For the Roman military unit, see Maniple (military unit)

Maniple (military unit)

Maniple was a tactical unit of the Roman legion adopted from the Samnites during the Samnite Wars . It was also the name of the military insignia carried by such unit....

.

The maniple is a liturgical vestment

Vestment

Vestments are liturgical garments and articles associated primarily with the Christian religion, especially among Latin Rite and other Catholics, Eastern Orthodox, Anglicans, and Lutherans...

 used primarily within the Catholic Church, and occasionally used by some Anglo-Catholic and Lutheran clergy. It is an embroidered band of silk or similar fabric that when worn hangs from the left arm. It is only used within the context of the Mass

Mass (liturgy)

"Mass" is one of the names by which the sacrament of the Eucharist is called in the Roman Catholic Church: others are "Eucharist", the "Lord's Supper", the "Breaking of Bread", the "Eucharistic assembly ", the "memorial of the Lord's Passion and Resurrection", the "Holy Sacrifice", the "Holy and...

, and it is of the same liturgical colour as the other Mass vestments.

Current use

In its 1967 instruction, Tres Abhinc Annos, the Roman Catholic Church's Sacred Congregation of Rites effectively removed the obligation to use the maniple during the liturgy. The document states:

"The maniple is no longer required".

After this Instruction, the vestment fell out of liturgical use.

Some claim that the use of the maniple in the Roman Rite (even in the liturgy as revised under Pope Paul VI

Pope Paul VI

Paul VI , born Giovanni Battista Enrico Antonio Maria Montini , reigned as Pope of the Catholic Church from 21 June 1963 until his death on 6 August 1978. Succeeding Pope John XXIII, who had convened the Second Vatican Council, he decided to continue it...

) has never been formally abolished or suppressed by the Catholic Church. Priest and blogger, the Rev. John Zuhlsdorf

John Zuhlsdorf

John Todd Zuhlsdorf is an American Catholic priest of the Diocese of Velletri-Segni and a well-known Catholic Internet personality, often known as "Father Z." He is a weekly columnist for the Catholic newspaper The Wanderer, and has appeared on EWTN and the Fox News Channel...

 ), for example, cites comments made by Fr. Mauro Gagliardi, consultor to the Vatican's Office of Pontifical Ceremonies, who said during a ZENIT interview:

"The maniple is an article of liturgical dress used in the celebration of the extraordinary form of the Holy Mass of the Roman Rite. It fell into disuse in the years of the post-conciliar reform, even though it was never abrogated."

This interpretation hinges on the fact that the Sacred Congregation of Rites only declared above that the vestment was no longer required for the celebration of Mass, rather than saying its use was suppressed.

Arguing against this view is the fact that after the SCR's Instruction the maniple—even as an optional vestment—was completely omitted from subsequent editions of the Catholic Church's Roman Missal

Roman Missal

The Roman Missal is the liturgical book that contains the texts and rubrics for the celebration of the Mass in the Roman Rite of the Catholic Church.-Situation before the Council of Trent:...

, the book used by priests to celebrate Mass. This is an interesting omission given that another vestment whose use is also no longer required, viz. the amice

Amice

The amice is a liturgical vestment used mainly in the Roman Catholic Church, Lutheran Church, in some Anglican churches, Armenian and Polish National Catholic churches. It consists of a white cloth connected to two long ribbon-like attachments, by which it is fastened around the shoulders of the...

, is still specifically mentioned (see GIRM, no. 119).

Further, this interpretation is challenged by the Rev. Edward McNamara, a Professor of Liturgy at Regina Apostolorum University as well as writer for the same ZENIT News Service. Responding to a question about using the maniple during the revised Mass, McNamara writes:

"Another reader asked about some vestments no longer in use: I noticed one who had offered the new rite but wore the maniple. . . . The rationale was that the maniple had not been suppressed, but simply that it was no longer required. I do not think that the rationale justifying the use of the maniple . . . is correct. It is not necessary for the Holy See to issue a decree abolishing every single detail. When . . . the legislator lists the vestments to be worn, then logically any further additions no longer correspond to the norms."

