Pope for the Pope

At the occasion of a general audience at St. Peter's Square, the managing director of the Moser glassworks, Pavel Mencl, gifted Holy Father Francis a decanter and glasses from the iconic collection, which gained its name exactly a century ago and is produced in the glassworks by hand to this day using the same techniques from the days of its inception.

In 1923, Leo Moser, the son of the founder of the glassworks, brought to the Vatican a crystal drinking set for 24 people and gifted it to the then Pope, Pius XI. The entire set numbered 218 pieces, each decorated with an engraved Papal coat of arms. The generous gift proudly presented the masterful handicraft of Karlsbad glassmakers but was also a humble and ecumenical gesture in difficult times. Let us remember that Pope Pius XI, who was in office from 1922 until 1939, repeatedly warned about Nazism and communism, which have had a tragic impact on the lives of millions of people.

^{Leo Moser in Vatican City presenting his gift to the Pope. Source: Moser archive}

A century ago, the drinking set, which the Moser glassworks has been producing since 1916, was given the name Pope. Its sophisticated cut has since then been called the papal cut. The current gift for Holy Father Francis was blown by Moser's master glass blowers into wooden moulds, and each piece was decorated with an engraved papal coat of arms.

The Pope crystal set is renowned worldwide for its noble and timeless beauty. "Its story was conveyed to Pope Francis by Václav Kolaja, the ambassador of the Czech Republic at the Holy See, who accompanied me during the audience at St. Peter's Square. Pope Francis listened to it with interest, was delighted by the gift and thanked us heartily. I was struck by his warm, human reaction when he asked with a smile whether the decanter is suitable for wine," says the managing director of Moser, Pavel Mencl.

^{Managing director of Moser, Pavel Mencl and Václav Kolaja, the ambassador of the Czech Republic at the Holy See, at presenting the Holy Father with a crystal gift. Photo © Vatican Media.}

Crystal Gifts from Moser

Moser glass is also a popular gift during the Pope's visits to our country. In 1990, president Václav Havel gifted it to Pope John Paul II when he came to visit Czechoslovakia for the first time. Glass artist Karel Bečvář recalled how envoys from the president's office came to Karlsbad before the Pope's visit and how they showed interest in one of his works, a cut crystal piece with an engraving of the Last Supper.

During Pope John Paul II's next visit to the Czech Republic in 1997, Václav Havel once again presented him with a Moser gift. At the president's request, the glassworks produced a crystal cross based on a design by who else but Karel Bečvář.

Moser glass was also gifted several times to Pope Benedict XVI. In 2005, the Archbishop of Olomouc, Jan Graubner, gifted him a crystal cross based on a design by Moser artist Jiří Rydlo.

Then, Pope Benedict XVI received further Moser gifts during his visit to the Czech Republic in 2009. President Václav Klaus and his wife Livia gifted him a bowl and two candlesticks from the Splendid collection, which Moser has been producing since 1911. Former prime minister Jan Fischer gifted the Holy Father a crystal cross created in Moser based on a design by Lukáš Jabůrek. The original cross, set with 636 Czech garnets, was perfectly cut and reflected light beautifully.