o{]:¬)

Fr. Z is Moderator of the Catholic Online Forum and the ASK FATHER Question Box. The WDTPRS columns appear weekly in The Wanderer. Fr. Z lives in Rome, though he is often in the USA. He is available for retreats and conferences. E-mail
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  • 23 December 2007

    The most incredible super-splediferous ecclesiastical HAT site ever!

    CATEGORY: SESSIUNCULUM — Fr. John Zuhlsdorf @ 2:08 pm

    You simply must check this out.

    This site has pictures of every ecclesiastical hat I have ever heard of and quite a few I haven’t.

    Amazing.

    I’ve gotta get me one of these!

     



     

     

    • • • • • •

    40 Comments

    1. Amazing indeed! I’ve never seen so many ecclesiastical hats!

      Comment by Geoffrey — 23 December 2007 @ 2:43 pm
    2. Care to give us a translation, Fr Z?
      J/K, though that would make a good penance for a german-speaking confesser!

      Comment by Timothy James — 23 December 2007 @ 4:08 pm
    3. Truly amazing. Good information on heraldry too. Does anyone know of someone who does heraldry for clerics?

      Comment by Patrick — 23 December 2007 @ 4:10 pm
    4. Father,

      the one you want is the classical “bonete”, the biretta as worn in Spain. Sadly, it has fallen all but into disuse there. With the diminished use of the biretta, local varieties are also disappearing. The German one used to have four “cornua” instead of the three of the Roman one.

      Comment by Berolinensis — 23 December 2007 @ 4:36 pm
    5. Bring Back the Biretta It is not yet a casualty of modernism.

      Comment by Jim — 23 December 2007 @ 4:43 pm
    6. I say we all “pass the hat” (you’ll pardon the pun) and get one of these cursive good hats for the good Fr. Z!

      Comment by David Andrew — 23 December 2007 @ 4:53 pm
    7. Father Z,

      I’ve been doing some research on the internet and a couple of sources have said no but they did not quote any offical church documentation to support their claims. May seminarians not yet ordained to the transitional diaconate wear the pom on their biretta? One other thing, obviously they would wear it when in choir but under what other circumstances may they wear one?

      Comment by W — 23 December 2007 @ 6:09 pm
    8. Heraldry…yeah, a priest in the Diocese of Metuchen NJ, Fr. Guy Selvester:

      http://www.guyselvester.50megs.com/

      Bryan

      Comment by bryan — 23 December 2007 @ 6:21 pm
    9. Berolinensis, Fr Z.:
      I somewhere read that every cleric who finishes his doctorate in Rome gets a fourth “cornu”, but alumni of German theological faculties receive it already at their master’s, because German universities are so much more academic than the Roman ones. I am not sure if I should believe this claim – do you know more about it?

      Fr Z.: Happy Christmas, and thank you so much for your blog! I check it daily!

      Berolinensis: I understand you are from Berlin? We totally should grab a coffee (or beer) someday – I am from Potsdam! Happy Christmas to you, too!

      Comment by Victor — 23 December 2007 @ 6:28 pm
    10. Indeed the biretta has not completely gone out of use. It, in fact, never went out of use with the traditional Anglo-Catholics and, certainly, the traditional RC catholics have not relegated it to the dust bin. I am a child of the traditional Anglo-Catholic church…those awaiting the inevitable reunification with Rome. I am quite used to our priests wearing the biretta to the foot of the alter, handing it off (with a kiss to the hand) to the server (or deacon at a High Mass)...and the removal at the name of Jesus when seated in the sedilia (three times after which it remains off for good).

      Comment by Doug — 23 December 2007 @ 7:35 pm
    11. I think the Biretta is a fine tradition, but we should avoid the Burger King look:

      http://www.st-georges-warminster.org.uk/images/pagemaster/Spanish.JPG

      Comment by Malta — 23 December 2007 @ 8:23 pm
    12. Fr. Z, here is another gem I found on the link you provided supra!

      http://www.di.uniovi.es/~cueva/fotos/HonorisCausa-2.jpg

      Comment by Malta — 23 December 2007 @ 9:23 pm
    13. I would also like to hear an answer to W’s question. I’ve been given different answers by different people:

      1) Seminarians wear the same biretta as a priest and so may have a pom.
      2) Seminarians may not have a pom.
      3) College seminarians may not have a pom, but theology seminarians may.

