AMITTO. - A sacred garment of cloth (approx. 0.70 x 0.80 m.), to be placed around the neck and over the shoulders, provided with ribbons to tie its ends on the chest. Authors are not in agreement about its origins. Some, from the Greek name anabolaio or anabolio, by which it is designated in the Ordines Romani from the 8th to the 12th century, wish to derive it from the scapular with which monks bound the tunic around the body so as to have the arms free for movement. Others, on the other hand, have wished to see in it the focale, pallium orarium or sudarium of the Romans, a kind of scarf that was placed around the neck under the paenula or dalmatic (v.), to protect oneself from the cold or from sweat. On Trajan's Column, in Rome, one can see the Roman soldiers sent to Germany, who wear such a scarf around the neck. Amalarius calls it a. (from amicire), because it was wrapped around the neck and shoulders. Around the 10th century it began to be placed also over the head, in the manner of a hood. This use lasted throughout the Middle Ages, and in some churches, especially in France, even until the 17th and 18th centuries. This hood was adorned with gold embroidery, or with precious stones, and was placed on the head like a helmet. Then, in time, it returned to its ancient simplicity.

According to present-day prescriptions, it must be of cloth, of linen or of hemp, have at the top or in the middle a clearly distinct cross, which the priest kisses before using it, and be blessed by the bishop or by one who has the faculty to do so. It is put on before the alb; but in Rome, in ancient times, it was placed over it. This use is still preserved in the Ambrosian and Lyonese rite; and also in the Roman rite, in certain cases, the a. is placed over the cotta or the rochet. The a. symbolizes the fortitude with which the devil must be fought. Most beautiful, in this regard, is the prayer that the priest recites in putting it on: Impone, Domine, capiti meo galeam salutis ad expugnandos diabolicos incursus.

Bibliography4 works

BIBL.: G. Bona, De rebus liturgici, Paris 1672, p. 226; J. Braun, I paramenti sacri, Turin 1924, p. 56; M. Richetti, Storia Liturgica, I, Milan 1945, p. 474 ff. Enrico Dante A.M.M. (AIDE MÉDICALE AUX MISSIONS). - Association founded in 1935 within the Belgian Medical Society of St. Luke, for health care for the missions of the Belgian Congo; it gave rise to the "Ouvroirs," which see to providing the hospitals and clinics with the necessary hygienic and medical equipment, especially where there is already a doctor of the AMM. In 1938 the "Ouvroirs," while continuing their activity as before, constituted themselves as a non-profit association under the name Assistance aux Maternités et Dispensaires du Congo (AMDC).

Bibliography2 works

BIBL.: A. Corman, Annuaire des missions catholiques au Congo belge, Bruxelles 1935, p. 10; Bulletin de l'Union missionnaire du clergé (belga), 18 (1938), p. 80.

Giovanni B. Tragella

@incollection{ec1_amitto, author = {Dante, Enrico and Tragella, Giovanni Battista}, title = {Amitto}, booktitle = {Enciclopedia Cattolica}, volume = {I}, pages = {1076--1077}, note = {Cited by column}, publisher = {Ente per l’Enciclopedia Cattolica e per il Libro Cattolico}, address = {Città del Vaticano}, year = {1948}, url = {https://azioneromana.com/article/amitto} }

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