The Tau Cross
 Symbols of Identification
& Unity
A. THE TAU AS A
FRANCISCAN SYMBOL
The early
biographies of Francis tell us that he used the Tau very often as an expression of his
devotion to the Cross of Jesus. We have copies of some of his letters in which he made the
sign of the Tau in his own hand. On the wall of the little chapel of St. Mary Magdalen at
Fonte Colombo the usual design used by the Poverello traced in red is to be found.
See: 3 Cel.
3: 828; 3 Cel. 159: 900; LM 2,9: 1347; Fior: 1907
2. The source of
Francis' devotion to this sign can be traced to the Bible, especially in Ezechiel 9:4
"Go through the city .... trace the sign of the Tau.. " This passage, often
commented upon by the Fathers and a familiar theme of medieval preaching was well known to
the faithful. St. Bonaventure in his Legenda Major 4-9:1079 sees the connection between
this text from the prophet Ezechiel and the mission of Francis: ..."according to the
text of the prophet, in signing the Tau on those men who cry and weep as a sign of
their sincere conversion to Christ."
St. Francis adopted
the sign of the Tau especially because the very shape of the letter is the same as that of
the Cross and so was a reminder to him of his Crucified Lord. Whereas the Catari or
Albigensians refused to use the sign of the Cross considering this material symbol as
unworthy to represent the redemptive work of God, Francis honored and embraced it as
representing God's love for us.
Another connection
of Francis with the sign of the Tau is his service to the lepers and the Brothers of St.
Anthony the Hermit who adminstered the lazzaretos. Their patron is often pictured as
having a staff surmounted by a Tau and on their habit was sewn the emblem of the Tau. The
Tau of the Antonians, servants of the lepers, reminded Francis of that special moment in
his conversion when he embraced the leper and he was devoted to that symbol of the
"love of Christ, who willed to be considered a leper for our sake." (Fior
25:1857)
It is interesting to
note that at least some of our earliest hermitages or small friaries of "St.
Anthony" were originally dedicated to this St. Anthony and not to the Saint "of
Padua" (e.g. Sant'Antonio del Busseto, Massa Martana, XIV century).
St. Francis was
present at the IV Lateran Council called by Pope Innocent III who had verbally approved
the Rule of the Order. On November 11, 1215 this Pope opened the Council with a discourse
which surely found an echo in the heart of Francis. The second part of this talk comments
on the above mentioned passage from Ezechiel:
The Tau is the last
letter of the Hebrew alphabet and has the form of a cross as was presented to us before
the placard written by Pilate was placed upon it. The person who bears on his forehead the
sign of the Tau shows in his way of life the splendor of the Cross-, who bears the Tau has
crucified the flesh with its vices and sins; who bears the Tau affirms by this: in nothing
else do I wish to glory except in the Cross of Our Lord Jesus Christ .... Who bears the
Tau will find mercy, in this sign of a life converted and renewed in Christ ....
Therefore, be ye champions of the Tau and of the Cross!
This appeal of Pope
Innocent .... a dramatic call for a general mobilization of Christendom for a Crusade of
conversion and penance profoundly influenced the spirituality of Francis. Obedient to the
call of the pope he signed himself with the Tau of penance. It would be his favorite
symbol reminding him and his friars of their vocation to preach penance and conversion to
Christ. This would be the Crusade of St. Francis, a crusade not of armed soldiers to
recover Jerusalem, but a crusade of penitent men from Assisi to preach to everyone:
"Do penance .... Be converted and bring forth fruits worthy of penance."
Translation and
Abridgement:
Dizionario Francescano,
Edizioni Messaggero Padova, 1983.
pg. 1785ff.
"II TOR e
Massa Martana"
Prof. Carlo Ridolfi,
400th Anniversary Leaflet
August 2, 1990
SJC - 7/14/90
B. COAT
OF ARMS,
OR SEAL, OF THE
THIRD ORDER REGULAR
OF ST.FRANCIS OF PENANCE
The Seal of the Franciscan
Order of Penance:
Crossed arms of Christ and St. Francis/
grey habit against a blue background.
Crown of thorns against a gold background
Letters O.P.C. (Ordo Penitentiae
Claustralis)
and three nails against a silver background
Shield surmounted by a regal crown and
often with the Motto: Poenitentia Coronat.
