Liturgical Colors
From The Catholic Guide
Liturgical colours are those specific colours which are used for vestments and hangings within the context of Catholic liturgy. The symbolism of violet, white, green, red, gold, black, rose, and other colours may serve to underline moods appropriate to a season of the liturgical year or may highlight a special occasion.
There is a distinction between the colour of the vestments worn by the clergy and their choir dress, which with a few exceptions does not change with the liturgical seasons.
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The Roman Rite
In the Roman Rite, as reformed by Pope Paul VI, the following colours are used.[1]
| Colour | Obligatory Usage | Optional Usage |
|---|---|---|
| Green | ||
| Violet |
|
|
| White |
| |
| Red |
| |
| Rose |
| |
| Black |
|
Ritual Masses are celebrated in their proper colour, in white, or in a festive colour. Masses for Various Needs, on the other hand, are celebrated in the colour proper to the day or the season or in violet if they bear a penitential character. Votive Masses are celebrated in the colour suited to the Mass itself or even in the colour proper to the day or the season.[3]
On more solemn days, festive, that is, more precious, sacred vestments may be used, even if not of the colour of the day. Such vestments may, for instance, be made from cloth of silver (permitted in the past only for white) or cloth of gold (historically allowed in place of white, red, or green). Moreover, the Conference of Bishops may determine and propose to the Apostolic See adaptations suited to the needs and culture of peoples.[4]
Regional and situational exceptions
Some particular variations:
- White may, in various English-speaking countries, be worn instead of violet or black at Funeral Masses, expressing the hope of the Resurrection, especially in the funerals of children. In countries where white is the traditional colour of mourning, as in some parts of Asia, white is the obligatory colour in Masses for the dead.
- Blue, a colour associated with the Virgin Mary, is allowed for the feast of the Immaculate Conception in some dioceses in Spain, Portugal, Mexico and South America. In the Philippines it is authorized for all feasts of the Virgin Mary, a practice followed in some other places without official authorization. There have also been unauthorized uses of blue in place of violet for the season of Advent,[5] as a symbol of expectation and hope - the blue of a new day.
- Lenten Array i.e. unbleached linen or hessian, is used in a few English Roman Catholic churches in place of violet during Lent.
- White or cloth of gold was traditionally used when celebrating a novena from 16 to 24 December in accordance with a Spanish custom that was abolished in that country in the 1950s, but that still holds in the Philippines. Further, if not enough vestments of the proper colour are available (particularly in concelebrations), white may always be substituted.
1960 form
The Roman Missal as revised by Pope John XXIII in 1962, was authorized for use as an extraordinary form of the Roman Rite by Pope Benedict XVI by the 2007 motu proprio entitled Summorum Pontificum. Pope John XXIII's revision of the Missal incorporated changes that he had made with his motu proprio Rubricarum instructum of 29 July 1960.[6] The following are the small differences between its rules for liturgical colours and the later rules:
- Violet is worn on the following occasions, of which the first four listed are not included in later editions of the Roman Missal:
- Ember days
- Rogation days
- The three Sundays before Lent, Septuagesima, Sexagesima, and Quinquagesima
- The vigils of the Immaculate Conception, Christmas, Epiphany, and the Assumption
- The Vigil of Easter and the Vigil of Pentecost, up to but not including the Mass
- The Communion service on Good Friday
- Mass on All Souls' Day if celebrated while the Blessed Sacrament is exposed
- Red is worn for the blessing of palms and the procession, but not for Mass, on Palm Sunday
- Black is worn:
- At all Requiem Masses including All Souls' Day
- At the Good Friday liturgy up to but not including the Communion service
- Rose is allowed on the two days indicated above, even where that colour has not been customary
Before 1960
- Violet was worn:
- At Masses of the Passion of the Lord
- On the feast of the Holy Innocents, unless it fell on Sunday, when red was used
- At the Blessing of Candles on the Purification BVM
- Red was worn on the following additional occasions:
- On the Octave Day of the Holy Innocents and on the feast itself, if it fell on a Sunday
- At celebrations of days within the Octave of the Feast of Saints Peter and Paul.
In 1955, Pope Pius XII revised the liturgical calendar, abolishing all octaves except those of Christmas, Easter, and Pentecost.
- White had been worn for celebrations of days within the octaves of: Christmas, Epiphany, Easter, St. Joseph, Ascension, Corpus Christi, Sacred Heart, Nativity of St. John the Baptist, Transfiguration, Assumption, All Saints, Immaculate Conception, and the Dedication of the church.
He also revised the Holy Week liturgy, introducing the use of red on Palm Sunday for the blessing of the palms and the procession (for which the colour was previously violet), but not for the Mass, and the use of violet for the Communion service on Good Friday (for which the colour was previously black).
Pope Pius X raised the rank of Sundays of ordinary time, so that on those that fell within octaves green was used instead of the colour of the octave, as had previously been the rule.[7]
The rules on liturgical colours before the time of Pope Pius X were essentially those indicated in the edition of the Roman Missal that Pope Pius V promulgated in 1570, except for the addition of feasts not included in his Missal. The scheme of colours in his Missal reflected usage that had become fixed in Rome by the twelfth century.
Byzantine Rite
The Byzantine Rite, which is used by the Eastern Catholic Churches of Byzantine Rite, does not have a universal system of colours, with the service-books of the Byzantine tradition only specifying "light" or "dark" vestments in the service books.
Some churches influenced by Western traditions have adopted a cycle of liturgical colours. The particulars may change from place to place, but generally:
| Colour | Common Usage | Other Usage/Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Gold |
| |
| Light Blue |
|
|
| Purple or Red |
| |
| Red |
|
|
| Green |
|
|
| Black |
|
|
| White |
|
|
The colours would be changed before Vespers on the eve of the day being commemorated. During Great Feasts, the colour is changed before the vespers service that begins the first day of a forefeast, and remains until the apodosis (final day of the afterfeast).
References
- ↑ Institutio Generalis Missalis Romani, no. 346; cf. text for Australia, England and Wales, United States
- ↑ The optional use of blue as a liturgical colour for feasts of our Lady is restricted to a few dioceses, as explained below.
- ↑ GIRM, 347
- ↑ GIRM, 346
- ↑ Cantica Nova Puplications, Advent Blues, editorial by Gary D. Penkala, December 2000
- ↑ Missale Romanum 1962 in PDF Format
- ↑ Rubricae generales Missalis: XVIII – De Coloribus Paramentorum in the 1920 typical edition of the Roman Missal omitted the phrase "exceptis Dominicis infra octavas occurrentibus, in quibus color octavarum servatur" found in earlier editions beginning with Pope Pius V's edition of 1570 (page 21 of the facsimile published by Libreria Editrice Vaticana in 1998 – ISBN 88-209-2547-8).
- Ordo missae celebrandae et divini officii persolvendi secundum calendarium romanum generale pro anno liturgico 2005-2006, Libreria Editrice Vaticana, 2005.
