The traditional garments that Leo XVI revived in his presentation as pope

"The habit does not make the monk."

American Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost doesn't believe that popular saying is true, or at least that's the impression his first public appearance as the new pope of the Catholic Church may have left.

Just over an hour after his election, Leo XVI appeared on the central balcony of St. Peter's Basilica in the Vatican, dressed in the traditional vestments that Roman pontiffs have worn for centuries.

While this gesture may seem to indicate a break with the path laid out by the late Pope Francis, the new pontiff's speech indicated otherwise.

"We must seek together how to be a missionary Church, a Church that builds bridges, that dialogues and that is always open, like this square (referring to St. Peter's Square), to welcome with open arms all those who need our charity, our presence and our love," he said.

The words were very similar to those of the late Pope Bergoglio, who in 2023 asked religious leaders not to turn the Church into a "customs house to select who enters and who does not."

At around 7pm Rome time (2pm Brasilia time) Leo XIV appeared on the central balcony of the Vatican Basilica to greet the thousands gathered in St. Peter's Square, wearing the mozzetta and stole.

The mozzetta, a short red cape that falls over the shoulders and may have white trim, symbolizes the pope's authority and his call to compassion, according to an article by the Catholic News Agency.

The stole, in turn, is the piece of red fabric embroidered in gold that wraps around the neck of the new pontiff and is worn by priests and bishops when officiating liturgical ceremonies.

The stole represents the sacred powers that priests receive as teachers and guides, and seeks to imitate the shepherd who carries his sheep on his shoulders.

The origin of the first garment is somewhat obscure. However, there is evidence that it has been used since at least the second half of the 15th century, as shown in a fresco by the painter Melozzo da Forli (1438-1494), in which Pope Sixtus IV is seen wearing the garment.

In turn, Stefano Sanchirico, who was papal master of ceremonies, indicated that the cape was introduced into the papal attire during the period in which the pontiffs moved to the French city of Avignon.

"The mozzetta, whose use began in France, should be understood as a complement to the Pope's usual attire, similar to that of cardinals," the expert wrote in an article published in L'Osservatore Romano.

"The first pope to wear a mozzetta and stole when taking possession of the (Roman Basilica of St. John) Lateran was Clement VII, the other Medici pope, in 1525. His successor, Paul III, did the same, while St. Pius V also wore the shorter skirt, and so did his successors," he added.

Another traditional element that Leo XIV revived was the pectoral cross and the roquette, a white garment made of linen that covers the cassock from the shoulders to the knees.

Although television cameras did not show it, it is likely that the new leader of the Catholic Church also chose to wear the crimson-red shoes that popes have worn for centuries.

The image of Leo 15 was very similar to that seen from the same balcony on April 19, 2005, when German Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, Benedict 16, was elected pope, and diametrically opposite to that seen on March 13, 2013, when Pope Francis was elected.

Argentine Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio has chosen to wear only the white cassock reserved exclusively for popes and has decided to continue wearing the same crucifix that has hung around his neck since he was named bishop in the early 1990s.

With these gestures, the Argentine pontiff wanted to show his simplicity and rejection of material luxuries.

Other symbols that Pope Prevost displayed in his first appearance were the skullcap (the white cap that pontiffs wear on their heads) and the fisherman's ring that he wore on the ring finger of his left hand.

The ring is an accessory that only the pope can wear and features an image of a disciple of Christ fishing in a boat, as well as the name of the current pope written in Latin.

The first known reference to this ring dates back to the 13th century, when Pope Clement IV wrote a letter to his nephew Peter Grossi in which he mentions this piece, which was used to seal his private correspondence in wax.

Until the 16th century, the ring passed from one pope to another, but since the pontificate of Leo X, the custom has been established that, after the death of the pope, the camerlengo must hand over the piece to the master of ceremonies of the Vatican to be destroyed with the papal seal, to prevent the falsification of documents.

Red and white dominated the first appearance of the 267th leader of the Catholic Church.

But why these colors?

"The white and red colors make visible what the pope represents: the person of Christ and the Church, his mystical body," wrote Sanchirico.

"The Supreme Pontiff always appears dressed in a red cloak on the outside, but on the inside he is covered with a white tunic, because white signifies innocence and charity, while the red exterior symbolizes the blood of Christ. (...) The Pope, in fact, represents the person (Christ) who made his garment red for us," he added.

However, other historical documents available on the Vatican website give another explanation for the choice of colors.

"By concession of the Emperor Constantine, the Roman Pontiff may wear the purple chlamys and the scarlet tunic and all the imperial vestments: sceptres, standards and ornaments, with the cross preceding him wherever he goes, to show that to him, more than to any other, the word of the Apostle is appropriate: there is no glory except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, and so that he may know that he must imitate the crucified one," wrote the chronicler Guglielmo Durando, in his Rationale divinorum officiorum , written around 1286.

In this text, it is clear that many of the ornaments and vestments used by popes and other hierarchs of the Church were inherited from the Roman Empire.

While Leo's attire could be interpreted as a return to the past, his words seem to indicate that the openness and reforms initiated by the late Pope Francis will continue.

"God loves us, he loves us all, evil will not prevail," he said, acknowledging the "ever courageous voice" of his predecessor.

"Help us, and then each other, to build bridges of dialogue and encounter. Uniting us all as one people, always in peace," he implored.