Liturgical Colors of the
Roman Missal of 1962
Rules for the liturgical colors went through small differences when Pope John XXIII revised the Roman Missal in 1962.
The Roman Missal as revised by Pope John XXIII in 1962, has been authorized for use as an extraordinary form of the Roman Rite by Pope Benedict XVI with the 2007 Motu Proprio entitled Summorum Pontificum. Pope John XXIII's revision of the Roman Missal incorporated changes that he had made with his Motu Proprio Rubicarum Instructum of 29 July 1960. The following are the small differences between its rules for these liturgical colors and the later rules:
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Violet
Ember days. Rogation days. The three Sundays before Lent, Septuagesima, Sexagesima, and Quinquagesima. The Vigils of the Immaculate Conception, Christmas, Epiphany, and the Assumption. The Vigil of Easter and the Vigil of Pentecost, up to but not including the Mass. The Communion service on Good Friday. |
 The rose vestment set is allowed on Good Friday and the Easter Vigil. |
Mass on All Souls' Day if celebrated while the Blessed Sacrament is exposed.
Red
Red is worn for the blessing of Palms and the Procession, but not for Mass, on Palm Sunday.
Black
Black is worn:
At all Requiem Masses including All Souls' Day.
At the Good Friday liturgy up to but not including the Communion service.
At the Easter Vigil up to but not including the renewal of Baptismal promises.
Rose
Vestment sets made from rose colored fabric are allowed on the two days indicated above, even where that color has not been customary.
Learn More About Vestment Colors
The main vestment colors are red, green, white, purple/violet and black, but other colors are permissible as well. Learn about the different vestment colors and their meanings by clicking here.