The distinguishing heraldic mark of the Franciscans of the Order of
Penance within the Franciscan Family was always the crown of thorns with the nails. This
is probably both a reference to penance and to our Patron St. Louis who brought the relics
of the crown and nails of Christ back from the Holy Land. In fact some national
Congregations of the Third Order Regular did not use the crossed arms but only the crown
and nails so as not to be confused with the friars of the First Order. For this reason in
Spain to the title of the convent was often added "of Penance": e.g. Monasterio
de San Juan" de la Penitencia."
There is also an ancient document which gives the initials of the
Order when identifying Bl. Jeremiah Lambertenghi as T.O.Cl.: Third Order Claustral for the
later more common term "Regular. "
C.
THE INITIALS "T.O.R." AND "O.P.C."
There is much confusion in writings refering to the Third Order of
St. Francis and in lists of the Saints and Blesseds of this Order. We might begin the
process of clarity by using a uniform "language" which respects the studies and
reports of recent Historical Congresses.
The initials TOF indicate the entire movement of the Franciscan
Third Order (secular and regular) from 1211 (and not 1221!) to 1323 when papal approval
was given to the "vita regolare" or community life already existing alongside
the "vita nel seculo" with the Bull "Altissimo in divinis " of
Pope John XXII dated November 18, 1323. From this date until 1978 (when Secular
Franciscans adopted the initials SFO) the Third Order Secular should be indicated by the
initials TOS while the Third Order Regular is identified by the initials TOR.
It is important to note that it is incorrect to use the date of 1447
as the origin of the TOR since this date refers only to the centralization or federation
of existing communities of the tertiaries regular in Italy. Fidelity to the truth means
the necessity to respect history. As in the case of the First Order before the official
act establishing the autonomy of both the Conventuals and Observants (1517) so in that of
the Third Order, the correct use of the identifying initials and careful use of
terminology favors clarity and fosters fraternity.
Especially, in lists of saintly Franciscan tertiaries, it is often
unclear whether they were "seculars" or "regulars." Often we discover
the absurdity that hermits, recluses, contemplatives, men and women with religious vows
are listed among the "seculars"! It would be clearer and more useful if the same
method adopted by the First Order for listing saints and blesseds were to be used. Thus,
saints and blesseds before 1323 would be listed as TOF, while identifying those belonging
to the Third Order Secular (from 1323 to the present) would be listed as TOS or SFO. Those
belonging to community or eremitical life (from 1323 to the present) would be listed as
TOR.
Even the recent idea of using the initials TOR to indicate modern
Congregations of men and women religious of the Third Order Regular of St. Francis
generates more confusion than clarity! Actually as they say "From time
immemorial" the initials TOR have been written variously all in capitals, or in small
letters (tor), or only capitalizing the first initial (Tor); very much like the writing of
the initials of the Friars Minor as OFM, ofm, Ofm. It surely ought to be possible to come
up with identifying initials which would be less ambiguous.Translation and Abridgement:
Article by L. Temperini TOR,
ANALECTA TOR, #147, 1990, p. 449
It is not known when the use of initials to identify the various
religious families was introduced. It seems that by the 14th century, the abbreviation
O.S.B. (Ordo Sancti Benedicti) for the Benedictines and that of O.F.M. (Ordo Fratrum
Minorum) for the Franciscans were already being used. The use of such identifying initials
rapidly spread among the different religious Orders and Congregations.
In the case, especially of religious women, rather than a true
"sigla" according to any established regulations, we find the initials of the
title of the Institute which often changes
depending on the language in which it is written. It is notable that
rarely do the Orders or Congregations seem too concerned about establishing such
abbreviations or official initials and so one can find variations of the initials within
the same Institute. Neither the old nor the recent Codes of Canon Law have any particular
directives in this matter. The custom of the Annuario Pontificio is to list only the
initials of male religious institutes of pontifical right.
Identifying Initials of Religious Institutes translated from: Dizionario degli Instituti di Perfezione, vol. 8, 1988
Giancarlo Rocca, p. 1487 "Sigla"
The letters: < O.P.C. > ordo poenitentiae claustralis used on
Seal/Coat of Arms of our Order; affirms our roots and continuity with the ancient ORDER OF
PENANCE renewed by St. Francis. |
D.
