Vestments today

So today the priest at the altar still wears most of these garments.  There is the alb, the long white undergarment, sometimes tied at the waist with a girdle.  There is the stole which denotes the wearer’s office by the way it is worn: round the neck with the ends hanging straight down for a bishop; crossed over the chest for a priest and held in place with the girdle; and over the left shoulder with the ends tied at the right side for a deacon.  Modern albs do not require a girdle and so nowadays priests usually wear their stoles hanging straight down.  The maniple is fastened over the left forearm but is not often worn today.  Over everything is the chasuble.  The only other vestment that the celebrant may wear is the amice, which is worn round the neck.  This came into use much later in order to keep the wearer warm in the unheated and draughty churches of the Middle Ages.  Modern albs often have a hood attached and this takes the place of the amice.

The biretta (square cap), like the bishop’s mitre, began as a ‘cap of state’ worn by court officials in the fourth century.

The knee-length tunic with short sleeves is still used at a Solemn Eucharist or High Mass by the deacon and subdeacon.  The deacon’s is called a dalmatic, and the subdeacon’s a tunicle.

Colours

As the vestments went out of ordinary use and were worn only by the clergy at the Eucharist, so they began to be embroidered and ornamented, as a way of honouring God.  But the custom of having different colours for the different seasons and festivals of the Church did not come in until the 12th century. 

Purple or violet, as a sign of penitence and solemn prayer, is used in Advent and Lent.  White or gold is an expression of joy, and so is kept for feasts of Our Lord, Our Lady, the Angels and all the Saints who were not martyrs.  Red, the colour of fire, is used on Pentecost (Whitsunday) when the Holy Spirit came to the Apostles in the likeness of tongues of fire.  And, being also the colour of blood, it is used for the feasts of the martyrs who gave their lives for the Faith.  Black, for mourning, is used for Requiems when the Eucharist is offered for the repose of the souls of the Faithful Departed.  In some churches purple is used for Requiems.  And green, as the symbol of life, is used during the season of Epiphany, when it represents Our Lord’s growth to manhood.  It is also used during the season of Trinity, when it represents the growth of his Church from the first Pentecost until now.