Pope Francis has joined the list of global Christian leaders who possess a mitre handcrafted by the nuns of the Bigorski sisterhood. The mitre was presented to him by the Speaker of the Macedonian Parliament, Trajko Veljanoski, during today’s audience at the Vatican. It is a unique and luxurious hand-crafted mitre, adorned with Ohrid pearls and bearing the mark of Macedonia’s distinctive culture and artistic tradition.
The nuns from the monastery dedicated to St. George the Victorious in Rajchica, a dependency of the renowned Bigorski Monastery, created this mitre specifically for Pope Francis. To date, they have crafted approximately 700 mitres for the entire Orthodox Christian world, including those for the Ecumenical, Russian, and Jerusalem Patriarchs.
The mitre, as is well known, symbolizes the crown of thorns worn by Christ and serves as a reminder of the responsibility borne by the leader before God as the shepherd of their people. Although the Second Vatican Council abolished the tradition of wearing such mitres decades ago, the mitre was gifted as a gesture of respect and as a unique decorative item commemorating the friendship between Macedonia and the Vatican.
The Macedonian delegation’s intention was for this mitre to embody the nation’s distinctive culture and artistic tradition—something that would preserve the memory of their beautiful homeland. To achieve this, the renowned Ohrid pearl, traditionally crafted by the Tilev family, was incorporated into its design, explained the nuns from the monastery in Rajchica. Through their hands, prayers, and labor, this extraordinary mitre was created.
In addition to the mitre, the Macedonian delegation also presented Pope Francis with a deep-carved wood sculpture featuring flora and fauna from Macedonia—an artistic piece symbolizing unity.