HABIT OF OUR ORDER
St. Francis in the Habit of the TOR Friars
All the friars and sisters of the
Franciscan Family originally
wore grey habits distinguished by their form or the shade of
grey until the change to brown or black. This was the reason for the
name of the ancient friaries in England and Scotland as convents of the
"Greyfriars" and why, until after the Vatican Council II, Franciscan Bishops
(OFM, OFMConv, TOR, except OFMCap) wore a grey episcopal cassock and cappa. Many of the
older churches in Rome show Franciscan saints in the the grey habits and sometimes in
later paintings, in the same churches, the brown or black. For example, in Rome at Sts.
Cosmas and Damian in the frescoes of St. Francis in the cloister corridors, he is shown in
the grey, pointed capuce proper to the TOR friars for centuries. Inside the basilica, the
paintings on the walls of the two "Franciscan Chapels" painted some years later
and the reliquary busts of St. Francis and Anthony exposed on great feasts, the gradual
changing to the present semi-circular front similar to the Conventuals' capuce can be
noted.
Since the 1940s various suggestions to recover the form, if not the
color, of our original habit have been made. Although there have been surveys evidencing a
desire for some change on the part of most friars responding, the decision has so far been
avoided or postponed by a call... "for further study".
Perhaps, the continuation of the process of re-affirming our
identity which has resulted in the new Rule and Constitutions which better reflect our
Franciscan, penitential spirituality will also find its expression in a religious habit
which would more easily identify us within and without the Franciscan Family.
The Habit of T.O.R.
Congregations or Fraternities
Ancient French Congregation:
by 1648 wore a habit of brown cloth, rounded hood, pointed front and back, used a
horsehair cord, discalced.
Refounded in the 19th century: Habit is a heavy light grey, capuce
pointed in back, blunt in front worn inside cord; large hood capuchin style; white cord.
Entered Order as Assumption Province in 1954 and continued use of their grey habit.
Ancient Spanish Congregation:
Similiar to the Italian Congregation's pointed capuce although over time the color of the
habit was changed from grey to a gray-brown.
Refounded- in Mallorca. Adopted the "modern" French
Congregation's habit. After entering the Order as the Immaculate Conception Province and
continued to use this style of gray habit (except when residing in Rome) until 1937 when
the Province changed to current black TOR habit. French c. 1792
Irish Congregation
(Bros. of TOR of St. Francis of Mountbellew & and the Franciscan Brothers of Brooklyn,
USA.).
Originally brown but changed to a black as being "more
acceptable for teachers. " The large scapular proved impractical in the clasroom so
was given at Investiture and then not worn again till death! Present habit of the Brooklyn
friars is same as the OFMs but in black.
South Africa: The
Congregation of the Franciscan Familiars of St. Joseph used a brown tunic, white cord,
full scapular with initials "FFJ" embroidered on it, no hood. Adopted current
black TOR habit, upon entering Order as the Vice Province of St. Joseph.
Sri Lanka: A brown
habit was given at Investiture and worn on special occasions. Brothers usually wore a
white cassock with an OFM style capuce, and a crucifix over the capuce. A 15 decade Rosary
hung from the cord. Adopted TOR style capuche with their cassock style tunic in white upon
entering the Order as the Vice Province of Our Lady of Sri Lanka.
Bronx, NY, USA : TOR
friars of San Damiano Friary permitted the use of a simple black tunic with attached
functional hood, coarse rope cord, sandals or shoes depending on the season.
Sweden: The Fraternity
of St. John the Baptist, Founded as a Lutheran community, the brothers used the brown
habit of the Anglican Society of St. Francis, very similiar to Friars Minor. On June 22,
1991, the official ceremony of solemn profession and union with the Order took place in
Jonsered. It is now a " Delegation, " i.e. a community under the jurisdiction of
the General Curia. They have adopted the dark grey habit with a slightly pointed capuce in
front to be distinguished from the Conventual Friars also present in Sweden.
|
E.
THE HABIT OF OUR ORDER THROUGHOUT HISTORY
 |
 |
 |
French
c. 1792 |
Spanish
15th century |
Transitional
18th century |
(Editor's
Note:This is a translation of an article written by V.R. Raniero Luconi, TOR which first
appeared in the ANALECTA, vol III. 1941 - 1944. Although the style is a bit dated, the
presentation is quite thorough.)
A brief history of
our religious habit, reviewing its origin and its successive changes of form and color,
would seem useful to enlighten those who might not know this material and to correct the
mistaken idea some have that our Order has "borrowed" our habit from another
Order.
