What's behind a priest's attire?
By Sylvi Capelaci, Sun Media

Jean-Charles de Castelbajac designed this chasuble, with crosses representing five continents, for a beatification ceremony in Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris.

With World Youth Day celebrations under way, all eyes will be on the Pontiff. If you've ever wondered what his big pointy cap is called, or why he wears that white caped-gown a lot, Style's Papal primer answers many of these questions.

Well, for starters, did you know that even the Pope and his clergical entourage need wardrobe designers?

But it takes an especially trained eye to craft ecclesiastical vestments with exacting appropriateness and attention to detail.

Toronto-based liturgical vestment designer David Cooper of Cooper Associates has spent the last 20 years making priests look good in their environment.

"First, I go with the priest and look at colours in the church and the architecture. Then we experiment with different styles, cloths and colours. Our goal is to convey peace and harmony in the worship context through the use of vestments that are graceful or 'full of grace,' " says Cooper.

For example, in churches with a lot of gold, he may recommend using more gold in the vestments and altar cloth to help draw the eye into the mass -- the main event.


Lighting in the church is another factor to consider. "In a poorly lit church, the brilliant sheen of a garment made from dupioni silk will stand out more than a flat wool. The down side is that the priest has to put up with the wrinkles."

He works closely with clients to design garments that reflect their personality. "On certain priests, a heavily embroidered cloth or large cowl neck may be too flamboyant."

Real men wear pink

Jean-Charles de Castelbajac designed this chasuble, with crosses representing five continents, for a beatification ceremony in Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris.

Though there are many rules governing vestments in the Catholic Church -- only the Pope is allowed to wear velvet -- there is still some degree of flexibility in design.

For a wedding ceremony, a chasuble (long gown) with decorative multi-colour tapestry orphrey (front panel) may perfectly tie together the church and priest with the colours of the wedding party."

Cooper agrees that like the fashion world, what goes around comes around. "Some of the older priests today are happy to see the younger ones embracing earlier styles such as the cassock (belted robe) and biretta (pointed square cap) that were commonly worn prior to the 1960s."

Cooper says of all the liturgical colours, the one called "rose" -- worn two Sundays in a year -- prompts the strongest reaction. "Some priests just don't like to wear pink."

He recalls one very tall and slim pastor from western Iowa "who showed us his 'pink' vestment," commenting, "All I need are rabbit slippers."

ZUCCHETTO or SKULL CAP


Priests who would shave their heads leaving only a ring of hair around the head, called a "tonsure," wore a "zucchetto" or "skull cap" to protect the bare skin.

Pope John Paul blesses the faithful during his weekly audience at the Vatican wearing a white zucchetto, white silk simar and fascia with insignia -- appropriate papal vestures for formal use outside of the mass.

SIMAR

A simar is a caped-cloak which became an official vesture in 1872. Traditionally, the simar has 33 buttons down the front representing the number of earthly years of Christ's life. There are five buttons on the cuffs representing the five wounds of Christ.

FASCIA

Or cincture, is a linen or silk rope, with knots, tassels or tufts at each end used to bind the alb (white gown worn at the altar). Only the Pope is allowed to wear insignia (papal arms in full-colour representation, trimmed with gold fringe).

Final sketches

Jean-Charles de Castelbajac designed this chasuble, with crosses representing five continents, for a beatification ceremony in Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris.

COPE

The cope is a hooded cape that is open at the front with a stylized hood at the back. It is long, richly ornamented and used for important ceremonies other than the mass. The cope originally was used as a cover to protect from rain and chilly weather. The Latin word for cope is "pluviale" which means "rain-catcher." The cope is clasped by a "morse of gold."

During a visit to Hungary, Pope John Paul wore an elaborately embroidered cope held together with a decorative "morse" appropriate for vespers (evening prayer).

MITRE & CHASUBLE & PALLIUM


The Mitre is a peaked cap tied with ribbons at the back. It has two symbols on the front and two on the back representing the four evangelists -- Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. The ribbons (like those worn by the athletic champions of ancient Greece) pre-dated the cap. The earliest mitre depiction was circa 11th Century.

Pope John Paul wears a gold chasuble and emblemed mitre for an open air mass in Bologna, Italy.

In present-day, the full-cut Gothic-style chasuble, commonly made of silk or wool with gold threads, is often worn by Pope John Paul. The "orphrey," a panel sewn on to the front of the chasuble is an optional detail. Specific colours of chasubles are worn during the various seasons, feasts and celebrations of the liturgical year.

The pallium was originally a non-ecclesiastical simple garment worn for warmth in ancient Greece, 200 BC. Today, the pallium is a loose piece worn around the neck and is a symbol of fidelity to Christ. The pallium with cross embroidery is worn only by the Pope, metropolitans and archbishops and indicates jurisdiction.

WHAT WILL THE POPE BE WEARING?

Pope John Paul wears a green chasuble for a beatification ceremony in St. Peter's Square. The Pontiff may be wearing green -- the colour worn during "ordinary" time in the liturgical season -- for his July 28 mass at Downsview Park.

If an invitation calls for "white tie" or "black tie" we know what is appropriate to wear.

Similarly in the Roman Catholic Church, there are factors that determine what the Pope will wear.

"There are two factors to be considered -- whether there is a liturgical ceremony or not," says Marc Lerman, archivist of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Toronto.

There is what is called "clergy garb" for liturgical ceremonies and "official clergy garb" for formal events. The Pope will wear the vestments for the current liturgical season and also if it's a feast day. For example, when celebrating a martyr of the church, he would wear red vestments, Lerman explains.

"For mass on the 28th -- the litergical day is called the 17th Sunday in ordinary time -- the colour for the liturgical vestments for that day will be green," says Lerman, noting there are times for large group ceremonies where the Pope will wear vestments that are close to white.

"But in all likelihood the Pope will wear green for the July 28 mass at Downsview Park and for the July 25 welcoming ceremony at the CNE he will likely wear his white, formal wear," Lerman predicts .