Zucchetto

Not to be confused with Zuccotto.

Cardinal Franciszek Macharski with a scarlet zucchetto

The zucchetto (/(t)suːˈkɛtoʊ, zuːˈ-/, also UK: /tsʊˈ-/, US: /zʊˈ-/, Italian: [dzukˈketto]; meaning 'small gourd', from zucca 'pumpkin' or more generally 'gourd'; plural in English: zucchettos) or solideo, officially a pileolus, is a small, hemispherical, form-fitting ecclesiastical skullcap worn by clerics of various Catholic Churches, the Syriac Orthodox Church, by senior clergy in certain denominations of Lutheranism, as well as Anglicanism, and in certain cases by senior clergy in Methodism.

It is also called a pilus, pilos, pileus, pileolo, subbiretum, submitrale, soli deo, berrettino, calotte or calotta.

History

The zucchetto originated as the Paleo-Balkanic pileus and is related to the beret (which itself was originally a large zucchetto). The official name of the zucchetto —pileolus— means "small pileus" in latin. Clerics adopted the style circa the Early Middle Ages or earlier, to keep their heads warm and to insulate the tonsure. The name "zucchetto" derives from its resemblance to half a pumpkin. It is similar to the Jewish kippah or yarmulke, but typically differs in construction, with the zucchetto made of separate joined sections and color-coordinated to clerical status. It is normally used only by clergy and not by ordinary people, which also differs from the kippah. The resemblance between the two types of headgear is often seen as being deliberate but the zucchetto is distinct from and predates the skullcap style of kippah and yarmulke by hundreds of years.

Construction and design

White zucchetto worn by popes and popes emeriti

Two bishops wearing amaranth zucchetti

Priest's black zucchetto

Gunnar Rosendal, a Lutheran priest of the Church of Sweden, wearing a zucchetto

In Catholicism, the modern zucchetto is most commonly made of silk. The design utilises eight gores or triangular panels that are joined at the tips to form a hemispherical skullcap. Jutting from the central tip of the zucchetto is the "stem", known as stirpis or stirpes. It is made of a twisted loop of silk cord and is meant to make handling the zucchetto easier. The stirpes is the primary visual distinction between the zucchetto and the Jewish kippah.

The zucchetto traditionally has a lining of thin white chamois as an insulator; this is also to help keep the shape of the zucchetto. Inside the trim, there is a strip of velvet to ensure a secure and comfortable fit. Most modern zucchetto designs include a cloth lining, and the contemporary trend is using ordinary synthetic cloth with a simple, natural cloth lining.

Colors

The color of the zucchetto in Catholicism denotes the office held by the wearer:

•   the pope's zucchetto is white, and Benedict XVI continued to wear a white zucchetto as Pope Emeritus,
  • members of religious orders with white habits (e.g., Norbertines) also may wear a white zucchetto made of wool.
•   those worn by cardinals are scarlet;
•   those of archbishops, bishops, territorial abbots and territorial prelates are amaranth;
•   non-territorial abbots, priests and deacons may wear a black zucchetto, although most do not.

Some Franciscans have adopted the practice of wearing a brown zucchetto to match their brown habit.

Dionysius Ortsiefer, a German Franciscan friar, wearing a zucchetto

The most common Lutheran and Anglican design can be similar to the Catholic zucchetto or, far more often, similar to the Jewish kippah. A form of the zucchetto is worn by Anglican bishops and is used approximately like that of the Catholic Church. The Anglican "skullcap" differs from the zucchetto primarily in that it is made of six panels, bears a button at centre of the crown, and is of slightly larger dimensions. The other exception is that instead of the Catholic "church violet", Anglican churches usually (but not always) use purple caps on bishops.

John Dolben, Anglican Archbishop of York, wearing a skullcap

In the Syriac Orthodox tradition, a seven-panel zucchetto called a phiro is worn by nearly all priests. It is always black and embroidered with black Orthodox crosses.

Clergy of the Serbian Orthodox Church in the Austrian Empire wore zucchettos (Serbian: ћелепуш) in order to look more similar to the Catholic clergy.

Usage

All ordained men in the Latin Church of the Catholic Church are entitled to wear the black zucchetto unless promoted to a higher office, and it is worn with either the cassock or liturgical vestments, never a suit. When a biretta or mitre is worn, a zucchetto is always worn underneath, hence its other names of subbirettum and submitrale.

The common tradition is for the cleric to obtain the zucchetto either from an ecclesiastical tailor or a retail church supply. There is also a tradition of friends buying a newly appointed bishop his first zucchetto.

A lower-ranking prelate must always doff his skullcap to a higher-ranking prelate; all prelates must remove their zucchetti in the presence of the pope, unless the pope prefers otherwise.

The zucchetto is worn throughout most of the Mass, is removed at the commencement of the Preface, and replaced at the conclusion of Communion, when the Blessed Sacrament is put away. The zucchetto is also not worn at any occasion where the Blessed Sacrament is exposed. A short zucchetto stand known as a funghellino (lit. "little mushroom", usually made of brass or wood) can be placed near the altar to provide a safe place for the zucchetto when it is not being worn.

Prelates often give away their skullcaps to the faithful. The practice, which was started in the modern era by Pope Pius XII, involves giving the zucchetto to the faithful, as a keepsake, if presented with a new one as a gift. Popes John Paul II, Benedict XVI, Francis, and Leo XIV have continued the custom. The pope might choose not to give the visitor his own zucchetto, but rather place the gift zucchetto on his head for a moment as a blessing, then return it to the giver. The above popes mentioned, bishops, cardinals and archbishops such as Fulton J. Sheen frequently gave their old zucchetti in exchange for the newly offered one; Sheen also gave his zucchetto as a keepsake to laity who requested it.

In popular culture

In one episode of the TV show Pawn Stars, Father Richard Kunst, curator of Papal Artifacts website, was called to authenticate a zucchetto said to have belonged to Pope Pius XII during World War II. The show’s producers reached out to him because of his expertise in papal memorabilia. Father Kunst confirmed the authenticity of the item, highlighting its historical and religious significance.

In that episode, Chumlee, one of the shows hosts' objective was to authenticate that zucchetto. They consulted an assistant professor of theology in Rome, who confirmed the zucchetto’s authenticity.

Pope Pius XII

See also

• List of hat styles
• Taqiyah (cap)
• Skufia
• Philippi Collection
• Kippah or yarmulke

References

Bibliography

• Braun, Joseph (1912). "Zucchetto". In Herbermann, Charles (ed.). Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 15. New York: Robert Appleton Company. pp. 765–766 – via Wikisource.
• Duffy, Eamon (2006). Saints and Sinners: A History of the Popes (3rd ed.). New Haven, Connecticut: Yale University Press. ISBN 978-0-300-11597-0.
• Kilgour, Ruth Edwards (1958). A Pageant of Hats Ancient and Modern. New York: R. M. McBride Company.
• Marshall, Taylor (2009). The Crucified Rabbi: Judaism and the Origins of Catholic Christianity. The Origins of Catholicism. Vol. 1. Dallas, Texas: Saint John Press. ISBN 978-0-578-03834-6.
• McCloud, Henry (1948). Clerical Dress and Insignia of the Roman Catholic Church. Wisconsin: Bruce Publishing Company.

Further reading

• Wray, Cecil Daniel (1856). A Short Inquiry Respecting the Vestments of the Priests of the Anglican Church. London: Joseph Masters. Retrieved December 26, 2011 – via Project Canterbury.