The emperors of Brazil were solemnly blessed, anointed, and crowned, invested with the other items of the imperial regalia and enthroned, according to the usages of the Catholic Church, the Empire's official, established Church. The coronation of the Brazilian monarch confirmed the accession of a new emperor to the throne, and corresponded to similar rites that took place in other Christian monarchies. The two Brazilian emperors, Pedro I and Pedro II, underwent the ceremony of coronation on 1 December 1822 and 18 July 1841, respectively. Those remain the two sole acts of coronation that took place in the South American continent.

Specific usages

In Brazil, the rites of coronation generally followed the Roman ritual for the coronation of Kings, as prescribed by the Roman PontificalThe Roman rite for the coronation of a King, contained in the Roman Pontifical (Pontificale Romanum), should not be confused with the specific Rite for the coronation of a Holy Roman Emperor at the Papal Court, a rite celebrated by the Pope alone and contained in the Roman Ceremonial (Caerimoniale Romanum), the book that described the ceremonies that were exclusive to the Roman Pontiff. The coronation of the emperors of Brazil followed the rite for the coronation of a King contained in the Pontificale Romanum, that was the rite of the Roman Church for the coronation of monarchs in general. References to "king" and "kingdom", however, were adapted to "emperor" and "empire". according to its edition then in force (promulgated by Pope Benedict XIV), in its ordo titled De benedictione et coronatione Regis,The text of the Rite of the Roman Pontifical then in use is available at http://www.liturgialatina.org/pontificale/120.htm but with a few modifications, such as the natural replacement of references to king and kingdom to emperor and empire, and the bestowal of a few items of regalia not contemplated in the rite of the Roman Pontifical (the delivery of an orb, the investiture with gloves and with a ring, etc.).

While, even after the codification and uniformization of the Roman Rite following the Council of Trent, certain Catholic countries retained permission to continue using their own particular coronation rites (such as the rite of coronation of the Kings of France), the Roman ritual for the coronation of kings, as codified in the Roman Pontifical (first issued under Pope Clement VIII), became the standard coronation rite for the Latin Church, given that all liturgies included in the Roman Pontifical were prescribed for general use in the entire Roman Rite. As such, this rite was available for use by the Roman Rite bishops in Brazil and by the Brazilian monarchy, and was naturally adopted, as prescribed by the liturgical laws then in force in the Catholic Church. As with all the liturgical acts of the Roman Rite of the Catholic Church at the time, the ceremony of the coronation was conducted entirely in Latin, except for the sermon, that was preached in Portuguese, the local vernacular language.

Brazil never used the rites for the coronation of a sovereign's consort, and therefore the empresses of Brazil were not crowned, including Empress Maria Leopoldina, who was already married to Pedro I at the time of his coronation, but was not crowned alongside her husband. The country also never employed the rite for the coronation of an empress regnant,In the Roman Rite of the Catholic Church, the rite for the coronation of a queen regnant differs substantially both from the rite for the coronation of a king and also from the rite for the coronation of a queen consort. because the Brazilian monarchy was abolished in 1889 by the military coup d'état that proclaimed Brazil a republic, before Princess Imperial Isabel could succeed her father on the throne.

While other countries allowed the coronation of their monarchs while still minors and under regency, in Brazil the coronation of Emperor Pedro II (who succeeded to the crown while still a minor) only took place after the emperor had been declared of age and had assumed the personal discharge of the imperial authority.

The coronation of both emperors of Brazil took place in the then Cathedral of Rio de Janeiro, now known as the Old Cathedral, that functioned as the Imperial Chapel.

The coronation of Emperor Pedro I was presided over by the Bishop of Rio de Janeiro, Major Chaplain of the Imperial Chapel, because Brazil's only Metropolitan, the Archbishop of São Salvador da Bahia, was unavailable. The coronation of Emperor Pedro II was presided by the then Metropolitan Archbishop of São Salvador da Bahia, Primate of Brazil. All Bishops of Brazil (then few in number) were summoned to attend the ceremonies of coronation. The coronation of Pedro II was attended by six bishops in addition to the Archbishop of Salvador.

Coronation ritual

Detailed accounts of the coronations of the two Brazilian emperors exist, such as a very meticulous account of the coronation of emperor Dom Pedro II published by Rio de Janeiro's Jornal do Commercio newspaper on 20 July 1841 and in the works of historiansShubert, Guilherme. A coroação de D. Pedro I, Rio de Janeiro, Arquivo Nacional, 1973Sousa, Octavio Tarquinio de. Historia dos Fundadores do Império do Brasil, vol. II, p. 448 et seq. Another source describing the proceedings that were to be observed in the coronation of emperor Dom Pedro I, including the ceremony for the taking of civil oaths (not prescribed in the Roman Pontifical) that were to be sworn at the conclusion of the liturgy, is the document Ceremonial of the consecration and coronation of Emperor Pedro I that is to take place in the Imperial Chapel of Our Lady of Mount Carmel on the 1st day of December of the current year, that was approved by the imperial government on 20 November 1822 and is contained in a letter addressed by the Minister for the Empire, José Bonifácio de Andrada e Silva, to the imperial court's officers of arms. The said ceremonial was published in the volume of Government Decisions of the Collection of the Laws of Brazil for the year 1822. All those ceremonials and accounts of the festivities are only lacking on the question of the music that was played during the coronation liturgy (e.g. for the entrance and departure processions, etc.)

