STOCCO and BERRETTONE. — The stocco is a type of sword, richly adorned with gold on the hilt, with scabbard and belt, which the Roman Pontiffs used to send to sovereigns, princes, and distinguished generals who had distinguished themselves in the defense of religion and the Church, both as a sign of gratitude for their victories against heretics and infidels, and as an encouragement to continue protecting them. Together with the stocco, the so-called berrettone (pileum) was also delivered to the recipient: a crimson velvet cap, trimmed with ermine and embroidered in gold, on which stood out a white dove, formed of pearls, symbol of the Holy Spirit.
The use of this gift is very ancient, although its exact date of institution cannot be precisely established; it seems, however, to have been inspired in the Pontiffs by a passage from 2 Maccabees 15, where it is read that Judas Maccabeus, shortly before engaging battle with Nicanor, general of Antiochus, king of Syria, saw in a vision the priest Onias praying to God for his people and the prophet Jeremiah handing him a golden sword, saying to him: "Receive this holy sword which God sends you, with which you shall destroy the enemies of my people Israel" (ibid. 15, 16). It is certain, in any case, that this custom was intended to replace the even more ancient practice of sending the standard of St. Peter, adorned with the image of the Apostle and the papal keys.
The stocco and berrettone were blessed in a solemn ceremony in St. Peter’s Basilica on Christmas Day, while the Pope celebrated Mass; some authors have attributed the institution of this rite to Sixtus IV (1471–84), though erroneously, since the same Pontiff, who prescribed the formula to be pronounced at the delivery of the gift, made it quite clear, with the words *volentes approbata Patrum consuetudines observare*, that the custom was already practiced in his time. If the person for whom the gift was intended was in Rome, it was delivered to him directly by the Pope, who pronounced the following formula: *"Accipe hunc gladium cum Dei benedicite tibi collatum, in quo per virtutem Spiritus Sancti resistere et eicere valeas omnes inimicos tuos et cunctos Sanctae Ecclesiae adversarios, adiuvante Domino Nostro Iesu Christo"*; otherwise, it was sent to him by special envoys along with a covering letter, in which the Pontiffs would explain, each time in a quite particular manner, the meaning of the sword, which was to be taken as a symbol of justice and prudence, virtues of the utmost necessity in all rulers of men. Among the various figures honored with the gift of the stocco and berrettone are Louis XI, king of France, who received it from Pius II in 1461; the Emperor Frederick III, who obtained it from Paul II in 1468; John III Sobieski, king of Poland, to whose valor the Christian victory over the Turks and the liberation of Vienna (1683) were due, and to whom it was sent in 1684 by Innocent XI, who on the same occasion also wished to offer the Golden Rose (v.) to Queen Casimira.