Gdańsk. Umbraculum will be opened – TVN24

Gdańsk Umbraculum – one of the papal insignia – will be opened tonight. – It will remain so until the inauguration of the new pontificate – said Father Michał Osek from the Basilica of St. Nicholas in Gdańsk.

In the Basilica of St. Mikołaj in Gdańsk is one of the papal insignia – Umbraclum, which is a form of liturgical umbrella, which is one of the symbols of papal power. The umbrella will open today.

Father Michał Osek told TVN24 that this is part of the coat of arms of the episcopal of Rome. – When the Pope dies, during Sede Vacante (the term specifying the time at which the Holy See is unhappy – editor's note), Umbraculum is opened. All smaller basilica around the world open them at the time of the pope's death and will remain until the inauguration of the new pontificate – he explained.

Gdańsk Umbraculum is four meters and is yellow and red.

Wrapped in a rug, the war survived

The umbrella was ordered in 1927, when Pope Pius XI gave the Gdańsk church the title of a smaller basilica.

– These were the times when it meant various privileges, including having umbraculum – added Father Osek.

However, it seemed that Gdańsk Umbraculum disappeared during World War II.

However, they were found in December 2019 during renovation – In the crypt under the pastoral hall in the church of St. Nicholas in Gdańsk.

– One of the employees organized the crypt and found the papal insignium wrapped in a large carpet. First, we estimated that this was umbraculum. Our assumptions were confirmed by archival photographs and the coat of arms of the temple with a characteristic culmination – said Father Michał Osek, prior of the monastery of the oo. Dominicans in Gdańsk.

The insignium of papal power was hidden in the crypt in the monastery probably before March 1945, when Gdańsk was occupied by the Red Army.

Gdańsk umbracraculum is unique because of its history, but similar papal insignia also find in other basilines in Poland, between in Krakow or Gniezno.