My dear brothers and sisters in Christ:

Before celebrating Mass for the Sacraments of Confirmation and First Holy Communion, I meet with the candidates to explain many of the religious symbols that we use. Wearing my vestments and articles that are used by a bishop, I explain that symbols are signs that represent something, so it is important to know the meaning behind the symbol, otherwise we lose the whole point of the symbol. For example, a bishop wears a special hat called a miter (or mitre in the British spelling). The miter has a symbolic meaning, but if you do not know the symbolic meaning of the miter, you are left wondering, “Why is the bishop wearing that hat?”

So let us start with the hat. The miter has an ancient history that precedes Christianity. In fact, you can read about it in the Bible in chapter 8 of the Book of Leviticus, where it describes a ceremony whereby Aaron is made High Priest of Israel. Aaron’s brother, Moses, performs this ceremony, which includes a ritual cleansing with water, clothing with special garments, anointing with oil, and placing a miter on Aaron’s head. Some translations of the Bible use the word turban instead of miter, which makes sense since the Levitical miter probably looked more like the turban that some men in the Middle East still wear today as a religious headdress.

The bishop’s miter is in the shape of a pointed hat because it symbolizes the tongues of fire representing the Holy Spirit that came down upon the apostles at Pentecost. A bishop is a successor of the apostles. The word apostle comes from a Greek word that means “one who is sent out.” As Jesus called and sent His apostles to preach the Gospel, bishops are called and sent by the Pope to lead a diocese, which is a region or grouping of parishes and churches. Our Diocese of Springfield in Illinois includes 129 parishes in 28 counties across 15,000 square miles from the Mississippi River to the Indiana border. While we do not use the term ‘high priest” in the Catholic Church, a bishop has received the fullness of the priesthood in the Sacrament of Holy Orders and oversees the priests and the pastoral care of the diocese.

The bishop’s miter has two pointed folds or peaks representing the Old and New Testaments of the Bible. There are two flaps called lappets that hang from the back of the miter, which trace their origin to the flaps of a headband worn by an athlete, tied in a knot like a sweatband that runner would wear while racing. This reminds me of Saint Paul’s allusion to the Christian life being like running a race so as to win the imperishable crown of eternal life in the Kingdom of Heaven (cf. 1 Corinthians 9:24-25).

Under the miter the bishop wear a skullcap called a zuchetto, an Italian word that refers to a head covering. It is similar to a yarmulke worn by Jewish men. The main symbolism of the zuchetto today is drawn from its color matching the color of his cassock (clerical robe) indicating the hierarchical rank of the wearer. A priest or religious brother may wear a black zuchetto, a Bishop wears magenta (reddish purple or violet), a Cardinal wears scarlet red, and the Pope wears white. The miter is removed when the bishop is leading a prayer and the zuchetto is removed before the Preface of Mass until after Communion as a sign or respect for the Real Presence of Christ.

A bishop carries a pastoral staff called a crozier or crosier. When I ask children why they think I have that staff, they often say that they think it is a cane. I answer them that I do not need a cane and, thankfully, can walk fine without one. So I ask them again what they think it looks like. Eventually one of them says it looks like a shepherd’s staff. I say, “Yes, exactly! But why does a bishop have a shepherd’s staff?” When I remind them to think symbolically, they figure out that the bishop represents Jesus, the Good Shepherd, and they are part of the flock of the people under the care of the bishop.

The usual shape of the crozier in the Western Church is a shepherd’s crook, curved at the top to enable sheep that stray to be gently hooked and reunited with the flock. This symbolizes the bishop’s role as shepherd to keep the flock united and call those who stray back into full communion or good standing with the Church.

A bishop usually holds his crozier with his left hand, leaving his right hand free to bestow blessings. Since the crozier is a symbol of authority and jurisdiction, the bishop holds the crozier with the open side of the crook forward facing the people when he is in his own diocese. When celebrating liturgies as a guest in another diocese, the visiting bishop holds the crozier with the open side of the crook turned away from the people to symbolize that he is not exercising jurisdiction over them. A bishop usually holds the crozier during a procession and when listening to the reading of the Gospel, giving a homily, accepting vows, solemn promises or a profession of faith, and when blessing people, unless he must lay his hands on them.

I have a wooden crozier hand-carved by a Polish wood carver that was given to me as a gift by the parishioners of St. Constance Parish in Chicago when I was named Auxiliary Bishop. I also have a metal crozier with gold plating that was given to me as a gift by our priests here when I became Bishop of Springfield in Illinois. Sometimes on special occasions I use a crozier that belonged to Bishop James Griffin, the first Bishop of Springfield in Illinois.

When the bishop is not wearing the miter or holding the crozier, they are held by altar servers who wear over their shoulders a shawl-like veil called a vimpa, a  word from Medieval Latin that simply means “veil.” These altar servers are sometimes called “vimps.”

A bishop wears a ring on the ring finger of his right hand, which is customarily the hand on which men in Europe wear their wedding ring. Just as a bride and groom exchange rings as a sign of love and fidelity and a pledge of commitment to each other, a bishop wears a ring as a sign of his love and fidelity to the Church and his commitment to serve the Church.

A bishop also wears a pectoral cross, so-called from the word pectus, which in Latin means chest. A bishop wears a cross close to his chest as a reminder to keep Christ always close to his heart. When celebrating Mass or other liturgies, the pectoral cross of a bishop is usually attached to a green and gold cord. The pectoral cross of a Cardinal of the Church is attached to a red and gold cord. It is normally worn under the chasuble, the outer vestment worn at Mass. Pectoral crosses, like the crozier, may be made of gold, silver, pewter, or wood. In non-liturgical settings, a bishop wears his pectoral cross attached to a chain. If he is wearing a cassock, the chain of the pectoral cross may by attached to a buttonhole with a small hook. If he is wearing a business suit, the chain of the pectoral cross may be worn with the cross visible over the bishop’s chest or it may be placed in a pocket. There is no strict protocol about this, so it is often a matter of personal preference or convenience, such as wearing the cross visible when offering a prayer or presiding at a meeting, but putting the cross in the pocket of the shirt or suitcoat when eating to keep it from accidentally falling in one’s food.

I hope this explanation provides a better understanding and appreciation for the symbolism of the articles used by a bishop. May God give us this grace. Amen.