After arriving at the Lateran, the pope would perform his ritual possession of the church known as the possessio. The pope would cast coins at the marble seat, the sedes stercoraria, at the Lateran’s entrance. Next he would be led up to this seat, where the cardinals would raise him up to fulfill the saying: “He raised the poor from the dust, and lifts the needy from the dunghill to give them a place with princes and to assign them a seat of honor” (1 Kings 2:8, cf. Psalm 112:7-8). The pope would then remove denarii from his garb and throw them into the crowd while reciting Acts 3:6 “I have neither gold nor silver but what I have I give to you.”

This ceremony is similar to those conducted by Byzantine emperors upon their accession, illustrating Byzantine influences in Rome during this time. One interpretation of the possessio is that the coins thrown by the pope are his gift to those who had elected him, and an offering made by the possessor of the church, the pope, to its owner, the people.

Popes were crowned at the Lateran until 1870 when Rome became the secular capital of Italy.