To begin at the
beginning, it is useful to recall the habit which St. Francis gave to the first Penitents
of Florence, Italy in 1221. Friar Mariano of Firenze, in his "Treatise on the Third
Order" preserved in manuscript form in the Central National Library of Florence,
writes: "Some men along with their wives, unable to completely abandon the world were
received by Francis and from his holy hands were vested with the habit of the Third Order
amidst sighs and pious tears to the edification and deep emotion of many onlookers who saw
the rich, the powerful, the nobility despising worldly honors to clothe themselves in a
poor and humble habit. "
We may assume that
the simple and poor habit worn by those first tertiaries of Florence, who assisted the
poor and the sick at the Hospital of St. Paul in the Piazza di S. Maria Novella, would
have been like the habit which the Holy Founder had given to Bl. Lucchesius and his wife
Bona, received into the new institute earlier that same year at Poggibonsi.
Nicholas IV in his
Bull Supra Montem Catholicae Fidei of August 18, 1289 with which he approved the
Third Rule describes in Chapter III the habit of the Brothers of Penance:
The brothers of this
fraternity shall wear a habit made of inexpensive material and of a color neither
completely white nor completely black.
We should be aware
that this was the type of generic habit worn by all hermits throughout the 1300s and the
first half of the 1400s in Lombardy, Toscany and Umbria: a coarse, narrow tunic bound with
a cord/belt and over all a large mantle.
The reader may know
that from these hermits, during the residence of the Pope in Avignon and the Great Schism,
the TOS was brought to a "regular" status with community life and religious
vows; and after a long trajectory of 200 years, during the flourishing renaissance in
Italy, some of these tertiaries obtained from the great humanist Pope Nicholas V, the
solemn approbation of this status with the Bull Pastoralis Officii of July 20,
1447.
In virtue of this
Bull, the Tertiaries Regular, in addition to special statutes containing substantially the
Rule of Nicholas IV, were authorized to adopt a habit to distinguish them from
"simple hermits belonging to no Order. " They were no longer hermits but formed
a Religious Order and so must have a habit which would be the uniform of their Order. In
this way, our first friars arranged for themselves their own Rule of life and their own
habit showing to what Order they belonged: "Amictus hominis annuntiat de eo"
Eccl. 19,27.
Fr. Francis Bordoni,
gives a reason of convenience for the eremitical habit and the consequent change stating
that these hermits and small communities living in small villages and deserted places
"used a rough, course eremitical habit. " However, when they began to move to
the cities they felt obliged to wear a more suitable habit: "More cuium et aliarum
religionum juxta illud: Dum Romae fueris romano vivito more." Opera Omnium, vol II;
Res.35, n. 62.
Immediately after
the approval of Nicholas V (1447), one of the first acts of the first Minister General,
Fr. Bartolomeo Bonamati of Perugia, elected in 1448, was to change the habit. And from a
public notice drawn up in Assisi on August 5, 1449 by the Notary Donato Colaverde in the
presence of Fr. Bartolomeo Bonamati concerning the election of the Procurator General Fr.
Andrea Franceschini of Milan, "Contra rebelles et inobedientes Bullae Nicholai
V" we can see that the majority of the brothers had accepted the new habit consisting
of a heel reaching tunic, a capuce and the traditional cord. (P. Antonio de Sillis: Studia
etc., 31, 32).
The tunic, writes
Fr. Bordoni, was the "vestis interior romana, cui superinduebatur toga, et dicitir a
tuendo hominis corpore": for us religious it is the heel reaching habit, bound with
the Franciscan cord.
The capuce, in the
strict sense of the word, is only the part of the habit which covers the head, such as
used by the Friars Minor in place of a hat. But, for us it means also the scapular or the
little cape which covers the chest and back, along with the small hood. (Opera, vol. 11;
Ris, 35, n. 5).
Here is how an
ancient Rule, written 100 years after the Order's approval, by Fr. Bonaventura da Vicenza
(1549) describes the origin, the form and the color of the habit: "Majores nostri
voluere ut in eremitico habitu degamus. Religioni consulentes decernimus ut nostratum
habitus sit tunica talaris cum scapulari veste, sive cucullo, utrinque angulari,
posteriori tamen angulo funiculum attingente. Pallium vero instar impluviae, nulla vel
coloris vel formae differentia; ut eodem modo et colore (quen vulgo berentinum appellamus)
omnes vestiantur" (Statuta, C. XI).