      I have no idea which, if any of these, is correct. I’d appreciate some clarity on the matter.

      Comment by Confused Seminarian — 23 December 2007 @ 9:48 pm
    14. As far as I am aware the Church has placed no restrictions on the use of the pom on a biretta. Any distinctions between seminarians and ordained members is artificial. However one must take into account that under the 1917 CIC, the clerical state was attached to tonsure, where as in the 1983 CIC it is attached to the diaconate. Thus is the use of the biretta limited to those in the clerical state? Again the Church has never issued guideline on the matter. I believe that the pom, whether present or absent, or its size is a matter of style. What I would like to see is where those who would limit the use of the pom, by what authority do they do so.

      There are some interesting practices that people put forward as authoritative that have no basis in the rubrics. I’m not talking about liturgical abuses but rather being more strict in matters than the Church herself is. I recall a seminarian who had developed this distinction about which side of the waist the ordained or non-ordained could place the knot of their cincture. Also I was at an ordination where the MC said that you don’t put incense in the thurible for the entrance procession of Mass, only the Pope gets that. I have also seen incense in the recessional.

      When it comes to the pom, the only thing the Church has regulated is the color of the pom and who may wear which color, and even then from what I understand there is some debate.

      In choir dress it would be difficult to distinguish a seminarian, from a deacon, from a priest, unless the ordained members were wearing a fariolo, in place of this a seminarian would wear a different kind of cloak.

      Comment by Jeff — 23 December 2007 @ 10:34 pm
    15. Dear Father,
      While Christmas shopping today I saw a sight so strange that I was moved to laugh out loud, then take a few pictures…
      http://i5.tinypic.com/8c1kprm.jpg
      Do you see the thing as I did, or have I just been spending too much time reading your blog. Or is clerical attire the next new fashion?

      Comment by Melody — 23 December 2007 @ 11:13 pm
    16. Interesting, but this site did not answer a
      question that I have. Maybe it is in there someplace,
      and I missed it. Does anyone know the traditional
      form of the biretta bestowed on those being given the
      Master of Sacred Theology (Sacrae Theologiae Magister, STM)
      in the Dominican order?

      This is an honorary degree beyond the doctorate, not a “masters”
      or a normal degree biretta like that of the Dominican pictured.
      There is also a ring involved. Does anyone know the form?

      Thanks.

      Comment by Fr. Augustine Thompson O.P. — 24 December 2007 @ 12:33 am
    17. Clerical attire is not limited to actual legal clerics-this includes the biretta. Much of what a seminarian wears is determined by his diocese or by the liturgy he is participating in.

      1. The biretta of a seminarian can have a pom or not, it doesn’t really matter except for some local customs. Noonan’s book (which has errors, but is a great idea and could really be even better with an updated and corrected edition) says that seminarians do not have poms on their birettas, traditional priests tell me otherwise.

      2. The ferraioulo is not part of choir dress. Choir dress for non-prelates(generally speaking) includes cassock (with fascia and collar, of course) and surplice with biretta generally optional-especially with the NO and in practical matters with the EF as well. I know that the FSSP seminarians generally don’t wear birettas in choir.

      Comment by dominic1962 — 24 December 2007 @ 12:41 am
    18. Father Z.

      Could you do an article on “What does the Hymn Mean” Adeste Fidelis?

      Thank you.
      Have a Merry Christmas

      Comment by RomaLindy — 24 December 2007 @ 1:24 am
    19. Hey, Fr. Augustine Thompson, O.P.

      I realize that many religious priests dress like diocesan priests, and that many religous congregations founded in the past couple of centuries may indeed utilize the biretta, but I didn’t know that the religious orders had the tradition of birettas. I’m really too young to remember anything like that.

      But anyway, saying you’re right, since you are a Dominincan, don’t forget that Saint Pius V was a Dominican, and he wore the triple tiara, which is THE biretta of birettas, so to speak, for any Sacrae Theologiae Magister who also happens to be Pope: Magister_IUM. Pius V had the Fisherman’s Ring. Just joking. This has nothing to do with biretta’s or any ring.

