All Souls Day: Fr., Can black vestments be worn in the Catholic Church?

Yes, black vestments could be worn on Christian funerals and on All Souls day according to the instructions to the Order of Christian Funerals (a.k.a. OCF). However, the preferred option is first, white, followed by purple and then black. It may be surprising to many of us but it’s a matter of knowledge, awareness and proper perception.

•White expresses hope in resurrection, holiness, hope, and baptism.
•Violet expresses reconciliation, repentance, and mercy.
•Black signifies mourning, death, sin, and judgement.

What is important is that “The liturgical color chosen for funerals should express Christian hope but should not be offensive to human grief and sorrow” Therefore, ” The choice should be made in the light of local custom and perceptions, and in consultation with the family and community” (OCF §39).

With pastoral, theological, psychological,  liturgical, and  pragmatic considerations, one can wear lack chasuble:

1. To call to mind the reality of Purgatory and the journey that many of the deceased whom we are praying for may be very well experiencing it and need our prayers.

2. To make the faithful to recognize our own emotional sensibilities to the reality of their deaths and the loss have played in our lives. Mourning, while not something we like to do, is deeply important to our healing.  When we don’t mourn our losses, we continually carry them with us, and occasionally they come out in some of the most inappropriate ways and situations. Black portrays these feelings of sadness, recognizing and legitimizing them in our lives.

3. To helped us remember our need to repent of our own SINS in view of our own coming death and look to God for our only hope.

Generally speaking, black color as described here liturgically  may  seem to focus on the negative, but these are realities in our lives which sometimes we need to be reminded about.

Moreover, we should not completely forget or abandon our liturgical heritage and our sacred tradition that keep us grounded and mindful of who we are as Catholics.

Nevertheless, each Catholic Bishop shepherding a particular diocese has the prerogative to determine a particular color(white ,purple or black) to be worn at funerals and All Souls Day. This is because the Diocesan Bishop is “the first steward of the mysteries of God in the particular Church entrusted to him, he is the moderator, promoter and guardian of her whole liturgical life.” (RS, no. 19) and it therefore pertains to the Diocesan Bishop  “within the limits of his competence, to set forth liturgical norms in his Diocese, by which all are bound” (RS, no. 21; Can 838 §4).

Nota Bene: RS means Redemptionis Sacramentum(Sacrament of Redemption), which is an instruction by the on the proper way to celebrate Mass in the Roman Rite and others, and considered as well the adoration of the Blessed Sacrament. It was issued by the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments on 25 March 2004 over the signature of the then Congregation’s prefect, Cardinal Francis Arinze.

Also read : The Rejection of the Cardinalate by the Bishop