19th Degree Cordon

The cordon is crimson, bordered with white, and worn from left to right. It teaches us that the zeal and ardor of a Grand Pontiff ought to be set off by the greatest purity of morals, perfect charity and beneficence. Where it crosses the Omega breast, embroidered in gold are twelve stars and the Greek letters Alpha and Omega. The stars upon it allude to the twelve gates of the New Jerusalem, the twelve signs of the Zodiac, the twelve fruits of the Tree of Life, the twelve tribes of Israel and the twelve Apostles. The initials of the Apostles names appear upon the gates and foundations of the New Jerusalem.