A short, ornamental staff whose headpiece is decorated with a coat of arms, borne before eminent ecclesiastical, magisterial and academic bodies as a symbol of jurisdiction. Properly, mazza is a club-shaped beaten silver stick carried by mazzieri (mace-beaters), and Swiss Guards, in papal chapels at bishops' consecrations, and by papal messengers. Mazzi date from at least the 12th century.New Catholic Dictionary
