Sedia gestatoria Sedia gestatoria The gestatorial chair ("sedia gestatoria" in Italian, lit. "chair for carrying") was a ceremonial throne on which Popes were carried on shoulders until 1978, and later replaced outdoors in part with the Popemobile. It consists of a richly adorned, silk-covered armchair, fastened on a "suppedaneum", on each side of which are two gilded rings; through these rings pass the long rods with which twelve footmen ("palafrenieri"), in red uniforms, carry the throne on their shoulders. On prior occasions, as in the case of Pope Stephen III, popes were carried on the shoulders of men. The "sedia gestatoria" is
Religion in Mali Religion in Mali Mali is an Islamic society. Almost all people from Mali are MuslimsAn estimated 90 percent of Malians are Muslim, mostly Sunni belonging to Maliki school of jurisprudence influenced with Sufism. Ahmadiyya and Shia minorities are also present. the remaining 10 percent of Malians adhere to indigenous or traditional animist beliefs or Christianity. Atheism and agnosticism are believed to be rare among Malians, most of whom practice their religion on a daily basis, although some are Deist. According to the 2005 U.S. Department of State’s annual report on religious freedom, Islam as traditionally practiced in Mali was characterized