Gonfalone of the Church

[1] The banner was attached to a long golden rod and followed the pope in his travels, including solemn religious and civil processions, such as the feast of Corpus Christi.

Though the Holy Roman Emperor refused to recognise papal authority at the time, Alexander sought to strengthen his image via symbolic acts, such as granting the banner of St. Peter and a blessing to kings who in return offered themselves as his vassals, such as William the Conqueror before the Norman invasion.

To confirm the office's importance Pope Clement XI (1700–1721) ordered that its holder had to be escorted, in solemn procession, by the captains of the Cavalleggeri (Papal light cavalry).

In 1801, Pope Pius VII, after the Cavalleggeri were dissolved, replaced them by instituting a new body, the Noble Pontifical Guard, with the standard-bearer acting as its captain with the rank of Tenente Generale.

Finally, Pope Pius IX ordered that the office-holder was to be accorded a distinctive special collar showing the word Vexillifer and that the holder was always a member of the Papal court.