Editing Liturgical colours (section)

==Roman Catholic Church==

===Current rubrics===
In the [[Roman Rite]], as reformed by [[Pope Paul VI]], the following colours are used, in accordance with the rubrics of the [[GIRM|General Instruction of the Roman Missal]], Section 346.<ref name="IGMR">{{Cite web |title=Institutio Generalis Missalis Romani |url=https://www.ewtn.com/catholicism/library/institutio-generalis-missalis-romani-3rd-edition-2190 |number=346}}; cf. {{cite web | title = text for Australia | url=http://www.acbc.catholic.org.au/documents/200707031933.pdf | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080720091216/http://www.acbc.catholic.org.au/documents/200707031933.pdf | archive-date=July 20, 2008 }}; {{cite web | url = http://www.liturgyoffice.org.uk/Resources/GIRM/Documents/GIRM.pdf  | title = England and Wales}}; {{cite web | url = http://www.usccb.org/prayer-and-worship/roman-missal/general-instruction-of-the-roman-missal/girm-chapter-6.cfm  | title = United States}}</ref>

{| class="wikitable" style="margin: 1em auto 1em auto;"
|-
! style="text-align:center;"|Color!! style="text-align:center;"|Obligatory usage!! style="text-align:center;"|Optional usage (in lieu of prescribed obligatory colour)
|-
| style="background:green;"|{{white|Green}}||
*[[Lord's Day|Sundays]] and [[Feria]]s in [[Ordinary Time]]
||
|-
| style="background:#7f00ff;"|{{white|Violet}}||
*Sundays and Ferias of [[Advent]]
*Sundays and Ferias in [[Lent]]
*Liturgies on [[Holy Saturday]] (except for the [[Easter Vigil]])
*[[Sacrament of Penance (Catholic Church)|Sacrament of Penance]]
*[[All Souls' Day]]
*[[Requiem|Requiem Masses]] and [[Office of the Dead|Office for the Dead]]
||

|-
| style="background:#fbcce7;"|Rose||
||
*[[Gaudete Sunday]] (Third Sunday of Advent)
*[[Laetare Sunday]] (Fourth Sunday in Lent)
|-
| style="background:white;"|White||
*[[Christmastide]] (from [Vigil] of [[Christmas]] to the [[Baptism of the Lord]])
*[[Maundy Thursday|Holy Thursday]]
*[[Eastertide|Easter season]] (from the [[Easter Vigil]] up to the Vigil of Pentecost)
*[[Trinity Sunday|Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity]]
*[[Feasts of the Lord Jesus Christ|Feasts of Our Lord]] other than those of His Passion
*[[Marian feast days]]<ref name="blue">The optional use of '''blue''' as a liturgical colour for feasts of our Lady is restricted to a few dioceses, as explained below.</ref>
*Feasts of [[Angel|the Angels]]
*Feasts of non-martyred [[saint]]s or [[Confessor of the Faith|confessors]]
*Feast of [[John the Evangelist|Saint John, Apostle and Evangelist]]
*Feast of the [[Chair of Saint Peter]]
*Feast of the [[Conversion of Paul the Apostle]]
*The [[Nativity of St. John the Baptist]]
*Solemnity of [[Saint Joseph]]
*Other feasts of Saint Joseph
*[[All Saints' Day|Feast of All Saints]]
*[[Baptism|Sacrament of Baptism]]
*[[Marriage (Catholic Church)|Sacrament of Matrimony]]
*[[Ordination|Sacrament of Holy Orders]]
*[[Viaticum]]
*[[Anointing of the Sick|Sacrament of the Sick]]<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.mercaba.org/LITURGIA/Gestos/simbolo_07_los_colores.htm | title=Los Colores en Nuestra Celebración }}</ref>
|[[Votive Mass]]es and other Masses where Green is normally used.
|-
| style="background:red;"|{{white|Red}}||
*[[Palm Sunday]]
*[[Good Friday]]
*[[Pentecost]]
*Feasts of [[Passion (Christianity)|the Passion of the Lord]]
*Feasts of [[Christian martyrs|Martyrs]], [[Apostles in the New Testament|Apostles]], and [[Four Evangelists|Evangelists]]
*Passion of Saint [[John the Baptist]]
*[[Confirmation|Sacrament of Confirmation]]
*Funerals of [[Pope|Popes]]
||
|-
| style="background:black;"|{{white|Black}}||
||
*All Souls' Day
*Requiem Masses
|}

On more solemn days, i.e. festive, more precious, sacred vestments may be used, even if not of the colour of the day. Such vestments may, for instance, be made from [[cloth of gold]] or [[cloth of silver]]. Moreover, the Conference of Bishops may determine and propose to the Apostolic See adaptations suited to the needs and culture of peoples.{{sfn|Moroney|2002| page = 346}}

Ritual Masses are celebrated in their proper colour or in white or in a festive colour. Masses for Various Needs, on the other hand, are celebrated in the colour proper to the day or the season or in violet if they bear a penitential character. Votive Masses are celebrated in the colour suited to the Mass itself or even in the colour proper to the day or the season.{{sfn|Moroney|2002| page = 347}}

