BERRETTA. –
I. ECCLESIASTICAL B
It is a head covering for the clergy, originating in the need to protect themselves from the cold during the choral office and processions in the open air. Attested as early as the 10th century, it was originally nothing more than a simple cap, called pileus, and, from the 14th century, b. To make it easier to use, the pileus was fitted with sewn folds which, over time, gave rise to the present form of b., with its four corners or points (cornum, apices) for graduates, and three in ordinary ecclesiastical use. The color of the b. is red for cardinals, violet for bishops, and black for all others. The delivery of the b. is a symbol of investiture in a benefice. The b. covers the head when an official or jurisdictional act is being performed. The rubrics prescribe uncovering the head as a sign of reverence toward God or superiors, and also during a prayer properly so called that is recited kneeling or standing.II. CARDINAL’S B
It is almost identical in form to the other b. of the clergy, but is red in color and has no tassel.Pope Pius IV granted the privilege to cardinals in
1564, making an exception for religious cardinals, who
continued to use the black one until 1591, when Gregory
XIV created cardinals the Dominicans Michele Bonelli and
Girolamo Bernieri, the Conventual Costantino Sarmani, and
the Augustinian Gregorio Petrochino. According to current
practice, the new cardinals residing in Rome receive,
after the secret consistory in which they have been created, a communication indicating the day and hour on which the Pope will place the red b. on their heads in the Apostolic Palace. If the new cardinals belong to Catholic states maintaining official relations with the Holy See, the head of that state, provided he is of the Catholic religion, places upon the newly elected cardinals the red b., which has ablegate (v.).