What 1,000 years of golden roses tell us about popes’ authority and influence, from Leo IX to Leo XIV

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(The Conversation) — Almost every ceremonial object or ornament of the medieval papal monarchy has disappeared or lost its original purpose. Yet one survives: the golden rose.

On Sept. 26, 2026, during Pope Leo XIV’s visit to France, he traveled to Lourdes, home to one of the world’s most famous shrines to the Virgin Mary. After praying, Leo presented a golden rose to Our Lady of Lourdes – the fifth time he has dedicated a rose to a Marian shrine or image.

The ornate rose Leo offered to Lourdes is not that different from its medieval iterations. The oldest surviving rose is now at the Musée de Cluny in Paris and dates from the early 1300s. Both are golden, with several branches and buds .

Pope Leo XIV offered a golden rose in Lourdes as part of a four-day trip to France.

Yet who receives the roses, and why, has changed dramatically.

As a medieval historian researching the papacy, I frequently find mentions of the roses. They are ubiquitous in medieval chronicles – most of all, in papal accounting registers . The history of the roses’ beneficiaries reflects the history of the…