CROCE-BEARER. — According to an ancient Christian custom, the cross, as the standard of Christ, precedes all sacred processions of the faithful, and the office of carrying it is especially entrusted to the subdeacon, who wears the surplice and tunicle (S. Congr. Ritt, no. 9 ad 18) or even the folded chasuble, depending on the nature of the function being celebrated. In rites for the dead, the subdeacon of the Mass serves as the cross-bearer; on the days of the Rogation processions, Palm Sunday, Holy Thursday, and Good Friday, however, the cross-bearer is another person distinct from the subdeacon of the Mass (S. Congr. Ritt, no. 2646 ad 1).
BIBL.: A. Moretti, *Caeremoniale iuxta Ritum Romanum*, Turin 1938-39 (v. index). Filippo Oppenheim