Cassocks

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Can someone tell me the difference between wearing the red cassock vs. the black cassock while serving? Is there any special meaning behind this?

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good question. I have never seen anyone but the bishops wear red. The girl in a cassock is a definate no no.
 
It depends upon the Mass being said. Usually the red cassock is reserved for a High Mass (at least in the extraordinary rite as I am accustomed to) and the black is for the Low Mass. The rubrics will stipulate the color of all vestments, even the Priests vestments.
 
Cassocks are a liturgical garment for males only, but that’s a separate issue that you can find discussed on other threads. (That said, I have seen girls in cassocks at Cathedral Masses with our Bishop, but that’s another issue too.) I have seen red cassocks on altar servers mostly in Eastern European ethnic parishes (Polish, Slavic). Back in the day I would occasionally see red cassocks on servers at Confirmations, otherwise black.
 
Today the boys and young men serving at the altar at the Easter Vigil were donned in red (EF).
 
In the fifties and sixties, red was for Sundays and black for weekdays. There were special vestments for Holy Thursday.
 
Back in the 40’s our priest bought red cassocks for the other regular altar boy and me. We wore them for all masses. It was a small country parish with only one mass on Sundays. He said another mass at a mission church. I think maybe one of the men served there.

I once had occasion to attend mass at the oldest church in Maine on All Saints Day when were traveling, again in the 40’s. It is/was a little church out in the woods. Since the priest had no server I volunteered. There were no cassocks for altar boys so I served with what I had on, including a flaming red hunting shirt. I started to take it off, but he told me to keep it on; it was cold and they had no heat.
 
Having been an altar boy pre-Vll and post Vll we wore red cassocks for solemn high masses and Christmas and Easter…probably at Confirmations and other times, but I’ve forgotten. The red cassocks also had a sort of cape thing that went over the top as well as a red sash…both of which had a gold type of fringe that hung from it.

All other times, we wore the black traditional cassock with the white surplice.

Today, the servers wear something that looks like a monks robes.
 
An old MC friend of mine said that only cardinals wear red.

I think black is better. Red has connotations that don’t suit a humble altar server.
 
Gardenman said:
Today, the servers wear something that looks like a monks robes.
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These are called albs; technically (I guess) the same piece of dress as a priest’s alb. Although from my experience with server’s albs they are cheaper quality than priests’ albs. They are worn with a cord around the waist called a cincture.
Layman said:
An old MC friend of mine said that only cardinals wear red.

I think black is better. Red has connotations that don’t suit a humble altar server.
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I think that red is the colour for cardinals only in terms of priests. At the Chrism Mass at the Cathedral the other day they wore the cassock and surplice combo. The verger wore red, the two main altar servers wore purple (as in the bishop’s shade) and the other altar servers wore black.
 
The simply reality is that this has always been a local custom, with no universal significance.
 
need_to_know said:
These are called albs; technically (I guess) the same piece of dress as a priest’s alb. Although from my experience with server’s albs they are cheaper quality than priests’ albs. They are worn with a cord around the waist called a cincture.

I think that red is the colour for cardinals only in terms of priests. At the Chrism Mass at the Cathedral the other day they wore the cassock and surplice combo. The verger wore red, the two main altar servers wore purple (as in the bishop’s shade) and the other altar servers wore black.
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I have seen someplace that the alb derives from the White Baptismal garment and is the proper vesture for laity. I don’t have a source for that and don’t remember where I read it, but it seems reasonable.
 
Joe_Kelley said:
I have seen someplace that the alb derives from the White Baptismal garment and is the proper vesture for laity. I don’t have a source for that and don’t remember where I read it, but it seems reasonable.
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USCCB GIRM 119, ¶4:
c. For the other ministers: albs or other lawfully approved attire.96

GIRM 339
339. In the dioceses of the United States of America, acolytes, altar servers, lectors, and other lay ministers may wear the alb or other suitable vesture or other appropriate and dignified clothing.

Cassocks may be determined by the bishop to be other suitable vesture for certain roles, but not for instituted ministers nor ordained ministers, per GIRM 336:
336. The sacred garment common to ordained and instituted ministers of any rank is the alb, to be tied at the waist with a cincture unless it is made so as to fit even without such. Before the alb is put on, should this not completely cover the ordinary clothing at the neck, an amice should be put on. The alb may not be replaced by a surplice, not even over a cassock, on occasions when a chasuble or dalmatic is to be worn or when, according to the norms, only a stole is worn without a chasuble or dalmatic.
 
I do not understand the premise stated below, after reading the canon that was cited.
Cassocks may be determined by the bishop to be other suitable vesture for certain roles, but not for instituted ministers nor ordained ministers, per GIRM 336.
  1. The sacred garment common to ordained and instituted ministers of any rank is the alb, to be tied at the waist with a cincture unless it is made so as to fit even without such. Before the alb is put on, should this not completely cover the ordinary clothing at the neck, an amice should be put on. The alb may not be replaced by a surplice, not even over a cassock, on occasions when a chasuble or dalmatic is to be worn or when, according to the norms, only a stole is worn without a chasuble or dalmatic.
Click to expand...
 
Mattapoisett64 said:
Cassocks are a liturgical garment for males only, but that’s a separate issue that you can find discussed on other threads. (That said, I have seen girls in cassocks at Cathedral Masses with our Bishop, but that’s another issue too.) I have seen red cassocks on altar servers mostly in Eastern European ethnic parishes (Polish, Slavic). Back in the day I would occasionally see red cassocks on servers at Confirmations, otherwise black.
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do have official documentation of this? We have cassocks in our parish and alot of female servers. Thanks!
 
Chatter163 said:
I do not understand the premise stated below, after reading the canon that was cited.
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It points out that instituted ministers (Read as Minor Orders) wear the alb, as do ordained ministers (Deacon, Priest, Bishop). the other canons cited show that altar servers may be vested in “other suitable vestments” determined by the bishop; not so the Acolytes and Lectors, nor the clerics.
 
Hello all!
At my parish (St. Patrick’s - Columbus,OH), we wear the black cassock during ordinary time for regular weekday and Sunday Masses and we wear red for feasts, solemnities, Holy days, the patronal feast of St. Patrick, etc… basically for special occasion Masses. I hope this helps.

God Bless!
 
The most common occurence of purple cassocks in the 40s and 50s were red cassocks that the nuns tried heroically, but never quite successfully, to dye black - usually because some altar boy had grown out of all the available black sizes and there wasn’t the $ to purchase a new one (or they didn’t figure it was worthwhile to do so, because no one else was going to grow tall enough to use it in the future - 😃 ).

Said he, who was that tallest altar boy.

(You could also tell because, by that time, most cassocks had snaps - the purple ones had buttons still 😃 )
 
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