A priest wore only a stole over street clothes for a Mass I attended

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Hello everyone. I went to Mass earlier at a parish and the priest only wore a stole over his street clothes. He said at the beginning of the Mass that he did that because the air conditioning was broken and it was hot in the church. Was the Mass still valid? I’m assuming it was. I did receive the Eucharist because I assumed the Mass was still valid but I was very uncomfortable with the priest not wearing all of the vestments.
 
I wouldn’t either. I just wasn’t sure if it was allowed or not.
 
The only thing that can invalidate the Eucharist is messing with the Eucharistic formula or matter (bread and wine) when you have a validly ordained priest with proper intentions. Note that a Mass cannot be invalid - only sacraments have validity.
 
Some priests are captivated by the idea that the stole is the really important vestment (in reality, the chasuble is the mark of priesthood, but anyway). It’s trendy for such priests to eliminate the vestments other than the stole. When questioned, if they don’t give you bad theology to justify it, they claim the harsh realities of this or that condition. Nonsense is still nonsense.
 
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Have you ever worn heavy polyester vestments during July in a building that was designed to be air conditioned when the AC is broken? A little charity toward priests as human beings goes a long way.

@Holly3278 the Mass was valid, be at peace. Praying that the AC gets fixed! Nothing like this humidity.
 
@Cor_ad_Cor is right.

Just as a matter of interest for those who are inclined to know more regarding vestments -

Liturgical Vestments and the Vesting Prayers Vatican website

Redemptionis Sacramentum # 126 - Vatican website

USCCB > Prayer and Worship > The Mass > General Instruction of the Roman Missal Chapter VI: The Requisites for the Celebration of Mass

I have seen pictures of priests dressed for Mass in various places in Africa, Papua New Guinea, the Philippines, Australia - all hot and humid places.

The decision was his to make.
 
CRV said:
I have seen pictures of priests dressed for Mass in various places in Africa, Papua New Guinea, the Philippines, Australia - all hot and humid places.
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And probably with architecture and clothing to suit those conditions.
 
@CRV

Maybe I am prejudiced by my feeling of suffocation when wearing polyester.

Also, we don’t know the circumstances of the priest–he might have a tendency to faint when overheated or some other condition.
 
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These problems would also be mitigated if people would realize priests are human, and if they make a decision like like, have people pray for them rather than be keyboard warriors criticizing their decisions.
 
Perhaps the critics could become priests and show 'em how it’s done.

It’s just sad because there are communities desperate to have a priest at all while other places di have priests and complain about them.
 
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In reply to @Annie
Annie said:
And probably with architecture and clothing to suit those conditions.
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Bishop Joseph Mbatia of Nyahururu says Mass at the graduation ceremony for nursing graduates in Nairobi,

at 5:13 in video - outdoors, in full sun, Kenya

event at Singapore Expo Max Pavilion was attended by close to 3,000 members. and under floodlights too, no less

Mother Teresa Shrine at Marian Valley, Queensland, Australia

But regarding the priest at who’s Mass @Holly3278 attended, as I said above in my post - it is his decision based on factors known to him.

My purpose here is to show that in many other countries/places in the world priests do vest fully for Mass in hot and humid conditions. Perhaps they offer up their suffering for our sins or some other intention?
 
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If the Bishop is native to his hot and humid climate, he has likely adjusted to the heat, and there is some genetic predisposition in play too, the same as how I am more comfortable in chilly foggy areas near bodies of water.

A priest who is used to having air conditioning his whole life can’t just adjust like that. He may also have medical conditions the congregation aren’t privy to.
 
I was not criticizing the priest in the OP thread.

Whilst if a priest is accustomed to air conditioning or climate (going from England to Australia as an example), I can see how that would affect him. And yes, one is more accustomed to the climate where one is native, but that doesn’t meant that once fully vested they do not suffer from the heat or are affected healthwise as a result.

I was just pointing out that some priests do celebrate Masses in hot and humid conditions in refutation to Annies’ comment that they probably had architecture and clothing to suit the conditions, and I was trying to show that is not always the case.

I also stated it was HIS decision to make.

over and out.
 
Annie said:
And probably with architecture and clothing to suit those conditions.
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Yup. I’d lay odds priests who are celebrating in hot, humid conditions regularly have cotton or linen vestments, likely fairly thin ones (especially the alb).

There is also a combined garment called the chasuble-alb, which is permitted in certain circumstances (though none in the continental US) where there is a high danger of problems with heat.
 
It’s not a priest’s individual decision to decide whether or not to wear a chasuble. It’s not an optional vestment.

Bishops in hot climates used to wear chasubles-dalmatics-tunics at Mass.
 
I guess you have never seen pictures of priest saying mass on the battle field. The stole around his neck which is a sign of his priestly authority is all that is required!
 
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