==== Regional and situational exceptions ====
Some particular variations:
[[File:Solemnidad de la Inmaculada Concepción, Valencia, 2014.png|thumb|The [[Feast of the Immaculate Conception]] in [[Valencia Cathedral]], 2014]]
*{{Color sample|#6495ed}} '''[[Marian blue|Blue]]''', a colour associated with the [[Blessed Virgin Mary|Virgin Mary]]. While blue vestments are common in some Eastern churches, in the Latin rite, blue as a vestment colour may only be used pursuant to a special privilege granted.<ref name="Zenit">{{Cite web |last=McNamara |first=Edward |date=2010-05-10 |title=Blue Liturgical Vestments |url=https://www.ewtn.com/catholicism/library/blue-liturgical-vestments-4526 |website=Zenit}}</ref> The permission, sometimes called "cerulean privilege", is of two kinds: one pertains to particular Marian shrines and specifies when blue vestments may be worn. The other type of permission is that accorded to various countries. In Spain, an apostolic indult was granted for the feast of the [[Immaculate Conception]] and its [[Octave (liturgy)|octave]] as well as for votive Masses and Saturdays, when the [[Liturgical hours|Office]] for the Immaculate Conception is prayed<ref>{{Cite journal |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=MR9HAQAAMAAJ&dq=Cerulean+Indult&pg=PA584 |title=Sacred Vestments |journal=The American Ecclesiastical Review |publisher=Catholic University of America Press |year=1904 |editor-last=Heuser |editor-first=Herman Joseph |volume=31 |page=584}}</ref> and on Marian feasts where there is a related custom. The privilege has been granted to Spain, to certain of its colonies, and former colonies in Latin America by a decree of the Sacred Congregation of Rites on 12 February 1864.<ref name=Zenit/> It also extends to the Philippines, Guam, and the Mariana Islands, which were still under Spanish rule at that time.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Gihr |first=Nikolaus |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=RkpIAAAAYAAJ&dq=Cerulean+vestments&pg=PA298 |title=The Holy Sacrifice of the Mass: Dogmatically, Liturgically, and Ascetically Explained |publisher=B. Herder |year=1902 |page=298 |quote=n.1}}</ref> The use of blue is also observed in Portugal during certain Marian feasts,<ref>{{Cite web |title=Cor |url=https://www.liturgia.pt/dicionario/dici_ver.php?cod_dici=107 |website=Secretariado Nacional para a Liturgia}}</ref> although no special indult has been granted. There have also been uses of blue in place of violet for the season of Advent despite the fact that this practice is not authorized under liturgical rubrics.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Gary D. Penkala |url=http://www.canticanova.com/articles/xmas/art1c1.htm |title=Advent Blues |date=December 2000 |work=Cantica Nova Publications |quote=editorial}}</ref><ref name="Zenit" />
*{{Color sample|gold}} '''[[Gold (color)|Gold]]''' or {{Color sample|silver}} '''[[Silver (color)|silver]]''' may be worn on more solemn occasions in the dioceses of the United States.{{sfn|Moroney|2002| page = 346}}

===1960 rubrics===
The rules on liturgical colours in the 1960 [[Code of Rubrics]], whose observance is still permitted in the circumstances indicated in the 2007 document ''[[Summorum Pontificum]]'' on use of the [[1962 Roman Missal]], which incorporates them,<ref>{{Cite web |year=1962 |title=Missale Romanum |url=http://www.sanctamissa.org/en/resources/books-1962/missale-romanum-1962-pdf.html}}</ref> differ from the current rubrics in the following respects:

{| class="wikitable" style="margin: 1em auto 1em auto;"
|-
! style="text-align:center;"|Colour!!  style="text-align:center; width:350px;"|1920–1955 usage!!  style="text-align:center; width:350px;"|1956–1960 usage!!  style="text-align:center; width:350px;"|1961–1969 usage
|-
| style="background:#7f00ff;"|{{white|Violet}}||
*[[Ember days]]
*[[Rogation days]]
*[[Vigil]] of [[Andrew the Apostle|St. Andrew]]
*Vigil of [[Thomas the Apostle|St. Thomas]]
*Vigil of Christmas
*[[Massacre of the Innocents|Holy Innocents]] (when this falls on a weekday)
*[[Presentation of Jesus at the Temple|Purification]] (Blessing of Candles and Procession)
*Vigil of [[Saint Matthias|St. Matthias]] (in leap years only)
*[[Septuagesima]], [[Sexagesima]], and [[Quinquagesima]]
*[[Palm Sunday]] (Blessing of Palms, Procession, Mass)
*[[Holy Saturday]] (pre-Mass blessings and rites) 
*Vigil of [[Pentecost]] (pre-Mass blessings and rites)
*Vigil of the [[Nativity of St. John the Baptist]]
*Vigil of [[James, son of Zebedee|St. James]]
*Vigil of the [[Assumption of Mary|Assumption]]
*Vigil of Sts. [[Simon the Zealot|Simon]] and [[Jude the Apostle|Jude]]
*Vigil of [[All Saints' Day|All Saints]]
*[[All Souls' Day|All Souls]] (during the [[Forty Hours' Devotion]] only)
*Sacrament of [[Baptism]] (Introductory rites and [[Exorcism]])
||
*Ember days
*Rogation days
*Vigil of Christmas
*Holy Innocents (when this falls on a weekday)
*Purification (Blessing of Candles and Procession)
*Septuagesima, Sexagesima, and Quinquagesima
*Palm Sunday (Mass only)
*Good Friday (Distribution of [[Eucharist in the Catholic Church|Holy Communion]] only)
*[[Easter Vigil]] (pre-Mass blessings and rites)  
*Vigil of the Nativity of St. John the Baptist
*Vigil of the Assumption
*All Souls (during the Forty Hours' Devotion only)
*Sacrament of Baptism (Introductory rites and Exorcism)
||
*Ember days
*Rogation days
*Vigil of Christmas
*Septuagesima, Sexagesima, and Quinquagesima
*Palm Sunday (Mass only)
*Good Friday (Distribution of Holy Communion only)
*Easter Vigil (pre-Mass blessings and rites) 
*Vigil of the Nativity of St. John the Baptist
*Vigil of Sts. Peter and Paul
*Vigil of [[Lawrence of Rome|St. Lawrence]]
*Vigil of the Assumption
*All Souls (during the Forty Hours' Devotion only)
*Sacrament of Baptism (Introductory rites and Exorcism)
|-
| style="background:#fbcce7;"|Rose||
*[[Gaudete Sunday]]
*[[Laetare Sunday]]
||
*Gaudete Sunday
*Laetare Sunday
||
*Gaudete Sunday
*Laetare Sunday
|-
| style="background:white;"|White||
*[[Octave (liturgical)|Octave]] of the [[Immaculate Conception]]
*Octave of St. John
*Vigil of the [[Epiphany (holiday)|Epiphany]]
*Octave of the Epiphany
*Octave of the [[Saint Joseph's Day|Solemnity of St. Joseph]]
*Vigil of the [[Feast of the Ascension|Ascension]]
*Octave of the Ascension
*Octave of [[Corpus Christi (feast)|Corpus Christi]]
*Octave of the [[Sacred Heart]]
*Octave of the Nativity of St. John the Baptist
*Octave of the Assumption
*Octave of All Saints
*Sacrament of Confirmation
||
*Vigil of the Ascension
*Sacrament of Confirmation
||
*Vigil of the Ascension
*Sacrament of Confirmation
|-
| style="background:red;"|{{white|Red}}||
*Octave of [[Saint Stephen|St. Stephen]]
*Octave of the Holy Innocents
*Octave of Pentecost
*Octave of [[Feast of Saints Peter and Paul|Sts. Peter and Paul]]
||
*Palm Sunday (Blessing of Palms and Procession)
*Octave of Pentecost
||
*Palm Sunday (Blessing of Palms and Procession)
*Octave of Pentecost
|-
| style="background:black;"|{{white|Black}}||
*[[Good Friday]]
*All Souls (except during the Forty Hours' Devotion)
*[[Requiem|Requiem Masses]]
||
*Good Friday (main liturgy)
*All Souls (except during the Forty Hours' Devotion)
*Requiem Masses
||
*Good Friday (main liturgy)
*All Souls (except during the Forty Hours' Devotion)
*Requiem Masses
|}

[[Pope Pius X]] raised the rank of the Sundays after Epiphany and Pentecost, so that on those that fell within common octaves, '''green''' was used instead of the colour of the octave, as had previously been the rule;<ref>{{Cite book |url=http://www.sanctamissa.org/EN/resources/missale-romanum-pdf.html |title=Rubricae generales Missalis: XVIII – De Coloribus Paramentorum |year=1920 |isbn=88-209-2547-8 |quote=1920 typical edition of the Roman Missal omitted the phrase "exceptis Dominicis infra octavas occurrentibus, in quibus color octavarum servatur" found in earlier editions beginning with Pope Pius V's edition of 1570 (page 21 of the facsimile published by Libreria Editrice Vaticana in 1998|last1=Church |first1=Catholic |last2=Sodi |first2=Manlio |last3=Triacca |first3=Achille M. |publisher=Libreria editrice vaticana }}</ref> on Sundays after Pentecost that fell within privileged octaves (i.e., the octaves of Corpus Christi and of the Sacred Heart), the liturgical color of the feast was retained.

The rules on liturgical colours before the time of Pope Pius X were essentially those indicated in the edition of the Roman Missal that [[Pope Pius V]] promulgated in 1570, except for the addition of feasts not included in his Missal. The scheme of colours in his Missal reflected usage that had become fixed in Rome by the twelfth century.