The maniple is still required for the celebration of the 1962 Missale Romanum

Tridentine Mass

The Tridentine Mass is the form of the Roman Rite Mass contained in the typical editions of the Roman Missal that were published from 1570 to 1962. It was the most widely celebrated Mass liturgy in the world until the introduction of the Mass of Paul VI in December 1969...

 in accordance with the 2007 motu proprio

Motu proprio

A motu proprio is a document issued by the Pope on his own initiative and personally signed by him....

 Summorum Pontificum

Summorum Pontificum

Summorum Pontificum is an Apostolic Letter of Pope Benedict XVI, issued "motu proprio" . The document specified the rules, for the Latin Rite of the Catholic Church, for celebrating Mass according to the "Missal promulgated by John XXIII in 1962" , and for administering most of the sacraments in...

.

Usage

When used, the maniple is worn by a priest only when vested in a chasuble

Chasuble

The chasuble is the outermost liturgical vestment worn by clergy for the celebration of the Eucharist in Western-tradition Christian Churches that use full vestments, primarily in the Roman Catholic, Anglican and Lutheran churches, as well as in some parts of the United Methodist Church...

 for celebrating Mass

Mass (liturgy)

"Mass" is one of the names by which the sacrament of the Eucharist is called in the Roman Catholic Church: others are "Eucharist", the "Lord's Supper", the "Breaking of Bread", the "Eucharistic assembly ", the "memorial of the Lord's Passion and Resurrection", the "Holy Sacrifice", the "Holy and...

. A bishop celebrating a (Tridentine) Low Mass

Low Mass

Low Mass is a Tridentine Mass defined officially in the Code of Rubrics included in the 1962 edition of the Roman Missal as Mass in which the priest does not chant the parts that the rubrics assign to him...

 assumes the maniple only after the Prayers at the Foot of the Altar. The 1960 Code of Rubrics

Code of Rubrics

The Code of Rubrics is a three-part liturgical document promulgated in 1960 under Pope John XXIII, which in the form of a legal code indicated the rules governing the celebration of the Roman Rite Mass and Divine Office....

, incorporated into the 1962 Roman Missal

Roman Missal

The Roman Missal is the liturgical book that contains the texts and rubrics for the celebration of the Mass in the Roman Rite of the Catholic Church.-Situation before the Council of Trent:...

, states that the maniple is never worn with the cope

Cope

The cope is a liturgical vestment, a very long mantle or cloak, open in front and fastened at the breast with a band or clasp. It may be of any liturgical colour....

 (as, for instance, in the Asperges

Asperges

Asperges is a name given to the rite of sprinkling a congregation with holy water. The name comes from the first word in the 9th verse of Psalm 51 in the Latin translation, the Vulgate, which is sung during the Traditional form of the rite, except during Eastertide...

 ceremony or in giving Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament

Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament

Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament is a devotional ceremony celebrated within the Latin Rite of the Roman Catholic Church, as well as in some Anglican and Lutheran Churches, Liberal Catholic churches, Western Rite Orthodox churches, and Latinised Eastern Catholic Churches.Benediction of the...

); and, if no cope is available, it allows the priest to give such blessings vested in an alb and wearing a stole, but without chasuble and maniple.

The maniple is worn also, with the dalmatic

Dalmatic

The dalmatic is a long wide-sleeved tunic, which serves as a liturgical vestment in the Roman Catholic, Lutheran, Anglican, and United Methodist Churches, which is sometimes worn by a deacon at the Mass or other services. Although infrequent, it may also be worn by bishops above the alb and below...

 or tunicle

Tunicle

The tunicle is a liturgical vestment associated with Roman Catholicism and Anglicanism.For a description of the tunicle, see dalmatic, the vestment with which it became identical in form, although earlier editions of the Caeremoniale Episcoporum indicated that it should have narrower sleeves...

