What are the colors of the vestments worn by the priest at Mass?

Answer 1

For the Roman rite of Catholic Church the required colors are white, red, violet (or purple), and green.

• White vestments are worn during the Christmas and Easter seasons and at celebrations of the Lord (except of His passion), Mary, angels, saints who are not martyrs, All Saints day, and a few other specified feasts.
• Red vestments are worn on Palm Sunday, Good Friday, and other celebrations of the Lord's passion, Pentecost, the feasts of martyred saints, the evangelists and apostles.
• Violet vestments are worn in Advent and Lent and for funerals (see exceptions below).
• Green is used for everything else.

The following exceptions are allowed:

• White or black may be worn for funerals.
• There is a tradition in some places that may still be observed to wear rose (pink) vestments on "Rejoice Sunday", the 3rd Sunday of Advent, and "Be Joyful Sunday", the 4th Sunday of Lent.
• On the more solemn days, the most festive vestments available may be used regardless of color. In the United States only, this includes gold and silver vestments actually made from cloth of gold or cloth of silver.

For Ritual Masses (for example weddings, ordinations, religious professions and anniversaries of these occasions) the color for the time of year, or white, or any festive color may be used. For Penitential Masses violet is used.

Other rites within the Catholic church and other Christian denominations have their own rules, although many Anglican and Lutheran Churches use the same colors as Roman Catholic Churches.

Answer 2

Catholic AnswerThe vestments worn at Mass start with an amice, which is placed over the shoulders, then an alb, which is white, long robe is put on, and tied with a cincture. Over that the stole is put on and fastened under the cincture. Over the whole thing is a large poncho type garment called a chausable. The chausable and the stole are the color of the season, or of the Mass being celebrated. A more traditional priest would wear a small stole over his left forearm, called a maniple and a zuccheto (skullcap) and a birette, a three or four cornered hat with a pom-pom. The colors depend either on the season or the feast being celebrated. AnswerIt depends what time in the Church calender it is.

White or gold vestments are worn on all joyful festivals and celebrations such as Christmas, Easter, Weddings and Feasts of Our Lady and of those Saints who were not Martyrs.

Red, the symbol of blood and fire are worn at Pentecost, on Good Friday, and on the Feasts of Martyrs.

Purple is the symbol of Penitence and is worn during Advent and Lent. Purple may also be worn at Requiems and Funerals.

Green is worn during 'Ordinary Time' when there is no Festival or Feast being celebrated.

Black vestments may be worn at Requiems, funerals and on All Souls Day.

Rose Vestments may be worn on Gaudate Sunday in Advent and Laetare Sunday in Lent.

For the Roman rite of Catholic Church the required colors are white, red, violet (or purple), and green.

• White vestments are worn during the Christmas and Easter seasons and at celebrations of the Lord (except of His passion), Mary, angels, saints who are not martyrs, All Saints day, and a few other specified feasts.
• Red vestments are worn on Palm Sunday, Good Friday, and other celebrations of the Lord's passion, Pentecost, the feasts of martyred saints, the evangelists and apostles.
• Violet vestments are worn in Advent and Lent and for funerals (see exceptions below).
• Green is used for everything else.

The following exceptions are allowed:

• White or black may be worn for funerals.
• There is a tradition in some places that may still be observed to wear rose (pink) vestments on "Rejoice Sunday", the 3rd Sunday of Advent, and "Be Joyful Sunday", the 4th Sunday of Lent.
• On the more solemn days, the most festive vestments available may be used regardless of color. In the United States only, this includes gold and silver vestments actually made from cloth of gold or cloth of silver.

For Ritual Masses (for example weddings, ordinations, religious professions and anniversaries of these occasions) the color for the time of year, or white, or any festive color may be used. For Penitential Masses violet is used.

Other rites within the Catholic church and other Christian denominations have their own rules, although many Anglican and Lutheran Churches use the same colors as Roman Catholic Churches.

1. Advent and Lent - violet vestments
2. Christmas and Easter- white vestments
3. Pentecost season- red vestments
4. on Sundays after Pentecost- green vestments
5. on feast of Martyrs- red vestments
6. on feast of other saints, Our Lord and Our Lady- white vestments.

White on Holy Thursday, Red on Good Friday, Violet until the Easter Vigil and White at the Vigil Mass.

white--green--red-- purple--used to wear black for funerals ,but rarely nowadays.

When celebrating Mass, the priest will wear:

A cassock, which technically isn't a vestment. It is a long, close-fitting black robe that reaches to the feet and buttons all the way up the front to the top. The cassock is worn with the clerical collar.

Over the cassock is the amice, a rectangular piece of white linen that is tied around the neck and shoulders in such a way that it covers the "street clothes" (i.e., the collar of the cassock) of the priest.