It is clear that
having put aside the eremitical habit our first friars, for the dignity of the Order -
" Religioni Consulentes " - adopted the heel reaching tunic with the capuce or
scapular "utrimque angulare" and a cape of ash-grey color. The description is
quite precise and that scapular pointed in front and back was quite unmistakable. That
this was actually the color and style of the habit used by our Order can be shown from
many ancient paintings and by the authority of Fr. Bordoni.
In an old painting
familiar to all of us of Bl. Jeremias Lambertenghi (1440-1513) we see him wearing the grey
heel reaching tunic and the pointed scapular.
Blessed Jeremiah Lambertenghi, T. 0. R. (1400 - 1513)
Another classic
painting can be seen at Parma in our Church of Santa Maria del Quartiere. Around 1630,
Pier Antonio Bernabei of that city painted the grandiose cupola representing Paradise.
Among the great number of saints, we see St. Francis vested in our ash-grey habit with the
pointed scapular.
At Bologna, in the
parish Church of Sta. Maria della Carita, formerly a convent of our Order, among the
beautiful paintings, the most outstanding is the magnificent one "della Carita.
" On high, surrounded by angels is the Mother and Child; below, on the left side, is
the majestic figure of Charity protecting the orphans with her mantle: on the right side,
a very life like St. Francis wearing the ash-grey habit and the pointed scapular.
Other paintings of
St. Francis depicted with this form and color of habit are to found at Massa Martana, at
Collescipoli, in Urbisglia and elsewhere.
We might note that
this form of the habit was so characteristic to us that in Umbria our friars were
nicknamed " Becchetti " and in the Marches " Beccardi. "
Fr. Bordoni is also
very exact in his description of our habit: The tunic, he writes, must be heel-reaching;
the capuce "angulare utrinque" so that the front part touches the cord and the
rear reaches a little bit below it "ita quod angulus prior posteriore sit
brevior. " And he insists upon this particular aspect of the habit because it was the
characteristic point which distinguished us from the Friars Minor Conventual. "Nam
Conventuales et Tertiarii potissimum discernuntur per anteriorem partem scapulati: nam in
illis tendit ad rotunditatem, in istis ad angularitatem. " And he also notes that the
one Order was able to be distinguished from the other by the color of the habit.
"Insuper isti duo Ordines satis differunt, praeter differenciam caputii, etiam in
colore, que tendit magis ad nigredinem, Conventualium vero magis ad albedinem. "
(Opera, vol. 11; Res. 35, n. 58, 61).
However, there was a
certain resemblance in the 1600s which caused a controversy between our friars and the
Conventuals. To resolve any reason for discord between the 2 Franciscan families, our
Procurator General Fr. Marc Antonio Bottoni on Sept. 9, 1639 obtained from Urban VIII a
letter which states that the description of our habit is that found in Chapter XI of the
Rule.
When in 1653. the
Belgian friars were united to the Order, the friars assembled in the General Chapter at
Assisi in which Fr. Bordoni was elected Minister General enacted this resolution:
The Belgian Province
is to observe the entire Constitutions of the Italian Congregation. The Belgian friars,
laying aside the habit they have used up to now, in the future should wear the ankle
reaching tunic of inexpensive grey-black cloth rather than the light grey, and they shall
wear the pointed capuce. (Bordoni: Historia T.O., c. 31)
And twenty years
later in 1672, the General Ottavio Mezzabarba da Pavia wrote recalling the friars to a
stricter observance: "The tunic shall be the same grey color tending towards black,
and the capuce shall not be too large, but in a pyramidal form. "
With regards then to
the color -- it is stated repeatedly that it should be a grey tending towards black. This
particular grey color was the result of blending four pounds of black wool to one pound of
white. (Bordoni: Historia T.O., c. XI)
This then is the
form and color of the habit worn by the friars of our Order from the middle of the 1400s
until the end of the 1600s.
The next point of
interest is to know when our friars changed the form and the color of the habit: when was
the color black adopted and when was the scapular given the semi-circular form? That the
change came about is a fact - but when it happened no one seems to know. Some have even
believed that the present habit was "borrowed" from the Conventual friars! If it
were so then it would be necessary to believe that either the Conventuals made us a
gracious concession, or that our friars had appropriated their habit abusively. However,
both suppositions are without foundation: neither the Conventuals granted such a
permission nor did our friars intend to commit such an abuse as to adopt their light grey
habit. Had such a misappropriation taken place, the Conventuals would surely have
protested and there would have been another round of controversy as happened in 1639.
