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Pope Saint Paul VI (3 April 1969): “Although the text of the Roman Gradual—at least that which concerns the singing—has not been changed, the Entrance antiphons and Communions antiphons have been revised for Masses without singing.”

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Views from the Choir Loft

What Should Female Lectors Wear At Mass?

Jeff Ostrowski · July 7, 2014

293 Comic AMICE HE COLLEGE GIRLS who acted as lectors for the Newman Center in Lawrence, KS, often wore mini-skirts so revealing it seemed they weren’t wearing pants. I know this because I attended daily Mass at the St. Lawrence Center while studying at the University of Kansas. (For the record, I’m told a new priest “cleaned house” after I left in 2005.)

As a young piano student, I remember being dumbfounded by lectors dressed immodestly and asking the question: What attire should lectors wear? I was taught that women should never wear cassock and surplice.

An ALB is also out of the question, because it’s traditionally a priestly vestment. Current legislation does allow women to wear an alb, but when they do, they’re told they must also wear “a cincture and an amice,” which strikes me as absurd. 1 But here we are not considering what a women lector is allowed to wear: we are asking what they ought to wear.

I SAY AGAIN: THE ALB is traditionally a priestly vestment. The amice and cincture are, too, and have special prayers said by the priest as he puts them on. To my knowledge, there is not one shred of iconographical evidence contradicting the idea that the alb is exclusively a priestly vestment. (Here I am considering iconographical evidence from 1960 going back to the 10th century.) Liturgists in the 1980s put forward the idea that lay Christians might have worn the alb in the earliest centuries of the Church, but selectively “plucking” a vague idea from that time period seems fraught with problems, since we have so little concrete evidence.

Pick up a copy of the Jogues Missal to see how this issue was addressed:

      * *  Jogues Illuminated Missal — A Pew Book for the Ordinary Form


Which of these possible solutions do you prefer?

            298 Lady Lector         301 Lector Woman

The blue cassocks are used for ladies at the Lateran Basilica in Rome.


UPDATE :

Some people have been quoting St. Paul in who said women should be quiet and never speak in Church (I Corinthians 14:34). I’m not sure how that quote should be interpreted in modern times. For example, Pope Pius XII encouraged women to speak in Church (the so-called “Dialogue” Mass), and the 1962 Missale Romanum allows women to make the responses if no male server is present. Furthermore, nuns inside convents have been “speaking” and singing in Church for centuries. But which of us would accuse Pope Pius XII of being ignorant of St. Paul?

However, St. Paul’s quote reminds us to guard against Bugnini’s idea of picking and choosing from a “pristine” age of the Church (while denigrating the organic development that took place through the centuries). Bugnini was either confused or dishonest about what he was doing when he declared: “Here in the Consilium we are not working for museums and archives, but for the spiritual life of the people of God.” Some people have suggested the worst example of Bugnini’s antiquarianism was the “restoration” of the Responsorial Psalm. It’s true that Pope Leo and St. Augustine alluded to something akin to the Responsorial Psalm, but we have absolutely no idea what it actually looked like or sounded like in the 4th century. In fact, I’ll give 10 million dollars to anyone who can show me just one musical score of an “original” Responsorial Psalm from the 5th century.



NOTES FROM THIS ARTICLE:

1   General Instruction of the Roman Missal — §119

In the sacristy, according to the various forms of celebration, there should be prepared the sacred vestments (cf. nos. 337-341) for the Priest, the Deacon, and other ministers:
a) for the Priest: the alb, the stole, and the chasuble;
b) for the Deacon: the alb, the stole, and the dalmatic; the latter may be omitted, however, either out of necessity or on account of a lesser degree of solemnity;
c) for the other ministers: albs or other lawfully approved attire. All who wear an alb should use a cincture and an amice unless, due to the form of the alb, they are not needed.

General Instruction of the Roman Missal — §339

In the Dioceses of the United States of America, acolytes, altar servers, readers, and other lay ministers may wear the alb or other appropriate and dignified clothing.

Opinions by blog authors do not necessarily represent the views of Corpus Christi Watershed.

Filed Under: Articles Tagged With: Reform of the Reform Last Updated: January 1, 2020

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About Jeff Ostrowski

Jeff Ostrowski holds his B.M. in Music Theory from the University of Kansas (2004). He resides with his wife and children in Michigan. —(Read full biography).

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Corpus Christi Watershed

President’s Corner

    A Nice Hymn In Spanish
    In my humble opinion, this is a really beautiful hymn in Spanish. If I practice diligently, I’ll be able to pronounce all the words properly. If you’re someone who’s interested in obtaining a melody only version (suitable for your congregational ORDER OF WORSHIP) you can steal that from this.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    “Music List” • 21st in Ordinary Time (Year C)
    Our choir returns on Sunday, 24 August 2025. Some have expressed interest in perusing the ORDER OF MUSIC I’ve prepared for it, which is the 21st Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year C). If such a thing interests you, feel free to download it as a PDF file. As always, the Responsorial Psalm, Gospel Acclamation, and Mass Propers for this Sunday are conveniently stored at the spectacular feasts website. When it comes to the feast of the Assumption (15 August 2025), I have uploaded the music list for that Mass—but not the “bi-lingual” Mass in the evening (Spanish, Latin, and English) which has completely different music.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    “Entrance Chant” • 21st Sunday Ordin. Time
    You can download the ENTRANCE ANTIPHON in English for the 21st Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year C) which is coming up on 24 August 2025. Corresponding to the vocalist score is this free organ accompaniment. It’s set in a melancholy mode, but if you heard my choir’s female voices singing it your soul would be uplifted beyond belief. If you’re someone who enjoys rehearsal videos, this morning I tried to sing it while simultaneously accompanying my voice on the pipe organ.
    —Jeff Ostrowski

Quick Thoughts

    Solemn “Salve Regina” (Chant)
    How many “S” words can you think of using alliteration? How about Schwann Solemn Salve Score? You can download the SOLEMN SALVE REGINA in Gregorian Chant. The notation follows the official rhythm (EDITIO VATICANA). Canon Jules Van Nuffel, choirmaster of the Cathedral of Saint Rumbold, composed this accompaniment for it (although some feel it isn’t his best work).
    —Corpus Christi Watershed
    Pope Pius XII Hymnal?
    Have you ever heard of the Pope Pius XII Hymnal? It’s a real book, published in the United States in 1959. Here’s a sample page so you can verify with your own eyes it existed.
    —Corpus Christi Watershed
    “Hybrid” Chant Notation?
    Over the years, many have tried to ‘simplify’ plainsong notation. The O’Fallon Propers attempted to simplify the notation—but ended up making matters worse. Dr. Karl Weinmann tried to do the same in the time of Pope Saint Pius X by replacing each porrectus. You can examine a specimen from his edition and see whether you agree he complicated matters. In particular, look at what he did with éxsules fílii Hévae.
    —Corpus Christi Watershed

Random Quote

“We must say it plainly: the Roman rite as we knew it exists no more. It has gone. Some walls of the structure have fallen, others have been altered—we can look at it as a ruin or as the partial foundation of a new building. Think back, if you remember it, to the Latin sung High Mass with Gregorian chant. Compare it with the modern post-Vatican II Mass. It is not only the words, but also the tunes and even certain actions that are different. In fact it is a different liturgy of the Mass.”

— Fr. Joseph Gelineau (1978)

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