CHAPTER IV.
ClNCTURE.
1. Two Kinds of Cinctures.—2. Use.—8. Who are Entitled to Wear a Cincture? — 4. Irremovable Parish Priests. — 5. Prelates Belonging to Religious Orders. — 6. Indult to Canons. —7. Livery. — 8. Altar Boys.
1. There are two kinds of cinctures, one used in ordinary daily life, the other reserved for church ceremonies and whenever the choir habit is required.
The former, five inches wide, is properly adorned with fringes at both ends. The latter, a little wider, should terminate with tassels or tufts. Both are exclusively made of silk. (a)
2. The cincture, belt, or sash (called fascia in Ceremonials and other Latin documents), (b) is for the Clergy a sign of jurisdiction, and for Prelates a mark of their dignity.
The cincture may be worn over the cassock or over the simar. But there is no obligation to wear it at home in private. The Prelate wears it at home only on extraordinary occasions, for instance, when receiving formal visits, etc.
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| A BISHOP WEARING THE SIMAR, AND CINCTURE. (note the shoe with a buckle.) |
The Cardinals, over the ordinary black cassock or over the simar, wear a red cincture of watered silk adorned with red fringes or tassels. The cincture which they use with the choir cassock matches the color of the cassock, red, purple, or rose-colored, but always has gold tassels at the ends, this being the special privilege of the Pope and Cardinals.
At ordinary times, Bishops and the Prelates di mantelletta are entitled to wear a purple cincture of plain silk over the choir cassock, the ordinary black cassock and the simar. When they wear mourning (black cassock with purple trimmings), they put on a cincture of plain black silk with fringes or tufts of the same color. (c) The cincture of the Prelates di mantellone is of no other color than purple.
4. Irremovable parish priests, as a sign of ordinary jurisdiction, and Rectors of Seminaries as a sign of authority, are privileged to wear a black cincture of plain silk with fringes at the bottom.
5. Cardinals and Bishops belonging to Religious Orders make use of a cincture, the color of which matches that of the cassock, unless special regulations or the traditions of the Order are in opposition to this general rule, as is the case for the Carmelite Cardinals, who wear a purple cincture. Whatever be the color of the cincture, its material is silk, the cincture being one of the accessories of the costume, in which silk is permitted to Religious Prelates.
6. The cincture is conceded by special favor to some' Chapters. But in this case as in that of all other insignia granted to Chapters, the express terms of the concession must be observed strictly, and, unless determined otherwise, the use of the cincture is not permitted outside the limits of the diocese.
7. All who wear a purple cassock as a sign of Livery or domesticity, should wear also a purple cincture. The only exception is in the case of Seminarians, (d) because these wear over their purple cassock an upper garment called soprana, much like the mantellone.
8. The Sacred Congregation of Bites forbids the wearing of a cincture by altar boys. (e)
(a) Barbier de Montault, op. cit., Tom. I., pp. 91, seq., 285, 286.—According to general principles, the cinctures of the Pope end Cardinals are made of watered silk. The other Prelates should content themselves with cinctures of plain silk.
(b) Cfr. for lnet. Pius X's motu proprio "Inter multiplioes," given in Appendix.
(c) Barbier de Montault, op. cit., Tom. I., p. 285.
(d) Caer. Episc. I., v., 2, 3.—S. R. C, April 8, 1900.
(e) S. R. C, July 0, 1859.
