Frequently Asked Questions

Why do we...wear different colours in Church?

Up until the ninth century the vestments used by sacred ministers would have been white. Black had occasionally been mentioned as a colour of mourning. However, by the time of the 12th century, a colour scheme emerged in the Western Church that bears a strong resemblance to the one we use today: White for confessors, virgins and joyful days; red for martyrs, for the Holy Cross and for Pentecost; in some Churches, red was used for the feast of All Saints (as opposed to white) but this was probably due to the fact the feast was in origin the dedication of the Church of Our Lady, Queen of all Martyrs (the Church we know as the Pantheon in Rome); black was used in Advent and Lent and green for the ordinary days of the year. Violet was used on the Sundays of Advent and Lent that now require Rose pink.

Even so, there was a great deal of local variation. For instance, Florence used red and white striped vestments for the Feast of Corpus Christi, the colours of bread and wine. Blue was sometimes used in the Sarum rite for Virgins and Widows while yellow was employed for confessors.

It was not until 1570 that Pius V introduced a scheme to be used by the whole church:

White (albus) which is worn for the seasons of Christmas and Easter, on feasts of Our Lord and of Our Lady, on feasts of angels, the feast of All Saints and the feasts of saints who are not martyrs.

Red (ruber), which represents fire and blood, is worn on the feasts of the Precious Blood, the Holy Ghost, the Holy Cross, apostles and martyrs.

Green (viridis) vestments, the colour of hope, are used for the Sundays and weekdays after Epiphany and those after Pentecost.

Violet (violaceus) the colour of penitence, is worn in Advent and Lent, and on Rogation and Ember Days (except those of Pentecost when red is worn), the season of Septuagesima and Vigils (except those of the Ascension and Pentecost).

Black (niger), the colour of mourning, is used for Good Friday and for Requiems. Exceptionally, when Masses of the day are being celebrated (away from the High Altar) when the Blessed Sacrament is being exposed for the Forty Hours Devotion, on the Commemoration of All Souls (November 2nd), violet vestments are worn instead of black.

Rose colour (color rosaceus) vestments are prescribed by the Caerimoniale Episcoporum for use in cathedral churches and may be worn elsewhere instead of violet on the third Sunday of Advent (Gaudete) and mid-Lent Sunday (Laetare); on those two Sundays the Pope blessed golden roses for presentation to Catholic queens.

White may be replaced by real cloth of silver and white, red and green, but not violet or black, by real cloth of gold. to view Bulletin's & Sermon's