 2009


Catholic Monarchs (Europe): Privilège du blanc

Henri and Maria Teresa, Grand Duke and Duchess of Luxembourg 
and their daughter, Princess Alexandria 
with Pope Benedict XVI, 8 May 2006


Queen Paola of Belgium on her way to see
Pope Benedict XVI, 10 October 2009


Queen Paola of Belgium (again) with Pope Benedict XVI 
and King Albert, 10 October 2009


Belgium's Queen Paola and King Albert II 
with John Paul II, 15 May 1998


 Queen Sofia of Spain (right) at Pope Benedict XVI's 
first mass as Pontiff, 24 April 2005. 
The Grand Duchess of Luxembourg is on the left. 



The King and Queen of Italy with Pope Pius XII, 30 December 1939


Italian Crown Prince, Umberto of Italy 
and the Crown Princess, Marie Jose, 
at the Coronation of Pope Pius XII, 30 March 1939


Other Nations

Mexico, South Africa, India, Britain, Sweden, EU

Pope Benedict XVI with Margarita Zavala, wife of Mexican President Felipe Calderon, Nompumelelo Mantuli, wife of South African President Jacob Zuma, Gursharan Kaur, wife of Prime Minister of India Manmohan Singh, Sarah Brown, wife of British Prime Minister Gordon Brown, Filippa Reinfeldt, wife of Swedish Prime Minster Fredrik Reinfeldt, Maria Margarita Barroso, wife of EU President Jose Manuel Barroso, Juliana Olabintan Nwanze, wife of International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) president Kanayo Nwanze during a private audience on July 8, 2009


Second photo of the Holy Father with the First Ladies 
(taken at a meeting during the G8 Summit)


Argentina 
Eva Peron, First Lady of Argentina,
 leaving the Vatican following an audience 
with Pope Pius XII, 29 June 1947


Austria 
Pope Benedict with President Fischer 
and his wife, Margit, 5 October 2006


Brazil
 President of Brazil, Luiz Ignacio Lula da Silva 
and First Lady Marisa Leticia Lula da Silva 
with Pope Benedict XVI, 13 November 2008


Canada
 Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper 
and his wife, Laureen Harper, 
and children with Pope Benedict XVI, 30 June 2009


Colombia 
The then Colombian President, Álvaro Uribe Vélez
and his wife, Lina María Moreno Mejía, 
with Pope Benedict XVI, 30 April 2009


Cyprus
President Demetris Christofias and his wife Elsie 
with Pope Benedict XVI, 27 March 2009



Czech Republic
Czech Prime Minister Jan Fischer and his wife 
with Pope Benedict XVI, 14 November 2009


El Salvador
President of El Salvador, Elias Antonio Saca Gonzalez 
and his wife Ana Ligia Mixco Sol de Saca with Pope Benedict XVI, 7 May 2009


France 
French Prime Minister Francois Fillon 
and his wife Penelope (and sons)
with Pope Benedict XVI, 10 October 2009



The then French President, Jacques Chirac and his wife Bernadette
with Pope John Paul II, 20 January 1996


Former French Prime Minister, Edouard Balladur
and his wife, Marie-Josèphe Delacour
with Pope John Paul II, 27 November 1993


Gabon
Pope Benedict XVI with President Ali Ben Bongo 
and his wife, 10 December 2009


Germany
Former President Horst Koehler and his wife Eva Luisa 
with Pope Benedict XVI, 5 December 2009


The then First Lady of Germany, Eva Luisa Koehler 
in a meeting with Pope Benedict XVI, 18 November 2006


Greece

Pope Benedict XVI with Greek President Papoulias
and his wife Mey Panou, 28 January 2006


Iraq
Prime Minister Ayad Allawi and his wife, Thana, 
with Pope John Paul II, 2004


Ireland 
President of Ireland, Sean Thomas O’Kelly 
and his wife, Mary Kate Ryan, received by Pope Pius XII.


