With 15 New Cardinals, Tailors Seeing Red
ABC News
By DANIELA PETROFF AP Fashion Writer
VATICAN CITY Mar 23, 2014 (AP)— Rome’s ecclesiastical tailors are seeing red these days, but they’re not complaining. The tailors are busy putting the final touches on the crimson outfits the Roman Catholic Church’s 15 new cardinals will don at Friday’s ceremony elevating them to the top ranks of church hierarchy.
Once the almost exclusive domain of the Gammarelli family, papal tailors for the past 200 years, high-end clerical tailoring is now more spread out
“We haven’t gotten much sleep lately,” said Francesco Cattaneo, whose family runs an ecclesiastical shop near St. Peter’s Square. They have been commissioned to outfit several of the new “princes” of the church, and last-minute fittings, especially for out-of-town candidates, were still underway Wednesday.
When the cardinals show up to receive their red hats from the pope, they must be dressed from head to toe skull cap to socks in bright red. Red is the ecclesiastical color reserved for their rank as the elite band of churchmen who advise the pope and, when the time comes, elect his successor.
The regal color represents not only the dignity of the office, but also the candidate’s readiness to sacrifice his life for the sake of the church.
In the elevation ceremony, as the pope places the three-cornered red “biretta” symbol of his rank on the head of each new member of the College of Cardinals, he reminds him that red signifies his willingness to “act with fortitude, even to the point of spilling your blood for the increase of the Christian faith.”
The average cost of a complete cardinal’s wardrobe is around $2,500, but can reach nearly $4,000, depending on the choice of fabric and workmanship.
The basic garment for formal occasions is a red cassock girthed with a red silk sash, worn with a matching short red cape known as a “mozetta.” A white lace or linen surplice, called a rochet, completes the outfit.
Compulsory accessories include a red-and-gold braided cord to hold the pectoral cross, a red silk moire skull cap and a pair of red socks. The latter is the cheapest item in the cardinal’s closet, selling at an average of $10 a pair at most ecclesiastical clothes shops.
For everyday wear, a cardinal dons a black cassock trimmed in red, worn with a red sash, and a red skull cap.
Cardinals get most of their wardrobe from benefactors, including family and friends. The rings they will receive at a special Mass on Saturday are gifts from Benedict.
Although to some the elaborate garb might seem obsolete, the present wardrobe is almost minimalist compared to the one in vogue less than 50 years ago.
In addition to the current wardrobe, cardinals named by John XXIII, who died in 1963, also wore a princely silk cloak with an extensive train, a wide-brimmed velvet hat with braided tassel and shoes decorated with shiny gold buckles.
For Boston Archbishop Sean O’Malley, whose usual attire is the simple brown robe and sandals of his Capuchin Franciscan order, the ornate red of his new cardinal outfit seems slightly out of place. But he joked this week it might come in handy outside the church, too.
“I could always wear it if I was called on a hunting expedition with the vice president,” he said, referring to Vice President Dick Cheney’s now-infamous hunting accident. “It’s very red.”
Copyright 2014Â The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
