Cassocks and Birettas

[Aran_Houlihan]

I would love to see priests wearing the cassock and Birettas

 

[holyfamily1]

My priest usually wears collar and pants and at benediction he wears his cassock.

 

[UncleBill]

My Byzantine Catholic priest wears the Riassa and a Skufos (the equivalent to the cassock and biretta). The priest from a local EF parish is almost always seen in jeans and a flannel work shirt, I find this rather disturbing.

 

[PacoG]

Pretty much every priest in my diocese wears none of the above, including the Bishop. I asked the Bishop once, “No cassock?”; he says no because it’s hot (this is Hawaii).

Marian priests here even just wear an Aloha shirt. I’m not sure how that works out – as I understand it, the USCCB has the task of deciding what the priests can wear, and I can’t imagine them allowing for the Aloha shirt. I can see the Bishop permitting that but I doubt the USCCB bothers micromanaging the different acceptable clerical clothes.

Anyway at the most, they’d wear the clerical shirt (I don’t even see them wear clerical suits), and I guess nobody wears the biretta because it would look odd without a full cassock.

There is a priest who does Tridentine Mass here and I’ve never even seen him in a cassock or biretta; for the Easter Vigil I think I spotted him just wearing a plain shirt, slacks and jacket.

I’m in South Texas. From February to November, our temperatures average out (and I might be slightly exaggerating) at about 95 degrees F; we have about 80 percent humidity; and the wind is this blow-dryer-like dry hot breeze coming from our south (from Mexico). However, our bishop is seen a lot in his cassock and most of the priests wear their “clericals,” the local house of Oratorian Fathers are largely seen in their cassocks and the local Franciscans in their habits.

At our parish, our pastor (a diocesan priest) wears his cassock on Sunday under his alb and chasuble.

In fact, when he took over, he told us lectors, EMHCs and ushers that if he has to wear all that, then the men can wear coat-and-tie and the women can wear nice clothes to serve at Mass. We were expected to set the example for the rest of parish. He said that if he was wearing his “Sunday best” so we had to and the parish would follow suit. And guess what, everyone at Mass is dressing better.

 

[InThePew]

I asked the Bishop once, “No cassock?”; he says no because it’s hot (this is Hawaii).

Hmmm… he could always wear a white one! I don’t personally know of any priests who wear a cassock (at least not outside of mass / liturgical events) but then given that they’re not cheap to buy, perhaps that’s not surprising.

For my part, I’m in favour of clericals (back shirt / trousers, Roman collar). Having said that, I care more about what a priest is like than what he wears. At the risk of stating the obvious, wearing a collar (or a biretta for that matter) doesn’t make a priest is any good at his job, let alone any better than his brother priest in the Hawaiian shirt. I think it’s very easy to get captured by what are comparatively minor things like clothing and lose sight of what’s actually important.

 

[rfournier103]

There are two parishes in my town, and of the 6 priests that celebrate mass with any regularity, there is ONE who wears a cassock and biretta. I think his ‘uniform’ is the coolest thing ever.

 

[rfournier103]

Hmmm… he could always wear a white one! I don’t personally know of any priests who wear a cassock (at least not outside of mass / liturgical events) but then given that they’re not cheap to buy, perhaps that’s not surprising.

For my part, I’m in favour of clericals (back shirt / trousers, Roman collar). Having said that, I care more about what a priest is like than what he wears. At the risk of stating the obvious, wearing a collar (or a biretta for that matter) doesn’t make a priest is any good at his job, let alone any better than his brother priest in the Hawaiian shirt. I think it’s very easy to get captured by what are comparatively minor things like clothing and lose sight of what’s actually important.

I agree, but I also will say that whatever one does with his life, he should look the part