Records 2 of 2

Priest's cap: what this headdress symbolizes.

The biretta has been worn for centuries in the Catholic Church and represents one of the most recognizable symbols of the clergy. Usually made of fabric or wool, the priest's hat can be black, white or red depending on the position covered by the person wearing it. 

For example, bishops and cardinals wear red birets, while priests and deacons wear black caps.

The colors of the Biretta

The different types of priest's cap are distinguished above all by their color. There are models with different tufts, which give the person wearing them a certain level of importance within the Catholic Church.

  • The first type is the black biretta with black tuft, which is worn by priests, or priests who have received clerical ordination but not he episcopal one.
  • The black biretta with red tuft, on the other hand, is worn by the Protonotaries Apostolic in number, by the clerics of the Apostolic Chamber, by the Superior Prelates of the Roman Curia and by the canons of the papal basilicas.
  • The third type is the black biretta with dark violet tuft, which is worn by provosts or presbyters, by superior prelates of the dicasteries of the Roman Curia who do not have the episcopal dignity, by auditors of the Roman Rota, by the promoter general of Justice and defender of the Bond in the Supreme Tribunal of the Apostolic Signatura, by the apostolic protonotaries of number,  by the clerics of the Apostolic Camera and by the prelates of the Pontifical Antechamber.
  • The dark violet biretta with dark violet tuft is reserved for bishops and archbishops. While the marbled dark violet with dark violet bow is worn by archbishops in charge of apostolic nuncios.
  • The red biretta without tuft is reserved for cardinals, while the red biretta with bow is worn by the Patriarch of Venice and Lisbon if they are not cardinals.