"Choir" dress of ICRSP priests

[Cruikshank_s]

institute-christ-king.org/news/223/92/Confirmations-by-Bishop-Perry-at-the-Shrine/

Just a query of random interest, but I’ve noticed a number of times that when serving some liturgical functions the Institute’s priests wear either a very unique surplice or are in fact wearing a rochet underneath their surplice. Browse the images on the link and you’ll see what I’m talking about.

I’ve never seen or heard of the practice before noticing the Institute’s practice. Are there any liturgical experts who could give an explanation of it’s origin, name, regulation etc. I’d be interested in finding out what this is!

 

[nannygirl]

This is on their website under “Frequent Questions”:

In 2006, the Cardinal Archbishop of Florence, responsible for the overview of the Institute’s life, bestowed upon our priests and oblates their specific choir dress. The choir dress consists of a rochet, a mozzetta, the cross of St. Francis de Sales on a blue and white ribbon, and a biretta with a blue pom-pom. The superiors have a blue mozetta, the priests have a black mozetta with blue piping, and the oblates wear the cross and ribbon on the surplice. The blue stands for our complete dedication to the Blessed Mother and is traditionally the color shown on St. Francis de Sales in most paintings of him. The choir dress expresses the strong unity, spiritually, and identity of the Institute and adds solemnity to the liturgy.

Probably, they would be the best ones to ask. You can contact them from their website.

 

[YoungTradCath]

If you are talking about the priests’ choir dress, I don’t even see any pictures of it in the photo gallery provided. If you mean the rochet, which is usually reserved for prelates, the reason they wear that instead of a surplice–and the difference isn’t huge practically speaking–is because they are canons, I imagine. If you are talking about the long cape thing underneath the mozzetta, I believe that is just a very long version of a mantelletta. Mantellettas used to be worn by all bishops outside their dioceses and by bishops other than diocesan ordinaries in their dioceses, and by all bishops in Rome. Now they are worn by numerary protonotaries apostolic (twelve of them in Rome, a kind of monsignor). As far as I can tell, canons of the ICRSS do not wear a rochet and surplice when in choir dress.

If you are talking about the dress of the MCs, in the photo within the article itself, it looks as if the first MC is maybe wearing a rochet over his surplice. As I recall, this practice was common with cardinals in the past when they were in Rome or something. I do not know if it is currently a rubric in force for the Pontifical Solemn Mass in the EF for the MC to wear both. I believe it may have something to do with the concept that the servers at a bishop’s Mass are, in principal, members of his “household.”

 

[Cruikshank_s]

When I used the term “choir” it was pretty loose. Apologies, I was referring to what the MC was wearing. It’s clearly a rochet under his surplice, and while I know that canons have the privilege of wearing a rochet, I’ve never seen one worn underneath a surplice. (You can see the tighter fitting sleeve underneath the wider one, and if you look really close in some of them you can see another layer of lace on the skirt).

I’ll have to look at YoungTrad’s suggestion about the household idea.

 

[Nonnovi]

It’s only the MC who wears this. Pontifical MC’s have the right to wear double lace, like you describe. They’re also allowed to wear a purple cassock during liturgy if I’m not mistaken.

You can see the same here.

 

[YoungTradCath]

It’s only the MC who wears this. Pontifical MC’s have the right to wear double lace, like you describe. They’re also allowed to wear a purple cassock during liturgy if I’m not mistaken.

You can see the same here.

Thank you for that.

I also know that, in the past, cardinals and bishops were required to wear double lace (rochet over a surplice) in the presence of the Pope, who only wore rochet himself.