Possibly derived from the ordinary walking stick, it was first mentioned as a sign of a bishop's ruling power in 633 at the fourth Council of Toledo. French bishops adopted it in the late 8th century, and it was gradually adopted throughout Christendom.

Who were the first bishops?

The early papacy

Peter was Rome's first bishop or that he was martyred in Rome (according to tradition, he was crucified upside down) during a persecution of the Christians in the mid-60s ce.

Does the Pope carry a crosier?

Popes no longer carry a crosier and instead carry the papal ferula. ... Pope Paul VI introduced the modern papal pastoral staff, the papal ferula, in 1965. He and his successors have carried a few versions of this staff, but never a croiser.