As any Catholic master of ceremonies will tell you, it takes only the tiniest sartorial mishap to lend a Python-esque flavour to moments of the utmost solemnity.
On 1 July the rebel traditionalist Society of St Pius X (SSPX) created four new bishops in defiance of Pope Leo XIV during a five-hour open-air Latin Mass in a Swiss alpine meadow. The consecrating prelates wore dark-red velvet chasubles over scarlet-and-gold dalmatics with matching gloves. They descended from their thrones bearing sacred chrism. Afterwards the new bishops stood in a row, mitres perched on their heads for the first time.
Liberal bishops wear stumpy headgear. ‘Trads’ favour gleaming skyscrapers
For traditionalist Catholic bishops – whether they are cardinals loyal to the Pope, prelates of tiny rebel sects or, like the SSPX, somewhere in between – size matters when it comes to mitres. Liberal bishops wear stumpy headgear scarcely distinguishable from tea cosies. ‘Trads’ favour gleaming skyscrapers that look magnificent so long as they fit properly.
That was the problem. Two bishops wore their Shard-shaped mitres at a jaunty angle; one gust of wind and they might impale a worshipper. The others were taking no risks. Older readers may remember the 1960s comedian Freddie ‘Parrot Face’ Davies, who jammed his bowler hat down so low that his ears stuck out. That was the unfortunate effect.
