Pope Leo’s new pastoral staff depicts Christ in resurrection glory rather than suffering, marking a deliberate theological shift for the 2025 Jubilee of Hope. The silver ferula shows Christ with arms outstretched and wounds portrayed as luminous signs of victory, drawing inspiration from Lello Scorzelli’s crucifix used at Vatican II’s closing and John Paul II’s inauguration. The Office for Liturgical Celebrations explained the design emphasizes the Paschal Mystery, proclaiming that redemption, not death, speaks the final word over humanity’s destiny.
Victory over death found visible expression in silver this January, as Pope Leo XIV introduced a new pastoral staff depicting Christ not in agony but in glory. The ferula pontificalis, first used at the January 6 Mass for Epiphany, marked the formal closing of Holy Year 2025 when the Pope sealed the Holy Door at St. Peter’s Basilica. According to a January 8 statement from the Office for Liturgical Celebrations, the staff represents the Pope’s first major liturgical symbol.
Pope Leo XIV’s silver ferula depicts Christ ascending in glory, marking triumph over death at the close of Holy Year 2025.
The silver crosier shows Christ with arms outstretched, ascending to heaven. His crucifixion wounds appear as luminous signs of victory rather than suffering. The glorified body bears no nails, emphasizing triumph over death. The design draws inspiration from sculptor Lello Scorzelli, whose crucifix for Pope Paul VI was used at the closing of Vatican II in 1965 and later at John Paul II’s papal inauguration.
This choice continues a tradition while advancing its message. Benedict XVI carried a gold cross featuring the Paschal Lamb and Christogram. Each pope has shaped the ferula to express particular theological emphasis, and Leo XIV has chosen to highlight what the Church calls the Paschal Mystery, the unity of Christ’s death and resurrection. The Paschal mystery serves as the gravitational center of apostolic proclamation.
The theological message centers on redemption. The staff proclaims that suffering does not speak the final word in human experience. Christ’s wounds, rather than simply recalling pain, transfigure it into what the Pope’s office describes as the dawn of divine life. This accent on resurrection does not bypass the cross but refuses to let death claim ultimate power. The Office for the Liturgical Celebrations of the Supreme Pontiff emphasized design continuity with staffs used by Leo XIV’s predecessors.
Papal staffs have indicated spiritual authority since the Middle Ages, though post-Vatican II popes adopted a more pastoral presentation. The ferula appears rarely in liturgical settings, reserved primarily for significant church rites such as Holy Door ceremonies. Leo XIV’s staff also bears his papal motto, grounding personal conviction in the office’s ancient symbolism.
As the Church opened 2025, the new staff offered a visual foundation for what the Jubilee of Hope proclaimed in words: that humanity’s destiny rests not in inevitable decay but in the risen Christ who redeems incarnation itself. This emphasis echoes biblical promises of heaven as God’s dwelling and the hope of resurrection and eternal life.
