Wherein Pope Francis wears a maniple and kisses the foot of his predecessor

From a reader…

I have been watching the Holy Father offer Mass for the feast of St. Peter and St. Paul. It appears that he is wearing a maniple! HERE

I first notice it at 31:32.

Okay… let’s have a look. I provide the readership with a helpful arrow.

16_06_29_Francis_maniple_01

And…

16_06_29_Francis_maniple_02

Noooo… as nice as the thought is, His Holiness of Our Lord has managed to get his arm under his stole, which he raised up when he raised the book.  That happens once in a while when priests wear limp, floppy, drooping vestments.

However, in the first photo, above, note that the dalmatic is decorated with the coat-of-arms of Francis’ predecessor Benedict XVI.  Francis also wore a stole of Benedict when he was in Armenia.

Meanwhile, after Mass today Pope Francis kissed the foot of his predecessor!

16_06_29_Francis_maniple_03

Noooo… as nice as the thought is, Francis did not kiss Benedict’s foot.

16_06_29_Francis_maniple_04

He went to venerate the image of St. Peter made by Arnulfo di Cambio.  It is good to see the tiara.   They used to put a camicia griccia on the statue, but that’s long gone now.

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14 Comments

  1. CradleRevert says:

    I agree….it appears to be the stole.

    Doesn’t proper vesting dictate that the stole should have been tied down under the cincture? It seems that this confusion wouldn’t have happened had that been done.

  2. CradleRevert says: the stole should have been tied down under the cincture?

    Yes, indeed. It should have been. And it might have been… who knows. But I am pretty sure that his stole.

  3. Geoffrey says:

    My first thought was that his stole got caught up in his arm under his chasuble or something. Seems too long to be a maniple.

  4. FrAnt says:

    I am amazed at the number of vested priests who take pictures with their phones during papal masses, etc..

  5. Prayerful says:

    I hope it doesn’t seem mocking to recall how quite a few singers prohibit the use of phones during their concerts. It spoils things. It also spoils this rather more important event. Presumably, a rule of not using phones at Mass in St Peter’s Basilica applies, but really the Pope could consider saying a word or two on it. A priest should know better. [This is a rabbit hole. Big deal.]

  6. bourgja says:

    Despite the sartorial mishap, he looks like a pope here.

  7. Father K says:

    That has happened to me once or twice. If you look carefully at the second picture you can see his cincture; somehow the stole has come adrift.

  8. Matt R says:

    Just what does the camicia griccia look like?

  9. wmeyer says:

    As to polyester, can’t we just say: anathema sit?

  10. Chris Garton-Zavesky says:

    Do stoles usually have ornamented ends?

  11. frjim4321 says:

    It seems as if the dalmatics don’t match.

  12. Eric says:

    I can read Monsignor Marini’s mind.

    First picture; ” Oh NOoooo, his Holiness has that floppy stole caught on his arm, I told him not to wear that! It makes it look the maniple that I asked him to use.”

    Second picture; ” Oh great! now it’s extremely obvious. I just know that Father Z is gunna post pictures of this with some kind of arrows or something and make me look like a fool.” “In the name of the….”

  13. Supertradmum says:

    As serious as liturgical vestments are, this post cracked me up. I think it is the white arrows.

    camicia griccia ???? I assume from my bad translation that this would be a shirt (as is cami, camisole, etc. ) but what is griccia? Is that the same as silk?

  14. Supertradmum says:

    ps. or decorated silk with some sort of ornamentation?

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