Also, in the fact of
the change of the habit, we must remember that the Conventuals have changed the
traditionally light grey color "magis ad albedinem" of their habit to black
while our friars finally adopted the color black to which their dark gray habit had always
tended, but giving the scapular the semicircular form. But the one and the other arrived
at the change by their own reckoning - suo inarte- by the end of the 1600s.
Concerning the
change of our habit, we do have a specific date: 1843. Having established this date then
we can establish the proximate time in which the changes began. In the General Chapter
held at Collescipoli in 1843 it was decreed:
Tunicae
et pallii color sit nigri coloris; scapulare posteriori parte angulare, anteriori vero
quasi ciculare, ut ab immemorabili mos est.
With this decree the
changes in the color and form of the habit were definitely established. But that very
decisive "ut ab immemorabili mos est" permits us to state that the change had
begun more than a hundred years earlier. To demonstrate this we must look back to the
customs and within those customs our history during the second half of the 1600s: we must
become familiar with the vain fashions of that epoch which had been introduced during
foreign domination.
The Minister
General, Girolamo Fonzi da Massa Martana, decried the fact that many religious were
indulging in vain behavior when in 1665 he wrote to recall them to an austerity befitting
religious:
nihil
turpius videri potest quam religiousus affectans in vestitu magnificentiam, novitates et
saecularia.
He recommended the
simplicity of the religious habit and prohibited:
ne ferantur
mistacia obtorta sursum respicientia (the mercenaries of Manzoni sported long pointed
moustaches), collare lineum, qualitercumque ligamina calciamentorum nimium longa aut lata,
galeri exigui, nimis alti, vel acuti, aut alterius indecentis formae, aut ornatus. Et in
posterum ferantur nigri prout receptum est, ad differentiam Patrum Conventualium. (Atti.
pag. 47)
No less austere than
Fr. Fonzi is Fr. Ottavio Mezzabarba da Pavia, who in 1672 legislated regarding the style
of the habit: "It is forbidden for us to use bows and silk cords for our mantles, but
only a simple band with a small button and the mantle must be black to distinguish us from
the Conventuals. Tunics should not have a "train," and should be of uniform
color tending towards black; the sleeves should not be too large nor the capuce, but
angular. Socks should not be of silk, ...nor shall moustaches or beards be worn in the
French or Spanish fashions, but as befits religious men." (I. c. 50)
We can easily
recognize the signs of the times ... a tendency towards decadence... which the religious
did not resist not even in the habit. They wanted it to be impressive...... affectantes in
vestitu magnificentiam.. "long, and with a "train," and an ample capuce.
And it is easy to see that next came the transformation of our habit, in the time of such
excellent Fathers General as G. Fonzi, 0. Mezzabarba, and the two Guidotti, and the
Procurators Antonio Cottoni and Bonaventure Rossi.
From another source
we can see that by the beginning of the 1700s the change must have been an accomplished
fact. Fr. Stefano Ivancic, in his History of the Dalmatian Province writes that the
Dalmatian friars, who had worn grey habits and beards, were wearing the black habit in
1705. From this piece of information we can deduce that they would have been uniform with
the Italian Provinces to which they united. They would not have been able to introduce
such a change without having a precedent or permission; and lest the new change seem
arbitrary, Fr. Bonaventure Guglieri d'Assisi (one of the best Generals of that time who
had as his Definitor the Dalmatian Fr. Mattia Vodaric, and for Procurator the excellent
Fr. Bonaventure Santelia) would certainly have intervened to forbid such an innovation.
It is true that the
Clementine Constitutions of 1734 "made haste slowly" to confirm the traditional
identity of the habit in the form and color described: "a long tunic, pointed
scapular in front and back, of wool dyed berettino, tending more to black. " However,
it was too late, it had been more than fifty years earlier that the change had begun. Even
as the new Constitutions affirmed the traditional habit they permitted the use of a black
mantle: "Pallium ex panno nigri coloris deferri posse concedimus". Cap. XI
Now that black
mantle which the friars could use would make us think that there may have been a strong
inclination to use the black habit, yet the change did not take place immediately.
However, it is
certainly true that our ancient friars always had a great leaning towards the black habit.
