Does your parish priest wear his collar in public?

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David_B

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Does your parish priest or priests wear any sort of clerical clothing in public consistently?
 
I thought that most priests wear their collars in public when they are functioning as a priest. I have a friend who is a priest who wears street clothes to, say, the movies. And my old pastor was passionate about golf. I assume he didn’t play w/ a collar on.

Perhaps it is sometimes appropriate for a priest to wear street clothes.
 
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karisue:
I thought that most priests wear their collars in public when they are functioning as a priest. I have a friend who is a priest who wears street clothes to, say, the movies. And my old pastor was passionate about golf. I assume he didn’t play w/ a collar on.

Perhaps it is sometimes appropriate for a priest to wear street clothes.
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Perhaps it is sometimes appropriate for a priest to not wear his collar, but there is something said for the public witness of his ordination. For example whenever I see Franciscan brothers in public or sisters I am in awe of their radical committment to Our Lord.

Of course with the recent scandal it might be harder for some priests to wear their collars’ in public. Awhile back I vaguely remember hearing about a priest who said that in the past couple of years he’s worn his collar less than the last 10 years before that.

I think the public witness of our priests is very important.
 
The choices didn’t include "Most of the Time’, which is what I would answer. --KCT
 
I remarked about my former pastor (we just very recently moved). I said always, but this is not strictly true. He is a Greek Catholic monk who serves also at a RC church. When he is there he wears the collar, as well as when he is in public, when he is with us, he wears the riassa (a kind of cassok that all clergy and monastics wear). He owns no other kinds of outer garments.

In Christ,
Adam
 
David B:
Perhaps it is sometimes appropriate for a priest to not wear his collar, but there is something said for the public witness of his ordination. For example whenever I see Franciscan brothers in public or sisters I am in awe of their radical committment to Our Lord.

Of course with the recent scandal it might be harder for some priests to wear their collars’ in public. Awhile back I vaguely remember hearing about a priest who said that in the past couple of years he’s worn his collar less than the last 10 years before that.

I think the public witness of our priests is very important.
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For your amusement: My favourite priest was just telling me about goign to the movies w/ another priest last Friday night. Their movie let out at the same time as Fahrenheit 9/11. As they were walking into the lobby, there were people handing out anti-Bush pamphlets. Father took the pamphlet, glanced at it, kept walking, and when he was about 5 ft from the guy who handed it to him, he shouted out, “God bless George W Bush!” No one in the theater said anything for several seconds. Finally some punk yelled back, “God who?”

This priest is totally quiet, laid back, and unassuming. (and orthodox!) He says he would not have exhibited this out of character behaviour if he had had his collar on.

I thought the whole thing was cute.
 
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KCT:
The choices didn’t include "Most of the Time’, which is what I would answer. --KCT
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I would also like to have seen an “other” choice. There are four priests in my parish. Three wear their collars “all the time” (I imagine they don’t wear it when they are sleeping or taking a bath, but every time I’ve seen them, they’ve been wearing it.) The fourth is a “usually”, but i have seen him without it once or twice.

John
 
Everytime I have seen him he wears his collar except for the one time my wife and I had him over for dinner.

God Bless
 
I have only seen my parish priest wear the collar twice. Once at a Eucharistic congress, and once at the RE Congress in Anaheim. (Oh and once in those “official” pictures.) He never wears it for Mass. He doesn’t even like people to call him Fr.
Which makes me wonder why… Is he embarrased of being a priest or something? Does anyone else have the same experience?
 
At one parish, the priests are Conventual Franciscans, who usually wear their habits, but whom I have seen in clericals, and once one was wearing a Hawaiian shirt.

At the other, I’ve only seen one priest in clericals once, and the other two never.
 
David B:
Does your parish priest or priests wear any sort of clerical clothing in public consistently?
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Not only does the pastor of my soon to be former parish NEVER wear a collar but the ONLY thing he will wear in public is a flannel shirt. He changes as soon as possible after Mass. If you didn’t already know him or see him in vestments during Mass then you would never know he was a priest.

James
 
Our current priest always wears his Roman collar. Our last priest always wore his floor length black cassock.

