BANDIERA, LITURGICAL USE OF. — From the 10th century onward, banners have been admitted as ornamentation in sacred processions, where they precede the procession or are carried before individual groups. The earliest representations of this kind are found in a Troparion from Prüm (National Library of Paris) and in a fresco in the underground church of St Clement in Rome (11th century). At the same time, they are mentioned in the will of Leofric of Exeter (d. 1072) and in the decrees of Lanfranc (1089; cf. PL 150, 450). As their number and size increased, so too did the ornamentation with paintings or embroidery, sometimes executed by great artists (Raphael, Signorelli, etc.).
According to current practice, banners may not be admitted in sacred places if they belong to societies opposed to the Church or bear forbidden or reproved insignia or emblems (S. Congr. of Rites, Decreta, 4390). No specific rules are laid down regarding the colour or material of banners. The prayer in the Roman Ritual for the blessing of a banner, for which a special permission of the Ordinary is required, alludes to the ordered ranks of Christians who glory in being under the standard of Christ and ask to be able to overcome all visible and invisible enemies, and, having obtained the victory, to triumph in heaven. Banners are indeed a symbol of triumph, and are therefore found as an emblem in the hand of the risen Christ or descending into hell, and in the hand of the personified Church.