Bordoni in the mid 1600s wrote that our habit was a gray tending towards black; the
Belgians at the time of union in 1653 were compelled to use that grey habit which tended
more to black than to white. Fr. Ottavio Mezzabarba in 1672 insisted that the color of the
tunic "tendat as nigredinem. " Yet again the Clementine Constitutions of 1734
already cited confirmed that the color "tended more towards black" and permitted
the "pallium nigri coloris. " It is a small wonder that our friars, children of
the fashionable 1600 and 1700s, finally yielded to the temptation to adopt the black
habit.
In order to get a
sense of the novelty of these changes of the 1700s, it might be helpful to make a contrast
between the 15th and 18th centuries. Fr. Antonio Silli in his Studia (p.32) writes:
"in the beginning our friars wore the habit of hermits and afterwards, according to
statutes established in virtue of the Bull of Pope Nicholas V, they began to wear the
tunic, the capuche and the cord." And, in his turn, Fr. Bordoni writes that
immediately after the approval of the Order, our friars set aside the coarse and rustic
hermit's habit and chose one more suitable "more civium et aliarum religionum. "
New developments in the style of our habit came in the first half of the 1400s and again
in the 1700s. We should like to say that as in the 15th century the changed status of the
Order having become "Regular" made a more appropriate habit necessary, so in the
18th century the changed conditions of the times may have suggested the same. We might be
led to believe that the grey habit with the characteristic pointed scapular covered with a
black mantle was no longer seen as sufficiently suitable and so the black habit with the
more ample, semi-circular capuce was preferred. Our reasoning may seem a bit arbitrary but
it is not without some basis. From a decree of Fr. Ottavio Mezzabarba (1672) it appears
that by the latter part of the 17th century, the friars had already begun to use a larger
capuce, which the Fr. General prohibited this: "the capuce should not be too
large."
Not only the changed
times but even the malicious anti-religious policies of the Bourbons .... from Tanucci in
Naples, to Leopold, son of Maria Theresa in Tuscany and his brother Joseph II in Lombardy
... must have made the change in the form and color of the habit advisable.
We have come to this
conclusion from the study of the very clear "ut ab immemorabili mos est" of Fr.
Gabriele Conticelli in the decree of the General Chapter of 1843. Here we can review some
of the data which confirms that the change of the habit had taken place in the latter part
of the 1600s. The first indication is seen in an image of Bl. Jeremias Lambertenghi
painted upon wood in the 17th century and preserved in the sacristy of the Church of San
Francesco in Forli. This is a bust size picture of the Blessed contemplating a crucifix
held in his. hands. He is shown wearing a beard and the grey habit with a cape reaching to
the elbows. Thus,the various images of Bl. Jeremias offer us both the model for the
ancient and new form of our habit. (Fr. Paolo Sevesi: Iconographia del B. G.
Lanibertenghi, Saronno, 1938).
The second
indication is an engraving of the Madonna della Quercia in Bettola in 1754 in which at the
feet of the Quercia there is a kneeling friar vested in the black habit with the ample
semi-circular capuce. The third indication is another engraving of 1777 in which we see
Bl. Paul Ambrosi da Cropani vested in a similar habit.
An engraving of Fr.
Antonio Francesco Francia T.O.R., a professor of the University of Bologna, who died
venerated as saintly on March 10, 1762, shows him wearing the black habit with the ample
semicircular capuce. Finally, there are many other portraits of friars from the end of the
18th century, all with the habit described in the decrees of the General Chapter of 1843.
The decree of 1843
which officially confirmed the changed form and color of the habit has a brief history
which it might be useful to recall. In the General Congregation of June, 1840, the Most
Reverend Fr. Conticelli among the amendments to some paragraphs of the constitutions made
one simply titled: "quoad indumentum" and decreed: " quod tunicae et pallii
color debeat esse niger, non vero nigro proximus: scapulare autem posteriori parte
angulare, anteriori vero quasi circulare, uti ab immemorabili mos est."
However, the Sacred
Congregation to which the amendments were presented for approval, on March 18, 1841
responded:
Concerning any
reforms or clarifications of the Constitutions of the Order, this Sacred Congregation
judges it opportune to respond: pro nunc dilata; it desires that any changes be first
proposed in a future General Chapter, and after having been well considered by the
Capitular Fathers they make specific recommendations to this same Congregation as to what
the Fathers believe expedient for the good of the Order.
