thumb|Gold pontifical sandals

Episcopal sandals, also known as pontifical sandals, are a Catholic pontifical vestment worn by bishops when celebrating liturgical functions according to the pre–Vatican II rubrics, for example a Tridentine Solemn Pontifical Mass.

In shape, episcopal sandals are more like loafers than sandals. Liturgical stockings (caligae) are worn under the episcopal sandals and cover the ankle. The sandals and stockings usually match the liturgical color of the Mass. However, when black vestments are worn, pontifical footwear is not used.

After the Second Vatican Council, the episcopal sandals fell out of common use and are not mentioned in the rubrics of the post-Vatican II Mass. They are primarily seen in the most solemn form of Tridentine Mass.

Episcopal sandals should not be confused with the velvet papal shoes, which Pope Benedict XVI reassumed. These evolved as the outdoor counterpart of the papal slippers, which are similar to the episcopal sandals, but are worn by the Pope outside liturgical functions and are always red.

Form and use

thumb|Swedish episcopal footwear in [[Strängnäs Cathedral]]

Unlike the ancient sandals, which consisted merely of soles fastened to the foot by straps, episcopal sandals are in the form of low shoes, and resemble slippers. The sole is of leather; the upper part, generally ornamented with embroidery, is made of silk or velvet. No cross is required upon the sandals; at Rome this is an exclusively papal privilege. The privilege of wearing the sandals and (liturgical stockings) belongs only to bishops. They may be worn by abbots and other prelates only by special privilege from the pope and only so far as this privilege grants. Pontifical footwear is used only at Tridentine Pontifical Solemn Mass and at functions performed during the same, such as ordination, but not on other occasions, as, for example, Confirmation, Solemn Vespers, etc. It is therefore in the most exact sense of the word a vestment worn during the Mass. The liturgical color for the day decides the colour of the sandals and stockings; there are, however, no black stockings or sandals, as the bishop does not make use of either of these pontifical footwear at Requiem Masses.

Development of shape

The sandals retained substantially their original form until the 10th century. Then straps were replaced by three or five tongues reaching to the ankle, extensions of the upper leather upon the point of the foot, and these were fastened at ankle by means of a string. In the 12th century these tongues were gradually shortened; in the 13th century, the sandal was a regular shoe with a slit above the foot or on the side to make the putting-on easier. In the 16th century there was a return to the earlier form of the sandal; instead of a high shoe it now became once more a low foot-covering, like a slipper, a form which it has retained until the present time. The material of which the pontifical sandals are made was, until the 13th century, exclusively leather, at times covered with silk. Since the later Middle Ages, the upper part of the sandals has been made, not of leather, but of silk, velvet, etc. It is not until about 1400, with the exception of entirely isolated earlier examples, that a cross is to be found upon the sandals. The fork-shaped decoration, frequently found on pontifical shoes, especially on those of the 13th century, was not a cross, but merely an ornament. Like the episcopal sandals, the use of the liturgical stockings is primarily confined to the pre-Vatican II Tridentine Mass.

See also

  • List of shoe styles
  • Buskins
  • Pontifical vestments
  • Papal shoes
  • Papal slippers
  • Tridentine Mass
  • Solemn Pontifical Mass

References

  • Information and illustration in over 170 pictures of papal and clerical shoes