dinal's "calotte"; after a few days the red biretta is brought to him
by a Roman prelate, with the powers of an _ablegatus_; the biretta is
conferred on him with great pomp by the head of the state. But the
conferring of the red hat always takes place at the hands of the pope in
a public consistory.

Cardinals "in petto."

Sometimes, after nominating the cardinals, the pope adds that he also
appoints a certain number of others, whose names he does not divulge,
but reserves the right of publishing at a later date. These cardinals,
whose names he conceals "in his breast," are for that reason called
cardinals _in pectore_ (Ital. _in petto_). This practice seems to go
back to Martin V., who may have had recourse to this expedient in order
to avoid the necessity of soliciting the votes of the cardinals; but for
a long time past the popes have only resorted to it for quite other
reasons. If the pope dies before making known the cardinals _in petto_,
the promotion is not valid; if he publishes them, the cardinals take
rank from the day on which they were reserved _in pectore_, the
promotion acting retrospectively, even in the matter of emoluments. This
method has sometimes been used by the popes to ensure to certain
prelates who had merit, but were poor, the means of paying the expenses
of their promotion. In March 1875 Pius IX. announced the nomination of
several cardinals _in petto_, whose names would be given in his will. It
was pointed out to the pope that this posthumous publication would not
be a pontifical act, and ran the risk of being contested, or even
declared invalid; Pius IX. gave way before this reasoning, and published
the names in a subsequent consistory (Sept. 17).

Dignity.

The dignity of the cardinals is a participation in that of the sovereign
pontiff, and as such places them above all the other ecclesiastical
dignitaries and prelates. This rank, however, has not always been
assigned to them; but was attributed to the cardinal bishops before it
was to the rest. Their common prerogative was definitively established
when they became the sole electors of the pope, at a period when the
papacy, under pontiffs like Innocent III., shone with its most brilliant
lustre. For example, at the council of Lyons in 1245 all the cardinals
took precedence of the archbishops and bishops. It was in 1245, or
perhaps the year before, that Innocent IV. granted the cardinals the
privilege of wearing the red hat; as t