Vestments in the Season of Lent : 4

In this Holy Season, we are pleased to present a set of penitential vestments, made for a returning American customer.

These vestments were made from an English ecclesiastical brocade, in a rich shade of violet and lined with a taffeta red in colour.  The vestments were ornamented in the Roman manner with the crimson red damask, outlined with a galloon in colours of burgundy and grey and a narrow galloon of the same colours.

Please click on the images for an enlarged view.

Enquiries.

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AMDG

A Rose by any other name but Pink

Figure 1. Pope Paul VI in 1978

wearing a rose chasuble 

made from dupion silk.
Image: L'Osservatore Romano

Twice a year, the Church breaks the tone of its penitential seasons by the use of rose-coloured vestments.  Rose-coloured vestments were never commonplace and they still are not.  Nevertheless, you will find various pronouncements these days (usually on websites) about what the real or authentic shade of rose is which is to be used for vestments.

Newsflash: there is no official shade of Rose designated by the Church, nor has there ever been.  One reason for this is rather simple: only in the nineteenth century did the process of dyeing fabric become sufficiently sophisticated to ensure that much the same shade of a colour emerged from one batch of fabric dyeing to another.

Many different colours have been deemed by the Church as acceptable as liturgical Rose.  Some of these are a salmon shade; some a silvery-pink, almost mushroom-colour; some close to what we would call Bishop's purple or fuchsia.

Another thing is certain: Bubblegum Pink is not Rose, nor has it been a traditional variation for use on these days. Whilst not intending to get into the argument as to whether the use of pink (be it vibrant or subdued) is a fitting colour for a man to wear, Bubblegum Pink certainly manifests a lamentable lack of liturgical good taste. And yet we find so many pink vestments for sale from ecclesiastical suppliers etc.

Figure 2. Pope Paul VI greeting a priest
after Mass in Saint Peter's on Laetare Sunday 1978.
Both are wearing rose 

chasubles made from dupion silk.
Image: L'Osservatore Romano

At an old post on the Blog, The New Liturgical Movement, we find a number of interesting vestments in that shade of Rose commonly found in Italy in centuries past: a salmon colour.  Go there and take a look.  But don't be mistaken about that particular shade of Rose being universal: it was used in Italy, but probably not much elsewhere.

Adjacent are two pictures of another shade of Rose.  These are sets of vestments worn by Pope S. Paul VI on Laetare Sunday, 1978. The vestments are made from dupion silk of a very subdued silvery-rose.  Ornamenting them is a column-orphrey almost fuchsia in colour.  Sadly, these vestments have not been seen in Papal Masses since :  lamentable sets of brighter pink vestments, of rather unimaginative fabric and design, have been used instead.

Below is an image of a set of Rose vestments made by the Saint Bede Studio of similar colour to the vestments of S. Paul VI.

AMDG

For the Church in an Hour of Need

O Heavenly Lord

We beseech you continually to inspire the universal Church with the spirit of truth, unity, and concord: And grant, that all who confess your Name may agree in the truth of your Holy Word, and live in unity, and godly love.

We beseech you to give grace to Francis, the Bishop of Rome and to all bishops, priests and deacons, that they may, both by their life and doctrine, set forth your true and living Word and rightly and duly administer your holy Sacraments.

We beseech you to guide and prosper those who are labouring for the spread of your Gospel among the nations, and enlighten with your Spirit all places of education and learning; that the whole world may be filled with the knowledge of your truth.

Through Christ our Lord. Amen.

Vestments in the Lenten Season : 3

For a returning customer from Canada, the Saint Bede Studio recently completed this very rich set of dark violet vestments in the Gothic Revival style.  This particular variant of the Gothic chasuble we have named Saint Austin.  It is pointed at the front and the back and reaches to the elbows.

The vestments were made from a beautiful ecclesiastical brocade, woven in the United Kingdom.  Lined in a beautiful shade of deep rose-coloured taffeta, the vestments were ornamented with one of the Studio's unique braids.  This ornate and beautiful braid Saint George is derived from elements of the designs of AWN Pugin and is woven in burgundy and taup upon a red background.

Click on the images for an enlarged view.

Enquiries : This page.

AMDG

Vestments in the Lenten Season : 2

In 2022, the Saint Bede Studio completed two sets of Gothic Revival vestments for an American customer.  One of these sets is illustrated in this post.  The chasuble is in the Studio's Saint Benet style, being a variant of the Gothic Revival form and closely based on the chasuble shape developed in the 1840s by AWN Pugin. 

These attractive vestments - intended for the Penitential Seasons - were made from a lovely brocade in a beautiful fuchsia-purple and were lined in a  crimson-red taffeta. 

The ornament is formed from one of the Studio's braids re-worked from the designs of AWN Pugin by the Studio, in colours of blue and gold upon red; this braid is called Saint Austin.

Click on the images for an enlarged view.

Enquiries : stbede62@gmail.com

AMDG