Scapular

SCAPULAR. - From Latin scapula = shoulder. An integral part of the monastic religious habit worn over the tunic, consisting of two long strips of cloth hanging from the shoulders, one on the chest and the other on the back, the latter fitted with a hood; at the top there is an opening through which the head passes.

It is proper to the monastic Orders: Benedictines, Camaldolese, Cistercians, Carmelites and Dominicans, and has also been adopted by some new congregations. It is of various colors: black for the Benedictines and Cistercians, white for the Camaldolese, Olivetans, Dominicans; brown for the Carmelites. St. Benedict (Reg., ch. 55: « scapulare propter opera ») alludes to the initial form, which must have been merely a band or strap, in the shape of a cross, placed on the chest and shoulders (analogous to the Greek ἀνάλαβος) to adjust or lift the habit during work; or else an apron to protect the ordinary garments. A century after St. Benedict, its meaning changed. The present form seems to derive from the « cucullus », that is, a hood lengthened down to the shoulders to protect the head and shoulders against rain, cold and snow. At the time of the reform of St. Benedict of Aniane (d. 821) it was lengthened down to the knees; this « cuculla s. » came, as Ardo (d. 843), biographer of St. Benedict of Aniane, writes, to be identified with the « s. » of the Benedictine Rule. Around the year 1000 it began to be lengthened down to the heels. Around 1200 the present form was reached.

To express their adherence to their respective monastic Order, oblates and those enrolled in the Franciscan Third Order wear under their garments a reduced form of the s., that is, two small pieces of cloth of the color of the Order's habit, joined by two ribbons. The s. of tertiaries is called « large », as opposed to the « small » one of religious confraternities, which have the s. as their distinctive badge. The most famous and widespread is the brown or black one of the Virgin of Mount Carmel, often combined with the others: with the white one, with the red and blue cross of the Most Holy Trinity, of the Order of Trinitarians (granted in 1200); with the black one of the Servites (from 1255) in honor of the 7 sorrows of Our Lady; with the blue one of the Immaculate Conception, granted in 1691 and 1710 to the Theatines; and with the red one of the Passion approved in 1847 for the Lazarists. Besides these five s. there are others, e.g., the violet-yellow one in honor of St. Joseph, approved in 1893 for the Capuchins, the red one in honor of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary, approved in 1900, the white one in honor of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, approved in 1900, etc.

To gain the spiritual benefits, the s. must really and continuously be worn day and night; they must be made of wool and blessed for the first time on the day of enrollment. A decree of Pius X (16 Dec. 1910) permits the wearing of a medal (having on one side the image of the Sacred Heart of Jesus and on the other that of Our Lady) to replace the s. (AAS, 3 [1911], pp. 22-23).

Pietro Siffrin