Posted on 06/26/2008 1:44:28 PM PDT by NYer
VATICAN CITY - The devil may wear Prada -- but the pope does not.
According to the Vatican newspaper L'Osservatore Romano, the bright red loafers that Pope Benedict XVI wears are not designed by the Milanese fashion house, as has long been rumored.
"Obviously the attribution was false," the Vatican newspaper said in its Thursday's editions.
"Such rumors are inconsistent with the simple and somber man who, on the day of his election to the papacy, showed to the faithful gathered in St. Peter's Square and to the whole world the sleeves of a modest black sweater," it said.
Fashion scrutiny
Still, Benedict's fashion sense has often drawn media attention.
Three years ago around Christmas, he showed up for his weekly public audience in St. Peter's Square wearing a fur-trimmed stocking cap that could have passed for a Santa Claus hat. The hat, as it turned out, is a "camauro," which dates back to the Middle Ages and figures in many papal portraits.
On a separate occasion, Benedict sported a sumptuous red velvet cape trimmed in ermine -- another piece of traditional papal attire that had long been abandoned.
L'Osservatore Romano said the pope's interest in clothes has nothing to do with fashion and everything to do with liturgy -- what symbolism traditional garments can bring to the Christian liturgy.
"The pope, therefore, does not wear Prada, but Christ," L'Osservatore said.
Now that is an awesome closing sentence to a silly subject. It is good to get confirmation of what I had read before, though I also doubt this will shunt the media's fascination with linking the Pope to Prada.
According to Monsignor Georg Ganswein, the Pope's private secretary, here is the significance of the red accessories: Red is the colour of martyrdom and the pope is the successor of the martyred St. Peter, and also, he wrote, "red is the colour of burning love, the colour of the fire of the Spirit."
I guess it would be un-Christian to have a Firebird, which is another term for the Phoenix, a pagan mythical creature.
“The Pope has a Camaro?”
I think it’s Camino, you know, one of those hybrid car/wannbetrucks.
Just curious, the robes and caps traditionally worn by cardinals are generally referred to as scarlet, why would the Pope’s caps or shoes be called red when they are obviously the same color?
(The Angels Wanna Wear My) Red Shoes
Elvis Costello
“Oh I used to be disgusted
and now I try to be amused.
But since their wings have got rusted,
you know, the angels wanna wear my red shoes.
But when they told me ‘bout their side of the bargain,
that’s when I knew that I could not refuse.
And I won’t get any older, now the angels wanna wear my red shoes.
I was watching while you’re dancing away.
Our love got fractured in the echo and sway.
How come everybody wants to be your friend?
You know that it still hurts me just to say it.
Oh, I know that she’s disgusted (oh why’s that)
Cause she’s feeling so abused. (oh that’s too bad)
She gets tired of the lust, (oh I’m so sad)
but it’s so hard to refuse.
How can you say that I’m too old,
when the angels have stolen my red shoes.
Oh, I said “I’m so happy, I could die.”
She said “Drop dead,” then left with another guy.
That’s what you get if you go chasing after vengeance.
Ever since you got me punctured this has been my sentence.
Oh I used to be disgusted
and now I try to be amused.
But since their wings have got rusted,
you know, the angels wanna wear my red shoes.
Red shoes, the angels wanna wear my red shoes.”
“...The buzz this has created can’t be underestimated. Pecklers notes that he was once approached by an Orthodox bishop who said “you have no idea what it has meant to us” that Benedict is wearing an ancient form of pallium, or woolen cloak. The bishop told Pecklers that the clothing change, in the bishop’s eyes, means Benedict wishes to unify the Eastern and Western churches.
You thought the cover of Vogue was influential. Many of the vestments Benedict has been wearing are in the Roman style, experts said, as opposed to the Gothic style that became more popular after the Second Vatican Council. However, Pecklers has written, sometimes Benedict picks items that combine Gothic and Roman, like the chasuble he wore on Ash Wednesday — longer in the front than the so-called “fiddle-back” chasuble of the Roman period (named for its violin-like appearance) and wider at the bottom.
“On his mind very clearly is concern about growth of secularism in the developed world, loss of faith, loss of religious conviction,” Pecklers said. “So there is clearly a sense of his returning to basic foundations, helping his flock return to what is foundational.”
Whatever Benedict wears during his trip, it will be certainly dissected by bloggers like Rocco Palmo, who writes Whispers in the Loggia, a must-read for hard-core Catholics who want to know every piece of gossip about the church and which bishop is getting transferred where.
Last night, Palmo noted what Benedict wore to a meeting with bishops at the National Shrine: a white cassock, a linen and lace white alb (the layer over the cassock, but with sleeves), a fur mozzetta (or half-poncho) and a large cross with “major bling.” Today, he said, Benedict’s vestments would be watched by Catholics intrigued by ceremonial beauty. By those who want to “understand what is hidden.” In other words, he said, “10,000 liturgy geeks.”
Then again, maybe he just can’t resist allowing himself a little showmanship. I guess that’s part of the office.
Thank you for this information. I am not surprised, given all of the gestures he has and continues to make towards the Orthodox Churches.
Whatever Benedict wears during his trip, it will be certainly dissected by bloggers like Rocco Palmo, who writes Whispers in the Loggia, a must-read for hard-core Catholics who want to know every piece of gossip about the church and which bishop is getting transferred where.
Quite true. In preparation for his trip to WYD in Australia, the specially designed vestments for the WYD Mass were sent to the Holy Father. They sported the 'Southern Cross' on the front of the chasuble and were immediately rejected by the pope.
Last night, Palmo noted what Benedict wore to a meeting with bishops at the National Shrine: a white cassock, a linen and lace white alb (the layer over the cassock, but with sleeves), a fur mozzetta (or half-poncho) and a large cross with “major bling.” Today, he said, Benedict’s vestments would be watched by Catholics intrigued by ceremonial beauty. By those who want to “understand what is hidden.” In other words, he said, “10,000 liturgy geeks.”
Only 10,000?! ; - )
"John Paul was largely not proactive in liturgical choices. He was focused more on the bigger picture than Benedict," said the Rev. Keith Pecklers, a Jesuit professor of liturgy at the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome. "Benedict has a much keener interest in liturgy."
The liturgy IS the big picture, Father!!!!!! That's why we're all here. If there wasn't any liturgy, there'd be no Church! You can't even see that when an Orthodox bishop tells you so!
Typical Jesuit!
“You can’t even see that when an Orthodox bishop tells you so!”
Sigh!!!!!!!!!!
"Are you a good Jesuit, or . . . the other kind?"
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