The blessed sword (Latin: ensis benedictus, Italian: stocco benedetto[1] or stocco pontificio[2]) and the blessed hat (also: ducal hat,[3] Latin: pileus or capellus,[4] Italian: berrettone pontificio[5] or berrettone ducale[6]) were a gift offered by popes to Catholic monarchs or other secular recipients in recognition of their defence of Christendom.

[7] The earliest preserved blessed sword, now located at the Royal Armory in Madrid, was given by Pope Eugene IV to King John II of Castile in 1446.

The earliest recipient of a pontifical sword and hat who is known for certain was Fortiguerra Fortiguerri, a gonfaloniere of the Republic of Lucca, who received it from Pope Urban VI in 1386.

[10] Lord Twining dismissed this proposition as legendary, but accepted that the tradition originated with Pope Paul I's gift of a sword to King Pepin the Short of the Franks in 758.

During the 15th century, popes gradually moved from the practice of presenting the swords and hats to noblemen or princes visiting Rome at Christmas time towards sending them to distant monarchs as either reward or encouragement to defend Christendom and the interests of the Catholic Church.

The accompanying scabbard and belt were similarly sumptuous and ornate, covered in velvet and studded with precious stones,[3] and also bore the papal coat of arms.

The pope, vested in an alb, amice, cincture and white stole, blessed both items held before him by a kneeling chamberlain by reciting a short prayer, the earliest form of which is attributed to Sixtus IV (r. 1471–1481).

Then, the pope sprinkled the sword and hat with holy water and incensed them thrice before putting on a cappa (a long train of crimson silk) and proceeding to the basilica.

Dressed in a surplice over his secular robes, the recipient was brought before the pope, who addressed him with Sixtus IV's brief Solent Romani pontifices, explaining the symbolism of the gift.

As the matins ended, the recipient took leave of the pope and returned to his residence in Rome, preceded by a man-at-arms carrying the blessed sword and hat, and followed by cardinals, prelates, papal chamberlains, ambassadors to the Holy See, friends and retinue.

[25] If the prospective honouree was absent at the ceremony, the sword and hat, after being blessed, were carried by the chamberlain before the cross in the procession and placed on the epistle side of the altar in the basilica.

[25] The emissary, entrusted with the sword and hat, instructed about the proper protocol, equipped with the pope's letter to the honouree, as well as a safe conduct pass, set out with a small retinue, usually in the spring following the blessing ceremony.