Vestments

Copes

Copes for solemn processions, Benediction, Vespers and blessings: the great ceremonial cape of the Church's liturgy.

10 pieces

About this collection

About Copes

The cope is worn for Benediction, processions, blessings and solemn Vespers. This collection offers traditional copes, most sold with a matching stole, in Marian, violet and gold designs. Many are decorated with embroidery on velvet or a golden band, and are lined.

A Panis Angelorum design suits Eucharistic processions, and there is a complete gold High Mass set for solemn liturgies.

Choosing a cope

Check the color you need, whether a stole is included, and the length for the priests who will wear it. A gold cope serves many feasts, while violet is needed for Advent and Lent. Listed prices currently run from about $430 to $3,450. Call or request a quote. Freight is billed separately. See also chasubles and vestments and ombrellinos and canopies.

Copes

In the Sacred Liturgy

The cope is a long, semicircular cape, open at the front and fastened across the chest with a clasp called a morse. It is worn by the priest for solemn rites outside Mass, such as Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament, processions, solemn Vespers, the Asperges before Sunday Mass, and many blessings, weddings and funerals.

At the back of the cope hangs a shield-shaped panel called the hood, a reminder that the cope began as a rain cloak with a real hood. It is often the most richly embroidered part, bearing a sacred image or monogram. The broad bands along the front edges, called orphreys, are also usually decorated.

Like the chasuble, the cope follows the liturgical colors: white or gold for Benediction and the great feasts, violet for penitential seasons, and black for funerals and the Office of the Dead. A cope is often made to match a set of vestments, so that all the ministers in the sanctuary share one design.