PART II.
DIFFERENT PARTS OF THE PRELATICAL COSTUME.
In this Second Part, all the different pieces of the prelatical dress will be studied successively, each one furnishing the subject of a short and substantial chapter.
CHAPTER I.
Cassock or Soutane.
Cassock. — Prescription op Councils. — Two Kinds of Prelatial Cassocks. — Ordinary Cassock. — Choir Cassock.
All the decrees of Councils, legislating upon ecclesiastical attire, prescribe that the cassock is to be worn by all clerics in sacred Orders in the place of their residence. (b)
The decree of the Third Plenary Council of Baltimore is as follows: " . . . Volumus itaque et praecipimus ut omnes Ecclesiae legem servent, domique agentes vel in templo, veste talari, quae clerico propria est, semper utantur."— III., 77. (c)
1. The ordinary or every-day cassock.
2. The choir cassock.
Article I.
Ordinary Cassock.
1. Its Shape and Use. — 2. Pope. — 3. Cardinals.—4. Archbishops, Bishops and Prelates di Mantelletta. —5. Prelates di Mantellone. — 6. Canons. —7. Religious. — 8. Clerics Regular.
1. The ordinary cassock is that worn by Prelates in daily life, at home and in church, at private ceremonies, * such as the celebration of Low Mass, etc. In Catholic countries, it is worn out of doors.
This cassock should not be mistaken for the "simar," which will be dealt with in the following chapter.
The model of the ordinary cassock, according to Roman etiquette, is the same as that universally adopted in this country. It must be noted, however, that the front part should be made of only one piece dropping from the neck to the feet, (e) and not of two pieces (waist and skirt) sewed together, as is often done.
The sleeves are wide, and are turned up with plain cuffs without buttons.
From the neck to the feet, the front part is fastened with a row of small round buttons covered with silk.
The collar (a standing collar) is cut in front, in order to show the Roman collar.
This cassock has no train; its bottom is cut round, the front and the back being of equal length. The train is the distinctive characteristic of the choir cassock. (f)
The garment has two pockets, one on each side. Interior pockets may be added at will, but there should be no exterior pocket for the watch, Roman etiquette forbidding any metallic ornament other than the chain of the pectoral cross. The watch maybe put in the pocket of the vest, or in a special pocket on the inside of the cassock.
The ordinary cassock varies in color, according to the different degrees of the ecclesiastical hierarchy.
2. The Pope's ordinary cassock is entirely white, without trimmings of any color. The material for this cassock is brilliant silk satin, in summer, and fine cloth in winter. White watered silk is ordinarily reserved for his choir cassock. (g)
3. The ordinary cassock of Cardinals is made of black woollen material lined and trimmed with scarlet red silk. (h)
4. Archbishops, Bishops, and the Prelates di mantelletta wear the same ordinary cassock as the Cardinals; except that the trimmings and lining are of amaranth red silk, instead of scarlet. (i)
5. The Prelates di mantellone wear also the same cassock, but with purple trimmings and lining. (j)
6. Some Canons (for instance, those of Montreal, Canada,) are allowed a special cassock with red or purple trimmings (purple for those of Montreal); but this cassock should never be worn outside of the limits of the diocese in which the Chapter is constituted.
7. Religious, when promoted to Cardinalate or to the episcopal dignity, lay aside the habit of the Order and wear the cassock; but for them there is no difference of color between the ordinary cassock and the choir cassock; both cassocks are of the same color as the habit of the Order, as was said in the preceding chapter. (k)
8. Cardinals and Bishops taken from Religious Congregations or Orders of Clerics Regular follow, as regards their ordinary cassocks, the rules laid down for Prelates belonging to the secular clergy.
(a) Rubric of the Missal, Rit. serv. in celeb. Miss., n. 2.
(b) Council of Trent, Sess. XIV., Cap. VI., De Reform.
(c) .... We wish, therefore, and we command that all [ecclesiastics] keep the Law of the Church, and, whether at home or in church, always wear the cassock, which Is the proper garb for clerics."
(d) Council of Trent., Sess. XIV., Decret de Reform. Prooemium.
(e) Barbier de Montault, op. cit., Tom. I., p. 78, seq.
(f) Barbier de Montault, loc. cit. — Grimaldi, op. cit. p. 53.
(g) Grimaldi, op. cit. Ch. I. — Barbier de Montault, op. cit., Tom. I., p. 275.— Baron Gerame, Visit to Rome, letter X—J. De Narpon, Leon XIII. p. 186.
(h) Un Eveque Suffragant, op. cit., p. 13. Barbier de Montault, op. cit., Tom. I., p. 84. We may remark here, once for all, that the trimmings of the prelatlcal dress consist of a number of small ornaments, the color of which is ordinarily different from that of the principal parts of the costume. These are buttons, buttonholes, cords, stitchings, cuffs and two small strips or strings, on the back of the cassock, destined to support the sash. The lining of the garment is of the same color as the trimmings, and of the same material, plain silk.
(i) Pius X., Constit. Inter multiplied (1905), nn. 16, 17.
(j) Pius X., same Constit., n. 79.
(k) Caer. Episc. I., 1., 4.—Cap. Clerici, 15. de vita et honest. clericorum—Ferraris, Bibliotheca, Art. Epoiscopus, VII.