      Aside from jokes, I’m guessing that the higher ups of the Dominicans would not tolerate even the thought of such a question as yours. I mean, the Dominican rite, along with great men such as Vansteenkiste, O.P., are largely being forgotten, along with such traditions about which you conjecture… Isn’t that true? Does any Magister come to mind that you could even ask such a question? But then, maybe your question is a sign of a revival in the Dominicans. Wow. Anything can happen. May the Lord bless you and keep you, and your parish too!

      Comment by Fr Renzo di Lorenzo — 24 December 2007 @ 1:35 am
    20. Here in Australia we call it a pom-pom.

      Comment by Sharon — 24 December 2007 @ 1:37 am
    21. Can anyone tell me who would have worn/wears the blue skullcaps?

      Thanks.

      Comment by Fr Ó Buaidhe — 24 December 2007 @ 5:13 am
    22. Jeff, Fr Z,

      According to a few seminarians I know the fariolo is allowed for seminarians but only after they have finished the philosophy stint of their course. This seems to be the common practice in Rome. They also say that Pom-poms are not allowed for seminarians in the New Rite but are allowed in the Old Rite (thus they know who is a trad by who owns a biretta with a pom-pom).

      Comment by Christian — 24 December 2007 @ 5:40 am
    23. Christian said: thus they know who is a trad by who owns a biretta with a pom-pomm

      I think anyone wearing any kind of biretta would have been shot dead in most non-trad places I know. You have a most amazing statement, indicating, perhaps, that the gravitational pull of 1962 on the N.O. is going much, MUCH faster than any of thought possible. Wow. However…

      Caveat emptor: once you acquire your biretta with a pom-pom and try to draw a line in the sand with a pom-pom, trying to make sure you know who’s who, you only get such mush that both sides will cross over to the other unwittingly. Pom-poms are like that. Nothing you can do about it.

      But maybe that is a double-reverse of the gravitational pull of 1962 and N.O., one on the other, so that this happens whatever we might think about it. The N.O. crowd might get pom-poms and the 1962 crowd might settle for no pom-poms if none are, in fact, available just then.

      Cheers. Just having fun. Here’s to you receiving an assortment of birettas (with or without pom-poms) for Christmas. Why not one with a removable/replaceable pom-pom?

      Anyway, whatever it looks like, I’d like to see as definitive a list as possible for the precise uses of the biretta.

      Comment by Fr Renzo di Lorenzo — 24 December 2007 @ 7:18 am
    24. Interested to learn that the American word for what we call pom-pom is pom! I believe the Australians call British people poms!
      Wishing you a Happy and Peaceful Christmas, Father Z!

      Comment by elizabeth mckernan — 24 December 2007 @ 9:14 am
    25. pom = P.O.H.M. = Prisoners of His/Her Majesty… in the penal colony of Australia, where the term is disparaging, although someone with generations of prisoners in their lineage is proud of it, I suppose as a way to say that they’ve been there longer than others, but, um, let’s remember the Aborigines!

      Comment by Fr Renzo di Lorenzo — 24 December 2007 @ 9:42 am
    26. Both the Ceremonies of the Roman Rite and the Celebration of the Mass (by Fortesque, O’Connell, Reid and O’Connell respectively) state that a pom-pom cannot be on a normal priest’s hat, and they cited legislation. Of course that probably isn’t still in force, and it may have even been regional. I don’t have them handy, but I do know that the former book states that a priest may have a tuft, but not a pom-pom. Not sure what the distinction is.

      Comment by Joshua — 24 December 2007 @ 9:43 am
    27. Surely the piping on a protonotary’s zuchetto is red and not purple.

      The purple biretta was granted to bishops as late as Leo XIII, I think as a reward for their expressions of good will on one of his anniversaries.

      Many of the elaborate instructions one finds in the older documents were an attempt to regulate abuses. I think many were followed only in the breach. And there is chaos now apropos ‘Ut sive sollicite’ (‘nefasta scriptio’) with so many prelates, beginning with the Pope, are bringing back suppressed items of vesture. I believe, for example, that after ‘Ut sive’ all canons were to assume a gray mozzetta if they were entitled to one. That certainly is not now the case.

