Papal Mass the deacon and the subdeacon consumed the wine and the water used in the purification of the chalice. The pope then returned to the altar to finish the Mass. After the blessing, the assistant priest of the Mass published a plenary indulgence for all those in attendance. At the end of the "Last Gospel" (usually ), the pope went to the "sedia gestatoria", put on the tiara, and returned in procession as he had entered, with the same escorts. The full ceremonial detailed above has not been used since early in the pontificate of Pope Paul VI, who abolished many
History of the chair Roman chairs were of marble, also adorned with sphinxes. The curule chair was originally very similar in form to the modern folding chair, but eventually received a good deal of ornament. The most famous of the very few chairs which have come down from a remote antiquity is the reputed Chair of Saint Peter in St Peter's Basilica at Rome. The wooden portions are much decayed, but it would appear to be Byzantine work of the 6th century, and to be really an ancient sedia gestatoria. It has ivory carvings representing the labours of Hercules. A few pieces of an