, by the deacon

Deacon

Deacon is a ministry in the Christian Church that is generally associated with service of some kind, but which varies among theological and denominational traditions...

 and the subdeacon

Subdeacon

-Subdeacons in the Orthodox Church:A subdeacon or hypodeacon is the highest of the minor orders of clergy in the Orthodox Church. This order is higher than the reader and lower than the deacon.-Canonical Discipline:...

 in a Solemn Mass

Solemn Mass

Solemn Mass , sometimes also referred to as Solemn High Mass or simply High Mass, is, when used not merely as a description, the full ceremonial form of the Tridentine Mass, celebrated by a priest with a deacon and a subdeacon, requiring most of the parts of the Mass to be sung, and the use of...

.

The maniple is a vestment not only of the Roman Rite

Roman Rite

The Roman Rite is the liturgical rite used in the Diocese of Rome in the Catholic Church. It is by far the most widespread of the Latin liturgical rites used within the Western or Latin autonomous particular Church, the particular Church that itself is also called the Latin Rite, and that is one of...

, but also of most of the other Latin liturgical rites

Latin liturgical rites

Latin liturgical rites used within that area of the Catholic Church where the Latin language once dominated were for many centuries no less numerous than the liturgical rites of the Eastern autonomous particular Churches. Their number is now much reduced...

.

With regard to what is now the normal form of the Roman Rite, as revised in 1969, the General Instruction of the Roman Missal

General Instruction of the Roman Missal

The General Instruction of the Roman Missal —in the Latin original, Institutio Generalis Missalis Romani —is the detailed document governing the celebration of Mass of the ordinary form of the Roman Rite of the Catholic Church since 1969...

 states: "The vestment proper to the priest celebrant at Mass and other sacred actions directly connected with Mass is, unless otherwise indicated, the chasuble, worn over the alb and stole." For the deacon it says: "The vestment proper to the deacon is the dalmatic, worn over the alb and stole. The dalmatic may, however, be omitted out of necessity or on account of a lesser degree of solemnity." In neither case is there any mention of the maniple as a vestment in use.

Historical origin

Originally the maniple was likely a piece of linen which clerics used to wipe their faces and hands and has been described by some modern commentators as being akin to a handkerchief. It appears to have been used in the Roman liturgy

Roman Rite

The Roman Rite is the liturgical rite used in the Diocese of Rome in the Catholic Church. It is by far the most widespread of the Latin liturgical rites used within the Western or Latin autonomous particular Church, the particular Church that itself is also called the Latin Rite, and that is one of...

 since at least the 6th century. The maniple can vary widely in size, shape, and degree of embroidery

Embroidery

Embroidery is the art or handicraft of decorating fabric or other materials with needle and thread or yarn. Embroidery may also incorporate other materials such as metal strips, pearls, beads, quills, and sequins....

 and ornamentation.

Common symbolic comments refer to the maniple's likeness to the rope by which Christ was led and the chains which bound his hands. It has also become known as an emblem of the tears of penance, the burden of sin, and the fatigue of the priestly office. This understanding is reflected in the vesting prayer said while putting on the maniple before Mass. Anglican

Anglicanism

Anglicanism is a tradition within Christianity comprising churches with historical connections to the Church of England or similar beliefs, worship and church structures. The word Anglican originates in ecclesia anglicana, a medieval Latin phrase dating to at least 1246 that means the English...

 commentators have described the maniple as a symbol of being a servant to the servants of God.

In the unreformed Papal Mass

Papal Mass

A Papal Mass is the Solemn Pontifical High Mass when offered by the Pope of the Roman Catholic Church.There are numerous special ceremonials which are particular to the pope...

 the Pope

Pope

The Pope is the Bishop of Rome, a position that makes him the leader of the worldwide Catholic Church . In the Catholic Church, the Pope is regarded as the successor of Saint Peter, the Apostle...

 wears a special maniple intertwined with red and gold threads, symbolizing the unity of the Eastern and Western

Latin liturgical rites

Latin liturgical rites used within that area of the Catholic Church where the Latin language once dominated were for many centuries no less numerous than the liturgical rites of the Eastern autonomous particular Churches. Their number is now much reduced...

rites of the Catholic Church.