The General Chapter
of 1843 unanimously, and with the approval of the Protector of the Order, Cardinal Jacob
Brignole, decreed: "Tunicae et pallii color sit nigri coloris: scapulare posteriori
parte angulare, anteriori vero quasi circulare." After resubmitting this decree to
the Sacred Congregation for approval, the rescript was granted:
S. Congregatio
suprascriptas declarationes et decreta, iuxta enunciatum modum in decisione expressum,
approbavit et confirmavit. Contrariis etc. die XI aprilis 1845. " (Atti dei Capitoli,
Vol. II, 291, 328).
This official decree
of 1845 as to the form and color of the habit was confirmed again in the new text of the
Constitutions approved by Pius XI on March 7, 1929. There one reads:
Habitus noster
tunica talari et caputio constat .... Caputium a parte posteriori sit angulare .. a parte
vero anteriori quasi circulare ... Sit autem habitus pro omnibus religiosis forma et
colore uniformis.
These Constitutions
of Pius XI said nothing as to what should be the color of the habit. However, Church
authority later intervened in the edition of the Constitutions approved on August 2, 1940,
where it is expressly stated that the color is to be black: "Sit autem habitus pro
omnibus religiosis nigri coloris.
And so we see that
the changes in the habit have followed the process of changes in the Rule. As the Rule and
Constitutions have been subjected several times to a revision and adaptation according to
revisions in the Church's Code of Canon Law or suggested by changing circumstances so the
habit has been adapted so that it might always be suitable.
If, after reviewing
the origins and the successive changes in the style and color of our habit, some curious
reader should ask, as to the Baptist: "Tu quid dicis?" What do you think of
these various changes? Were they good or bad for the Order? "Rem difficilem
postulasti. " .... In spite of everything, if I have understood the reasoning of the
first Minister General when the new habit was adopted; and the idea of Fr. Bonaventure
Bonamati who described it in his "Rule": and that of Fr. Bordoni, what was
desired for the Order was a suitable habit. And in having reviewed all these ideas it
seems to me that I have partially answered the question. I would only add that the change
from the generic hermit's habit to one more suitable to the new status, as Nicholas V
suggested, was a good idea; for our first legislators were seeking the good of the Order
--- Religioni Consulentes --- and they deserve every praise.
However, I am not
able to say the same for the later changes introduced in the 1700s. The first change,
perhaps suggested by the worldly fashions of our 18th century friars and the political
conditions of the times, of allowing the black outer mantle over the dark - grey, almost
black, habit was not such a bad thing, The colors were actually quite similiar and, at
least, the habit preserved its distinctive identity received from the beginning of the
Order and confirmed in 1734.
The other new
modification, i.e. the radical change of the form and the color was a serious mistake.
Fortunately, there is no Minister General to be found who was in favor of this change; it
seems to have been a "collective sin." The friars began by following the
fashions of that time (as the Generals, Girolamo Fonzi and Ottavio Mezzabarba, complained
- "nihil turpius videri potest quam religiosus affectans in vestitu magnificentium,
novitates et saecularia" ) and ended up having lost the special identity of the
Order's habit.
That dark ash grey
color, as writes Bordoni, which St. Francis gave us reminded us of the penitential spirit
proper to our Order and recalled to us more than three centuries of a not inglorious
history. And that form of the scapular, characteristically Franciscan and smaller than the
present one, was special to our Order and was like an I. D. Card. " Amictus hominis
annuntiat de eo. " (Eccl. 19, 27) Now we have lost this special charcteristic and we
are often confused with another congregation and no one recognizes us. Often our friars
are asked: "Tu quis es?" Which Order do you belong to?
It might be observed
if that change was a mistake, could we not re-adopt our original grey habit? My response
is phrased in the words of St. Gregory: "Rem difficilem, non solo, et inutilem
postulasti," Possibly, we might undertake a referendum and, if the response was very
favorable.....
The Author: Fr.
Raniero Luconi, T.O.R. was born at Tolentino in Piceno on March 10, 1878. He entered the
Novitiate of the Province of Umbria-Piceno in 1895. Fr. Luconi held various positions of
responsibility in his Province and was Secretary General, a General Definitor and
Commissary General for the Third Order Secular (SFO). He was the author of many works and
for several years was the Editor of the ANALECTA. In 1948, the Minister General, Fr. John
H. Boccelia honored him with the title of "Historian of the Order." Fr. Raniero
Luconi died on October 29, 1951.
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