fisherman's ring

During his inauguration, Pope Francis was given the Fisherman's Ring - a symbol of his office - which Cardinal Farrell has the responsibility to destroy so it cannot be used by anyone else.

While he could still wear the white cassock of the papacy, his fisherman’s ring must be destroyed, as Benedict’s was in 2013, and his insignia must remove “all symbols of his Petrine jurisdiction.”

Benedict’s Fisherman’s Ring — the seal used for papal documents — was already destroyed, so it wouldn’t need to be.

He would also oversee the destruction of the pope's fisherman's ring, sealing the papal apartments, organising the funeral and preparing a conclave to elect a successor.

Known as the fisherman’s ring from the apostle Peter, who was a fisherman and the first pope, Francis’s version is gold-plated silver and depicts St Peter holding the keys of the Holy See.