Israel
Prime Minister Golda Meir and Pope Paul VI,  1973


Italy 
Prime Minister Romano Prodi and his wife Flavia
with Pope Benedict XVI 13 October 2006


Pope John Paul II with Romano Prodi
and family, October 28, 2004


Jordan 
Queen Rania with Pope Benedict XVI, 9 February 2007


Lebanon 
Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri and his wife, Lara 
 with Pope Benedict XVI, 20 February 2010


Lebanese Prime Minister Fuad Siniora and his wife Huda Bsat
with Pope Benedict XVI 16 February 2006


Lesotho 
King Letsie III and Queen Karabo of Lesotho 
with Pope John-Paul II, 29 February 2000



Lithuania
Pope Benedict XVI with President Valdas Adamkus
and his wife, Alma Adamkienė, 28 April 2007


Malta 
 President George Abela of Malta and his wife Margaret 
with Pope Benedict XVI 18 June 2009 


Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi and his wife Kate 
with Pope Benedict XVI, 18 January 2007


Mexico
Pope Benedict XVI with Margarita Zavala 
(wife of Mexico's President Felipe Calderon), 19 December 2007


Monaco
Princess Grace Kelly with Pope Pius XII, 6 May 1957

Princess Grace following an audience 
with Pope John XXIII, 18 June 1959
(video footage here


Pope Paul VI with Prince Rainier, Princess Grace,
Prince Albert, and Princess Stephanie, 25 March 1974



Montenegro
 Prime Minister Milo Djukanovic and his wife Lidija
with Pope Benedict XVI, 14 December 2009


Nicaragua
Pope Benedict XVI with President Enrique Bolanos Geyer
and his wife, Lila Abaunza, 15 May 2006


Norway 
King Harald V and Queen Sonja of Norway
with Pope John Paul II, 25 October 2001


Paraguay 
Pope Benedict XVI with Maria Gloria Penayo
(wife of Paraguay's President Duarte Frutos), 29 October 2007


Philippines 
Imelda Marcos with Pope John Paul II, 8 July 1983


Poland
The late Polish President Lech Kaczynski and his wife, Maria,
with Pope Benedict XVI, 18 May 2009



Maria and Lech Kaczynski (again)
with Pope Benedict XVI, 26 January 2006


President Alexander Kwasniewski with his wife Jolanta
with Pope John-Paul II, 8 April 2000



Portugal 
Maria Cavaco Silva, wife of Portugal President Anibal Cavaco Silva,
 with Pope Benedict XVI 28 June 2008


Portugese First Lady Maria Jose Ritta
with former President Jorge Sampaio
and Pope John Paul II, 12 November 2004


Spain 
Crown Prince Felipe and Princess Letizia
with Pope John Paul II
28 June 2004


Princess Elena with Pope John Paul II,
29 September 1995


Suriname
Pope Benedict XVI with President Ronald Venetiaan
 and his wife Lisbeth, 20 November 2009


Sweden 
Pope John-Paul II with the Swedish Royal family,
13 November 1999


Thailand
King Bhumipol and Queen Sirikit of Thailand 
with Pope John XXIII, 1960.

(for video footage see here)


A second photo of King Bhumipol 
and Queen Sirikit with Pope John XXIII


Ukraine 
Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko 
with Pope Benedict, 16 October 2009


Ukrainian President Victor Yushchenko 
and his wife Kateryna Mykhailiva Yushchenko
with Pope Benedict XVI, 1 June 2009

6 comments:

  1. wow! Awesome. I had seen the ones with the American 1st Ladies but not the other countries. One of the biggest reasons I started wearing a mantilla is because people do so in the presence of the Pope. If people do so for the Pope than it must be an important part of the Church, but imagine when you are the presence of Christ. Christ is even more important than the Pope, yet no one covers their heads for him. Makes one think.

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  2. I agree with deltaflute!

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  3. Thank you for posting all these pictures. Jacqueline Kennedy and Grace Kelly are unsurpassed in beauty, dignity and class. Wearing one's hair back or off the face seems to look better with the veil, as well as the longer skirt / dress. Shorter dresses aren't flattering to the older / heavier set. Plus it's more awkward to sit properly with a shorter skirt.

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  4. Awesome collection of photos. Yes, Jackie looks so lovely and Grace Kelly....wow. If it is protocol to veil while visiting the Pope then by all means it makes absolute sense to veil in the presence of our Lord. Thanks for posting.

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  5. Our Catholic Telegraph diocese newspapaper showed a picture of Michelle Obama with her veil when she was visiting the Holy Father. It is so nice to see these photots. Thanks for putting them together.

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  6. The photos are lovely. And it is beautiful to see the tradition continued. I also like to see veils in church. But it is an option and I don't like women being judged if they do not wear one. And if they do, the tradition should be understood. I know a very judgemental lady who wears her veil incorrectly. She walks into church and puts her veil on before mass and takes it off after mass. The veil, if it is going to be worn, should be on before one enters the church and taken off afterwards.

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