      The basic problem is that once some item of vesture is formally suppressed it cannot be formally returned, since the Church would seem to be endorsing ‘triumphalism’. Silent readoption of these things must be the road to a new customary law.

      Comment by David Kubiak — 24 December 2007 @ 10:11 am
    28. @ Fr Renzo:
      The biretta is worn primarily when seated; put it on after you sit, remove it before you rise. No one standing or walking in church may wear a biretta, unless arrayed in sacred vestments (at minimum, a stole over the surplice), except that it may be worn while preaching; nor is it worn in the presence of the Blessed Sacrament exposed or in a procession of relics of the Passion.
      Even when vested, one removes the biretta when bowing, kneeling, genuflecting, making the sign of the cross, being incensed, when at the altar or assisting the Celebrant, distributing candles, ashes, or palms, giving or receiving a blessing, or carrying a relic or image; also, the biretta is not worn from the sedilia to the altar, or vice versa.

      @Joshua et al.: “The Celebration of Mass” only addresses the (non-usage of the)
      biretta, not the adornment on top. The Reid edition of “Ceremonies of the Roman
      Rite” makes a false distinction between a “tuft” (which Reid permits) and a “pom-
      pom” (which Reid forbids); I would note that some authors (e.g., McCloud) disallow
      a tassel on the biretta. Historically, once the tuft/pompon [correct spelling,
      btw] made its appearance on the biretta, the only clerics who eschewed it were
      members of religious congregations. In any case, seminarians studying for the
      secular priesthood always had the tuft/pompon on the biretta, as any old
      photograph of them will verify.

      Comment by Caeremoniarius — 24 December 2007 @ 5:24 pm
    29. Dear Prof Kubiak,
      You are correct: the piping on the PA’s zucchetto matches the trim on his
      ecclesiastical hat—red. (Cf. Inter multiplices, nn. 16-17) And yes, the
      purple biretta was a gift to the bishops from Leo XIII.

      @ all:

      The word for the Roman cloak is “ferraiolo” (old spelling, “ferraiuolo”); this
      is the narrower black cloak worn (most notably) by Christopher Reeve in the
      film “Monsignor” in the earlier part of the movie (when he portrays a simple
      priest). The large, wide Roman cloak worn by dignitaries (think of the
      prelate reading the “biglietto” at the beginning of the film “The Cardinal”) is
      the “ferraiolone” (old sp., “ferraiuolone”). As dominic1962 notes, it’s not
      part of choir dress, but of the “abito piano.”

      Comment by Caeremoniarius — 24 December 2007 @ 5:37 pm
    30. Among religious congregations the custom is to wear the biretta but without the pompon. The pompon is viewed as an adornment and as such is contrary to the vow of poverty. Members of religious orders do not wear the biretta since their habits all have hood, the exception being an academic biretta during an academic function.

      Comment by Fr. Scott Bailey, C.Ss.R. — 24 December 2007 @ 6:46 pm
    31. The various colors, other than those used by prelates, are or at one time were used by the different Roman seminaries along with variously colored cassocks. I believe the custom has fallen into disuse.

      Comment by Fr. Scott Bailey, C.Ss.R. — 24 December 2007 @ 6:52 pm
    32. Does anyone know how a biretta is folded? I have one that is collapsible but I can’t figure out how it works.

      Comment by WFW — 24 December 2007 @ 7:12 pm
    33. To Caeremoniarius and Fr Scott Bailey:

      o{]:¬)

      Sorry, Fr Z! Imitation is the highest form of compliment. It’s your fault for putting up this great post! You might start seeing birettas everywhere. And that’s not such a bad thing. Happy, Holy Christmas!

      Comment by Fr Renzo di Lorenzo — 25 December 2007 @ 7:26 am
    34. Among religious congregations the custom is to wear the biretta but without the pompon. The pompon is viewed as an adornment and as such is contrary to the vow of poverty. Members of religious orders do not wear the biretta since their habits all have hood, the exception being an academic biretta during an academic function.
      Comment by Fr. Scott Bailey, C.Ss.R.

      That was one of the problems before VatII—it is one thing for a cassock-wearing religious to use the biretta but another for a Dominican or Franciscan.

      I was alerted to the problem by one of my Angelicum profs, a friend to Fontgom