Once we went out to eat with a Franciscan priest who always wears his robes. No less than three people stopped him to converse with him in this buffet fast food place BECAUSE they were in need of a priest but unable (or unwilling for whatever reason)to go to a Church. One of them he took outside and heard their confession, extracting from them a promise to return to Church that very Sunday. He said that happens nearly everytime he goes out into the world in his robes, and he considers his hobit his “invitation” to people to do just that: approach him for counsel and prayer. 👍
 
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Makerteacher:
Our current priest always wears his Roman collar. Our last priest always wore his floor length black cassock.

Once we went out to eat with a Franciscan priest who always wears his robes. No less than three people stopped him to converse with him in this buffet fast food place BECAUSE they were in need of a priest but unable (or unwilling for whatever reason)to go to a Church. One of them he took outside and heard their confession, extracting from them a promise to return to Church that very Sunday. He said that happens nearly everytime he goes out into the world in his robes, and he considers his hobit his “invitation” to people to do just that: approach him for counsel and prayer. 👍
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Wow, that is some powerful witness! I truly pray that more priests and religious do take wearing their religious habits and clericals seriously.
 
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Makerteacher:
Our current priest always wears his Roman collar. Our last priest always wore his floor length black cassock.

Once we went out to eat with a Franciscan priest who always wears his robes. No less than three people stopped him to converse with him in this buffet fast food place BECAUSE they were in need of a priest but unable (or unwilling for whatever reason)to go to a Church. One of them he took outside and heard their confession, extracting from them a promise to return to Church that very Sunday. He said that happens nearly everytime he goes out into the world in his robes, and he considers his hobit his “invitation” to people to do just that: approach him for counsel and prayer. 👍
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That’s the kind of priest that needs to give lessons on how to be a priest to other priests. 😃

It is a vocation - NOT a 9-5 job.

James
 
I’ve never seen our pastor, Fr. Eggert, without his collar(of course, he’s in his mid 70’s and that seems to be the norm in that age group), and our former parochial vicar, Fr. Dave, constantly wore a cassock, so it kinda went without saying. We have a really busy hospital and homebound ministry here, so Fr. Steve is always in his too.

Some of the stories above really shocked me, especially the one where the priest said Mass without being properly clad? I’m not sure what the rubrics are, but it would seem that the “off” time wouldn’t matter, but when they are fulfilling their primary function…

:eek:
 
My current PP is a single Anglican convert who came over after the women priests debacle. All our services have taken a turn to the traditional, we have incense at every Sunday mass. He wears clerics everywhere, usually including a big black hat.
🙂
He’s really nice and very sincere. I had loads of concerns about having an ex-Anglican, but having talked at some length I am happy enough.

My last PP was a friend of mine from school who is now vice rector at the English College at Rome. He’s a friend and we spent time together while he was in the Parish as friends (we’d visit the pub and talk stuff over etc).

He felt very strongly that everyone needed time off work and some times he just wanted to be him and not Father. I agree that the Franciscan Priest gives great example and should be an inspiration to all, but I also think we should remember our Priests are only human and have needs and emotions like all of us. I often watch Father Robert wander back to that big old presbetary all on his own after a lively RCIA session or a Catechist meeting and wonder who he goes to for advice.
 
I don’t think my pastor wears his clerical collar when he teaches taekwando. . . He does wear it when he rides his motorcycle. (How great is that? A priest who is a black belt and rides a motorcycle!!)
 
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Prometheum_x:
I don’t think my pastor wears his clerical collar when he teaches taekwando. . . He does wear it when he rides his motorcycle. (How great is that? A priest who is a black belt and rides a motorcycle!!)
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This post brings back memories. I went to a Catholic High School in New Jersey 1978 - 1982. Our Chaplain, Father Greg, always wore his collar. When he road his Harley Davidson, he also wore a leather jacket!😃
 
I’m not sure I’ve ever seen the priests in our parishes without clericals. I work on a Catholic university campus, though and those priests are completely different. The ones who have daily mass almost never wear clericals. The Jesuit who works in an office near me sometimes wears them. The dean of the undergrad portion of priesthood preparation usually does wear them, accompanied by a grey sweater and a dapper straw hat.
 
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