In Memory Benedict XVI : 13

Pentecost Sunday 2006:
tongues of flame chasuble.

During the tenure of Archbishop Piero Marini as Papal Master of Ceremonies, Pope Benedict was given vestments and mitres to wear which were somewhat avant garde.  The latter years of the reign of John Paul II saw the happy return of that form of decoration which is distinctly Roman and has, indeed, been the distinctive decoration of chasubles for over a thousand years: the TAU.

Puzzlingly, however, with the accession of Benedict XVI, very few TAU-ornamented chasubles were seen: quite disappointing.

The early Benedictine chasubles were all extremely ample and were often ornamented in rather inventive ways.  Certainly the focus was on the appearance of the fabric rather than its ornamentation.  Some of these chasubles featured highly-stylised collars, which were inconvenient and overly-prominent.  Furthermore, these chasubles were just a little too cumbersome to wear for a man of the small stature of the late Pope Benedict and when Monsignor Guido Marini was appointed Papal Master of Ceremonies, this collection of chasubles was not worn again.

This post features some of these earlier chasubles.

Midnight Mass 2006: Crosses embroidered all over the chasuble with diaper-work
around the neckline and edges of the chasuble.

A rich chasuble with embossed braid around the edging and fully lined.
The mitre matched the vestments.  May 2006.

May 2006.

A very ample chasuble made from a deep red damask: very rich.
Mass for a deceased Cardinal 2006.

Ss Peter and Paul 2006:
scarlet red chasuble with ornament in black and gold:
a matching cope was shewn in a previous post.

Good Friday 2007:
another chasuble of deep red silk, but with very simple ornament.
It struck an appropriately sombre note
for the Commemoration of the Lord's Suffering and Death.

Good Friday 2007, during the Prostration.
Pope Benedict fully clad in a crimson chasuble of noble simplicity.

Corpus Christi 2006.
A beautiful chasuble of straw-coloured silk damask.