Friday, October 28, 2005

Suffering sartorial silliness!

(I like alliteration. So shoot me.)

Rocco's "Whispers in the Loggia" (thankfully he didn't follow through with his blog-retirement attempt) has some amazing gems. No one seems to be more clued in to the little details of Roman ecclesial life like he (Ok, no one that I know. Which means very little).

So here's two recent posts. One on the war between Gammarelli and Mancinelli on who will tailor the Papal Cassock. And the other, the Roman gossps wondering whether Benedict will don the camauro this winter (Nope, I didn't have a clue what it was either.)

Unlike some I know, my knowledge of ecclesial vesture is rather limited. I know about albs and chasubles and cassocks and stoles and surplices and fascias (um fasciae) and maniples and amices and copes and humeral veils and fiddle backs and zucchetti and mozzetti and dalmatics (This stuff just deserves to be made into a Gilbert and Sullivan ditty) . Ok. Faldas too. And the fanon ... Um. ... Somewhat limited. But all this other papal paraphernelia? I'm clueless. And the stuff that goes on sale on ebay? It boggles the mind.

[And don't tell anyone, but a few years back, this one favorite cleric we know decided to give me a birthday gift of my very first clerical shirt, while we were in Rome. I guess a kind of proleptic gesture. Which, I certainly hope, is prophetic. Gammarelli didn't carry my size. Hmph. So we got it from Euroclero. Shhh.]

[And while on subjects sartorial. How can one pass up the opportunity to mention that anecdotal tale of the election of Giuseppe Melchior Sarto, Pope (Saint) Pius X? Apparently, as the crowd in the piazza waited with bated breath for the new Pontiff to appear, someone appeared in one of the side windows making hand motions to indicate a giant scissor. Those who saw him understood that the tailor (sarto) had won!]

3 comments:

Ernesto Burden said...

Thanks for pointing me to that discussion! As silly as it seemed, the pictures were great. I'm a bit amazed that no one seems much in favor of the camauro. Having just spent three days without power in the mountains of Central Vermont early season (snowstorm), I have to say the camauro looks lovely... and besides that, I think it would totally work on Benedict.

Unknown said...

I really don't like the look of fiddle back vestments, not sure why. There are some young clerics im my diocese who just LOVE them. Maybe that is why I don't like them.

Maggie

Fr. Gaurav Shroff said...

I can't see why anyone would be opposed to the camauro. Except in South Carolina in the summer. At least it's cooled off, i.e. it's in the 60s now. :)

Maggie: fiddlebacks are fine. As long as people don't read too many theological/ecclesiological implications into someone wearing or not wearing them. But that doesn't happen now, does it? :)