In the Empire of Brazil era, contemporaries referred to the act of coronation as the ceremony of sagração do Imperador (consecration of the emperor), in a way similar to the French habit of calling the coronation of the French monarch le sacre du roi (the king's consecration), placing emphasis in the act of consecration and anointing over the act of crowning. More formally, the rite was known to contemporaries as the ceremony of sagração e coroação (consecration and coronation), never ceasing to mention the first aspect.

As required by the Roman Pontifical, both the 1822 and the 1841 coronations took place on Sundays and, in preparation for the solemnity, the emperor fasted on the preceding Wednesday and also on the preceding Friday and Saturday.

Entrance into the church

In the early morning the emperor (in the case of Pedro I, accompanied by the empress), left the Imperial Palace of St. Christopher, the imperial residence, and went by coach, in full state and with a large military ceremonial escort, to the Imperial Palace at the City, the formal seat of government, facing the Carmelite Convent and Rio de Janeiro's Cathedral (that also functioned as the Imperial Chapel, and was the site of the coronation). From the City Palace, the emperor and his family, preceded by heralds, kings of arms, ministers of the government and officers of state went to the cathedral in solemn procession by foot.

Emperor Pedro II saluted the members of the diplomatic corps at the City Palace before the start of his coronation procession, and the procession started at 11:00 a.m. Emperor Pedro I crossed the short distance between the palace and the cathedral under a canopy borne by four knights. Emperor Pedro II left the church under a similar canopy, but none is mentioned at the entrance. However, for the coronation of Pedro II, a temporary building connecting the palace to the cathedral was built, the coronation balcony, and thus the second Brazilian emperor walked the distance between the city palace and the church in the view of the people, but inside the balcony.

The emperor wore the military uniform of a knight, complete with spurs, and, at the initial stage of the ceremony, the dress included armour and a knight's mantle over it, a knight's sword and a helmet with feathers (that left his face visible).

Once in the church, the emperor removed his helmet, and was received near the door by the Bishop of Rio de Janeiro, Major Chaplain of the Imperial Chapel, accompanied by the canons of the cathedral. The bishop sprinkled the emperor with holy water. The emperor then replaced his helmet to walk down the aisle. As part of the entrance procession, officers of state who carried the items of the regalia delivered them to the clergy when arriving at the chancel, and the clergy placed the regalia that would later be delivered to the emperor on top of the Altar table, including the imperial sword, the crown, the gloves, the ring, the orb, the rod of the Hand of Justice and the sceptre.

Having walked down the nave, and before entering the chancel, the emperor turned left, and, removing his helmet once more, entered the Chapel of the Blessed Sacrament. There he knelt in prayer, before leaving that chapel, placing his helmet once more and entering the church's chancel. The officiating prelate awaited him in a faldstool before the altar, and the emperor was met at the chancel rails by a group of the assisting bishops, who flanked him. Members of the imperial Family, including the empress consort in the case of Pedro I and other ladies of the imperial court, took their seats the honour boxes in the second floor.

Arriving at the chancel area, the emperor then mounted the imperial throne, while the bishops and other clergy, who until then were in choir dress, were vested (the presiding prelate and his accompanying ministers – assistant priests, deacons, etc. – in vestments proper for pontifical Mass, the other bishops in cope and white mitre), while reciting the prescribed vesting prayers. The emperor's domestic chaplains who were to assist him at the throne remained in choir dress. The imperial throne was permanently present in the imperial chapel, in the chancel area, under a baldachin complete with drapes, immediately next to the steps leading to the presbytery, in the Gospel side of the chancel, that is, on the left side from the perspective of someone viewing from the nave. The bishop's cathedral and its baldachin were also in the Gospel side of the chancel, but in the sanctuary, on top of the presbytery steps, very near to the imperial throne, so that the imperial throne and the episcopal cathedra stood next to each other (although the cathedra was in a more elevated position). The throne dais had one step less than the presbytery steps, so that the throne was in an elevated position, but slightly lower than the sanctuary.

When the clergy was ready, the assisting bishops came towards the throne to invite the emperor to appear before the officiating prelate, still sitting in his faldstool at the centre of the altar. The emperor then descended from the throne, and flanked by the assisting bishops, ascended the presbytery steps and, entering the sanctuary, approached the officiating prelate, kissing his hand. Immediately before mounting the presbytery steps and entering the sanctuary, the emperor removed his helmet for the final time, and delivered it to an aide. From this point on, the emperor remained bareheaded, until the moment of his crowning.

The introductory rites and prayer of solemn blessing