To preside over mass during his visit to Ajaccio, Sunday December 15, Pope Francis wore a pink chasuble. The dozens of priests and bishops who came to attend the celebration wore one of the same color. Far from being an eccentricity, this choice meets the requirements of the Roman Missal, the document establishing the rules for the conduct of masses.
Green, white, red… Depending on the liturgical calendar, priests wear chasubles of various colors. This practice began to spread widely in the Church in the 10th century, but it was not until 1570 that these color codes were incorporated into the Roman Missal. The goal? “To express effectively and visibly what characterizes the mysteries of the faith that we celebrate and consequently the meaning of Christian life which progresses throughout the course of the liturgical year”details the dicastery for divine worship and the discipline of the sacraments.
If the pink worn by the pope in Corsica may have been surprising, it is because it appears very rarely in the liturgical calendar. Priests can only dress in this color twice a year: on the third Sunday of Advent, called Sunday of “Joy” or the corresponding Latin term. Rejoiceand the fourth Sunday of Lent, said in Latin to to rejoice“to rejoice”.
A wide palette of colors
Other colors come back much more often. This is the case of green, associated with life and hope, used for celebrations held during so-called periods. “ordinary time”extending from the baptism of Christ to Ash Wednesday, then from Pentecost to Advent.
White (or gold), associated with purity, light and divine glory, is reserved for the offices of Easter and Christmas, the feasts of Christ (except the Passion), those of the Virgin, the angels and saints who are not martyrs.
During the periods of Lent and Advent, priests wear purple to symbolize penitence and the expectation of meeting Christ. A chasuble of this color, or in certain dioceses black, can also be worn for services for the deceased.
As for red, symbol of the Holy Spirit and of self-sacrifice going as far as the donation of one’s blood, it is preferred for the feasts of martyrs, Good Friday but also Pentecost.
If these chromatic rules are common to the entire Church, they can be adapted to local customs. In Lyon, priests wear ash gray during Lent, during the week.
The exception of the reopening of Notre-Dame
The dicastery for divine worship and the discipline of the sacraments also provides for exceptions for “most solemn days”where the clergy can wear “festive and particularly beautiful liturgical vestments, even if they are not the color of the day”.
This specificity explains why members of the clergy wore white chasubles decorated with multicolored ornaments for the reopening services of Notre-Dame de Paris cathedral on December 7 and 8.
These outfits, created by Jean-Charles de Castelbajac and inspired by constituent elements of the cathedral, will be worn by the celebrants until the end of the inaugural period, that is to say until Pentecost, on 8 June 2025.