SEDIARI PONTIFICI. — They are members of the Pope’s household who serve in the antechamber and transport the Holy Father in the sedia gestatoria on the occasion of solemn ceremonies. In this latter office they receive their order to depart from the chief usher.
They are somewhat connected with the lecticarii used in the Roman world, especially during the imperial age and throughout the Middle Ages up to the eighteenth century, when litters were replaced by carriages. In sacred ceremonies, the litter was replaced by the scammum, or sella, or sellare, whence the name sellarii for those who carried the Pope on their shoulders (cf. Ordo Romanus I, 4-5: PL 78, 939; Ordo Rom. II, 2: ibid., 699).
The establishment of a true corps of knights, called s. p., to carry the Pope in the sedia gestatoria is attributed to Pius IV; but, apart from the use of the sedia gestatoria, the existence of a corps of s. p. is also older: it is enough to see their appearances in Raphael’s frescoes, such as The Miracle of Bolsena and The Expulsion of Heliodorus from the Temple. They are not, however, listed separately in the registers of the papal household under Leo X and Pius IV. In fact, they are confused with the parafrenarii, or famuli in general. They are indeed called famuli in the taking of possession of Alexander VII (sublimis gestatus, subcollantibus famulis purpurea taga conspicuis: F. Cancellieri, Storia dei solenni possessi, Roma 1822, p. 272, cf. also p. 146, note 2), and are called parafrenieri (parafrenarii) under Paul III, a. 1533 (op. cit., p. 92), and again under Pius VIII (op. cit., p. 489). The s. p. and the parafrenieri also formed a single Confraternity and, from the time of Pius IV (a. 1565), had their own church: S. Anna dei parafrenieri inside the Vatican, later exchanged, after 1929, when the church was made a parish, for S. Caterina della Rota.
At present the s. p. number 14, in addition to the dean (or antechamber dean [in Ann. Pont. 1952, p. 937]) and subdean; they are assisted by several supernumeraries, two antechamber orderlies, and extraordinary or substitute personnel (especially during Holy Years). They wear a livery, black for the dean and subdean and red for all the s. p. The livery, consisting of a jacket and trousers with long strips descending from the shoulder pieces, called wings, is of crimson velvet with satin sleeves, according to a deposited Renaissance-style design; for summer, it is of crimson damask with « nobiltà » silk sleeves, always following the same design, with the Pontiff’s coat of arms on the front. The uniform coat of arms of the Holy See is now used for all pontiffs, with the keys and tiara. Liveries bearing the coats of arms of Pius VI through Pius IX are nevertheless preserved. In addition to the livery, they have shoes in the same style, as well as the appropriate shirt and stockings. In ancient times they were under the authority of the prefecture of the Sacred Apostolic Palaces; today they are under the authority of the maestro di Camera, through the maestro di Casa, who supervises them and coordinates their service. They are entrusted with service in the antechamber or waiting room and therefore form part of the antechamber staff. They serve in rotation at private and special audiences and at general audiences; they also attend the Pontiff at the most solemn events (pontifical ceremonies, receptions); day and night they remain around the Pope’s person. In ancient times two of them also kept watch before the private papal apartment; even today one of them sleeps in immediate proximity to the papal apartment, so as to be ready at any summons. They form part of the papal household (v.) and are therefore also called « famigli ».