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# Mostly rare photographs of the very few priests who have chosen to wear the long purple or scarlet train-bearing mantle, according to rank, known as the cappa magna, are accompanied by ironic, if not downright mocking, comments and…
- URL: https://theparnassian.com/en/v-osnovnom-redkie-snimki-ochen-nemnogikh-sviashchennikov-vybravshikh-dlia-sebia-noshenie-dlinnoi-mantii-purpurnogo-ili-alogo-tsveta-v-zavisimosti-ot-sana-nazyvaemoi-cappa-magna-soprovoz/
- Published: 2020-11-27T10:32:34.000Z
- Updated: 2026-10-01T05:41:54.000Z
- Author: Alexandr Radayev
- Tags: Faith, Observations, Rome

One should not suppose that this archaic garment is worn only by the ultra-traditionalist Cardinal Burke, although remarks aimed at him on this score are quite characteristic of how the long cardinalatial cloak is perceived in general. "Burke wears this cloak to spite everyone", "Imagine what the Church will become if he is made Pope", "That money should have gone to the poor instead": the more measured arguments turn the discussion to whether certain prelates of the Church are departing from the legacy of the Second Vatican Council (1969), by retrieving the cappa magna from oblivion.

In short, in this age of virtual ethics committees, each of us has seen how some subject, such as this exotic and rare vestment of dignitaries, becomes the object of painstaking tracking and pursuit by tireless sleuths armed with every means of surveillance, from the spyglass to the photographic rifle, if only to find a pretext for bilious indignation.

To begin with, let me make clear that the "great cloak" is not a liturgical vestment but, in essence, a rich cappa choralis, intended for solemn processions and for sitting in choir rather than at the altar, that is, for attending a service rather than celebrating the liturgy. One might describe the cappa magna as a cappa parva with an incredibly long train, which must necessarily be held up from behind. It is also called a pluvial, from the word for rain, after the look of the flowing silk from which it is made, reminiscent of the movement of water and of descending streams. The cappa magna is made with a large hood, lined with silk or ermine according to the season, covering the back, shoulders and chest; this hood is put on only during penance.

When the purple or scarlet mantle of some conservative bishop is called excessively luxurious, it is worth remembering that a cloak with a seven-metre train could, until 30 November 1952, have been fifteen metres long, and in principle hardly anyone was troubled by it. Then in 1969 the cappa magna was deprived of its ermine, classified as optional, and within Rome simply declared undesirable. But in 2007 Benedict XVI issued the apostolic letter Summorum Pontificum, which lifted many of the restrictions proclaimed by John XXIII at the Second Vatican, in effect restoring the ancient liturgical tradition and, along with it, the possibility of wearing the cappa magna without reproach. Otherwise, what next: would someone propose tomorrow that we give up Latin?

If I were asked, I would request the return of the rich portable papal throne, the Sedia Gestatoria, borne aloft on the shoulders of twelve men; of the flabella, the huge round and star-shaped fans of peacock feathers beside the Pope's throne; and of course of the triple tiara, now serving a long sentence in the papal treasury. Yes, this is far better than vestments sewn from potato sacks, and yes, the return of the pluvial does not necessarily signal the triumphal march of archaic clericalism.

To read this magnificent, sumptuous cloak, which can be stretched out to the very border of the Vatican, as a reference to costume dramas such as The Borgias betrays a superficiality and a failure to understand not only the simplest ecclesiastical associations, such as "red and the blood of the martyrs", but the symbolism of vestments in general, as well as the profound symbolism and permanence of the whole liturgical tradition.

The great cappa, like many elements of the magnificent Catholic liturgy, is not merely a half-forgotten tradition but a means of non-verbal communication between the Church and the faithful, which need not be modern or topical, but must convey the values embodied in a particular sign and gesture. Can one really belittle the significance of the not merely liturgical but theological symbolism behind every element of the Church's semantic heritage, the cappa magna included?