Pope Benedict XVI, the Bear, and the Backpack

[MarcoPolo]

I was reading the Dec. 2009 Catholic World Report and came across an interesting article on Tracey Rowland’s new biography of Pope Benedict. The article includes the following:*After he was elected pope, Benedict had a striking image placed on his papal seal: a bear with a backpack. It comes from the story of St. Corbinan. According to legend, the saint was traveling to Rome on horseback when a bear attacked and killed his mount. An incensed Corbinian ordered the bear to carry his belongings and the beast obliged. The twist is that Benedict compares himself not to the saint but to the bear.*So that’s the Pope trivia for the day. And by gosh, here’s an image of the papal seal with the bear and the backpack.

http://www.thomasaquinas.edu/assets/images/news/hires/papal_seal_1.jpg

 

[Holly3278]

Very interesting!

 

[Peggy_in_Burien]

Thank you for the information!

Do you know anything about the other symbols?

I see a king, and what looks like a shell. I can guess that the shell might stand for Baptism, but who is the king?

 

[MarcoPolo]

Unfortunately I do not know the significance of the other symbols.

 

[archangel04]

Thank you for the information!

Do you know anything about the other symbols?

I see a king, and what looks like a shell. I can guess that the shell might stand for Baptism, but who is the king?

I too would like to know the meaning of the other symbols.

 

[malphono]

Perhaps this link might be helpful.