Next the alb, a white tunic reaching almost as long as the cassock is put on. It is secured around the waist with a cincture (a rope, usually doubled over on itself and secured on the left side, the two ends of the rope allowed to drop down towards the feet).

Over the alb is the stole, a long piece of fabric in the liturgical color of the day. The stole is put around the neck and allowed to fall in front. It represents the yoke of a slave, indicating the priest's obligatory service to Christ and to his parish.

Over the stole is worn the chasuble, also in the liturgical color of the day. The chasuble is a large, circular cloak with a hole in the middle for the head. It forms a semi-circle over each side of the body, with free motion of the arms. It represents a priest's willingness to by martyred; it was historically worn by Biblical martyrs on their way to their deaths. It also symbolically represents the fullness of the feast at the table during Eucharist. The chasuble is only worn by the priest celebrant.

Additionally, a priest may be seen wearing a Cope, which is a processional cape worn (as you might guess) during processions, during benedictions, when giving Absolution to the dead, and for a few other offices. The chasuble is not worn with the cope; the cope is removed and the chasuble put on in its place.

Sometimes, priests go for Cassock and Surplice rather than an alb. Surplices are loose-fitting white lined vestments worn over the cassock with loose sleeves and reaching the waist or the knees. Surplices constitute "choir dress" (vestments for clergy in attendance of a Service, but not participating), but also are worn when operating in a liturgical function but not administering a sacrament (i.e. at a funeral, or Matins or Vespers). A stole can be worn over the surplice, as can the Cope when appropriate, but never a chasuble.

Some oldschool priests go for the fiddle-back chasuble rather than the circular one, which is maintained in Tridentine Rite parishes. In this case, the priest will also wear a maniple over his left arm, which will match his chasbule and stole. It historically was used as an article for cleaning one's hands, but has evolved into a simply symbolic vestment.

Answer 3

Green - Ordinary Time Violet - * Advent * Lent * Holy Saturday for liturgies other than Mass, which is not celebrated on this day. * Sacrament of Reconciliation (optional) * Third Sunday of Advent (Gaudete Sunday) * Fourth Sunday of Lent (Laetare Sunday) * Masses and offices for the dead, including All Souls' Day White - * Christmastide (from Christmas Day to the Baptism of the Lord) * Easter season * Holy Thursday * Feasts of Our Lord other than of His Passion * Feasts of Our Lady[2] * Feasts of the Angels * Feast of St. John the Apostle * Feast of the Conversion of Saint Paul * Nativity of St. John the Baptist * Feast of All Saints * Feasts of Non-martyred Saints * Weddings * Baptism Red - * Pentecost * Palm Sunday * Celebrations of the Passion of the Lord, including Good Friday * Feasts of the Holy Cross * Feasts of the Apostles and Evangelists, except St. John * Feasts of Martyred Saints, including the Holy Innocents * Confirmation Masses * Masses of deceased Popes and Cardinals. Black - (optional) * All Souls' Day * Masses and offices for the dead

Answer 4

The vestments worn by the priest match the other liturgical colours used on the altar, pulpit fall, lectern fall and so on.

The main colours are as follows:

Red: For Pentecost (representing the fire of the Holy Spirit) and for saints' days - especially when the saints were martyred (representing the saints' blood)

Purple: A dark, sombre colour used for times of penitence or self-examination aspreparation for a festival. Mostly this colour is used in Lent or Advent. It is sometimes used for other occasions too such as funerals.

White: This bright, cheerful colour is used for major festivals of praise and Thanksgiving such as Christmas and Easter, although in some churches White and Gold is used for Easter to signify its highly significant commemoration of the glorious resurrection.

Green: the colour of nature, this is a neutral colour used at all other times of the Church's year ('ordinary time').

There are some other minor variations or regional variations, but generally these are the colours you will find. Finally, the reason why churches show liturgical colours in the first place is to create an atmosphere immediately on entering the church for worship. Other ways of doing this is through having no flowers at lent (or many flowers - say, at Easter), or through suitable lighting (eg candlelight at Christmas).

Answer 5

The priest wears green during Ordinary time, a symbol of hope The priest wears white on feast days, a symbol of joy The priest wears red on feasts of martyrs, celebrating their death, and Jesus death on Good Friday. Red symbolizes blood. The priest wears red also on feasts of the Holy Spirit, as on Penticost or at confirmation. The priest wears violet during advent, a sign of penance. It is usually on the blue side The priest wears violet during lent, a sign of penance. It is usually on the purple side The priest can wear good on special occasions, like Christmas and Easter, but white is the norm. The priest can wear rose on days of rejoicing, as on Laetare and Gaudete Sunday The priest used to wear black at funerals, but now it is white, to symbolize Joy in new life

Answer 6

White is generally worn at a funeral Mass today. However, some of the more conservative parishes continue to use black.