What is the name of the special belt worn by Catholic priests?

Answer 1

You may be referring to the cincture, a liturgical vestment worn encircling the body around or above the waist.

The cincture is a long, rope-like cord with tassled or knotted ends, tied around the waist outside the alb. The colour may be white, or may vary according to the colour of the liturgical season.

When the cincture is tied in the front and the ends draped on either side, it is called a Roman Knot. Besides its functional role in securing the alb and stole, the cincture bears a symbolic role, signifying chastity and purity.

The Vesting Prayer recited by the priest as he wears the cincture is as follows:

"Gird me, O Lord, with the cincture of purity, and quench in my heart the fire of concupiscence, that the virtue of continence and chastity may abide in me."

On the other hand, if you refer to that which the priest wears around the back of the neck, then you mean the stole, the vestment that marks recipients of Holy Orders.

The stole is a liturgical vestment consisting of a band of colored cloth about seven and a half to nine feet long and three to four inches wide, whose ends may be straight or may broaden out. The center of the stole is worn around the back of the neck and the two ends are on the front, parallel or crossed over the breast.

The corresponding Vesting Prayer would be:

"Lord, restore the stole of immortality, which I lost through the collusion of our first parents, and, unworthy as I am to approach Thy sacred mysteries, may I yet gain eternal joy."