One of the great privileges of my work is to prepare vestments for those men preparing for ordination to the sacred priesthood. At this time of year, it seems common for ordinations to take place and I have just finished a number of commissions from deacons in Rome, Australia and the United States who have been or are about to be ordained.The first featured here was made for a deacon who had a particular desire to have a semi-conical chasuble in the English style of the mediaeval period. The most notable characteristic of the conical and semi-conical chasubles is the way they gather in horizontal folds when the wearer holds up his arms. A picture of the completed vestments, which illustrates these folds, is adjacent.
This chasuble, which is fully lined, is made from a lightweight ivory-colour damask. The orphreys are formed from straw-coloured silk damask, outlined in a quatrefoil braid in red and gold. Rectangles of gold brocade break-up the run of the orphrey. A chasuble owned by an English priest resident in the Archdiocese of Adelaide, since deceased, was the inspiration for this design. I saw it many years ago when visiting him: it was his ordination chasuble.
Click on the picture for an enlarged view.
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