Tintinnabulum

[1] It consists of a small gold bell within a golden frame crowned with the papal tiara and Keys of Heaven.

If the Pope were to say Mass within the basilica, the tintinnabulum would be used to lead the very special procession down the shrine's aisle.

[citation needed] The tintinnabulum is one of the three physical signs that indicate that a church is a lesser basilica.

[2] In the Middle Ages it served the practical function of alerting the people of Rome to the approach of the Pope during papal processions.

[citation needed] The word is attested in the Appendix Probi as "tintinabulum", castigated by the author as an incorrect Vulgar Latin form of the Classical "tintinaculum".