QUAERITUR: Are priests required to wear clerical dress at all times?

WDTPRS ^ | November 15, 2012 | Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

[NYer]

Ping!

[Cyman]

Oh my! That pic is from a movie adaptation of my favorite books of all time by Giovanni Guareschi the “Don Camillo “ series.

I always thought that if I won a lottery I would move heaven and earth to make a movie based on these books.

[reaganaut]

I used to play tennis with a priest (mixed doubles) and the only time I saw him out of clerical clothing was when he was playing.

[hosepipe]

Question; What is HOLY about “the” church?...
You know........ any church?..

[ArrogantBustard]

or hide as a fugitive from Obama’s Domestic Security Force during his administration’s fourth term,

Don't give him ideas!

[svcw]

hum?
Not being Catholic it’s not something I have ever thought about.
Being in Santa Barbara we have a really important mission here, and the brothers/fathers (sorry really don’t know) all wear these robes that look like brown blankets. They are so heavy and hot looking but you will see the men at the beach playing volleyball or jogging in these robes.
I think they look really uncomfortable, but of course the ones that don’t I guess I would never know.
My husband’s cousin is a Nun and she wears black (comfortable) shoes, a calf length gray skirt, white blouse, gray sweater and on occasion a short headscarf (habit?).
The only time I have seen her in a typical black dress was when she sent a picture of her at her 50 year celebration. It appeared to be a very formal affair, so maybe that’s why.
Again, it is an interesting question for Catholics.
Do Catholics consider this to be a necessary requirement for identification or just customary?

[ArrogantBustard]

Holy

The Church is completely dedicated to the worship of God and the service of His people; it is set aside for that purpose.

To the extent that the Church lives up to its calling to worship The Lord, to bring His Gospel to the people, and to lead them to salvation, it can have a spiritually pure character.

Any holiness the Church has or displays is only reflective and derivative of the absolute Holiness of God to Whom the Church is dedicated.

Thank you for asking; I hope that you have found my answer to be interesting and edifying.

[Oratam]

Why do priests never wear ‘choir dress’ anymore? When I was a kid, the halls of my paraochial school had photos of past pastors in garb I’ve never any priest wear in my 45 years.

[Gman]

I’m an Anglican Priest and can be found in a clergy shirt during my office hours, home and hospital visits and when I am out as a Police/Fire Chaplain. Cassock lots of times too.

Had a woman from the Parish once see me on a Saturday in the market where I was in shorts and a yard work shirt - her comment, “Gee Father, you sure look different in clothes” did raise a few eyebrows as she is an octogenarian.

[ArrogantBustard]

Do Catholics consider this to be a necessary requirement for identification or just customary?

It's not a "necessary requirement", and Fr. Z offers some examples of situations in which wearing clerical garb would be a bad idea. The "hiding from 0bama's thugs" bit echoes some real situations out of history.

In general, though, I think it fair to say that most Catholics consider the distinctive garb a good thing. It raises the visibility of the Church and offers mute testimony to the Gospel.

[NYer]

Being in Santa Barbara we have a really important mission here, and the brothers/fathers (sorry really don’t know) all wear these robes that look like brown blankets. They are so heavy and hot looking but you will see the men at the beach playing volleyball or jogging in these robes.

Well, let's begin with the distinction between a catholic 'brother' and a 'priest'. A Catholic priest is someone who is ordained and may celebrate the sacraments of the Church (apart from Holy Orders which is the responsibility of a bishop). A brother is a member of a religious congregation or order; he is not ordained but does take the vows of poverty, chastity and obedience. He cannot celebrate the sacraments (apart from baptism in the case of an emergency).

Given the description "robes that look like brown blankets", you are probably referring to the Franciscan Friars of Santa Barbara.

Franciscan friars first came to the west coast in 1769, with the arrival of Franciscan Friar Blessed Junipero Serra in California. Franciscans from Mexico and Spain continued Serra's work, establishing a total of twenty-one missions from San Diego to the San Francisco Bay region. In 1872, friars from Germany arrived in California and founded a number rural and urban parishes. By 1915, the Province of St. Barbara had been formally established by the Franciscan Order.
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[svcw]

That’s it.
The weather here is so nice all the time, they just look so hot.
Thanks for the explanation.

[svcw]

Makes sense, thanks

[ArrogantBustard]

Many years ago, I spent Sunday mornings dressed like this:

It's not as bad as it looks. Except in August. With lots of floodlights on the sanctuary.

Did I mention the church wasn't air conditioned?

It was great in the winter.

[siamesecats]

I have worked for a Catholic Priest for over three years now, and the answer is no. They get days off just like everyone else, and they don’t always have to wear their clerical clothes then. Sometimes it is for their own protection. There are times when they travel that it is also necessary to take identification (picture) without the collar, again for their own protection.

[elcid1970]

Don Camillo was my hero, especially when he was beating up the local communists. Read all of the Guareschi books.

“Il Prete” liked his guns, too.

[trebb]

I lived next to a rectory. The younger priest would ride his mower around the place with cut off shorts, tee shirt, and a 6-pack of beer. The older priest was finally sent to rehab for blessing his insides with way too much of the communion wine.

[Kirkwood]

In my time, the altar boys always had their favorite cassock and surplice. If you served with someone who was bigger or smaller than you, they wouldn’t get dibs on it. You didn’t want a cassock that was short because it would look like a dress. LOL

Some were pretty frayed around the edges and were probably worn thousands of times before I became an altar boy. Maybe some were even worn by my father. They would get mended over and over, but never thrown out.

[NYer]

There are times when they travel that it is also necessary to take identification (picture) without the collar, again for their own protection.

Of course! Like you, I work at the rectory, 2 days a week, and when needed for special meetings. When our pastor's family arrived from Lebanon last month, he drove down to JFK to retrieve his family, dressed in secular garb. When I arrived this morning to work on the bulletin, he was again dressed in secular clothes but showered, shaved and changed into clericals before driving to a local catholic hospital where he says mass. On those occasions when the bishop comes, he will usually wear a cassock over his clericals.