New Pope, New Style, we may say, using a rather superficial fashion language. But how will the Church and the Vatican change with the arrival of Pope Francis? Irenebrination asked Paolo Serpone from historical Neapolitan company Serpone, producer of the sacred vestments for the Papal Sacristy.
In Leonardo Sciascia's Candido: or a A Dream Dreamed in Sicily the prelate identifies his long for wealth with his wish to enter the church: "I desired wealth so much that even my wishing to become a priest came from that desire: the wealth of the Church, the wealth of the churches; the marbles, the fine stuccowork, the gilt, the embossed silver, the damasks." In the history of art, literature, film and even fashion, the Catholic Church has been inextricably linked with visions of splendour and magnificence. Many will remember Federico Fellini's grotesque ecclesiastical catwalk show in his Roma that bizarrelly seemed to anticipate some of the most solemn celebrations seen at the Vatican. Yet things may be changing soon thanks to the newly elected Pope Francis.
Known prior to the election as Cardinal Jorge Bergoglio of Buenos Aires, the Argentinian Jesuit elected 266th pontiff of the Catholic Church to succeed Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI who announced his resignation in February has brought winds of change and a will to break with the traditional papal iconography since he emerged from behind the red curtains of the central balcony of St Peter's after the "Habemus Papam (We have a pope)" formula was pronounced.
In that occasion he opted to wear the traditional white cassock and zucchetto and a simple pectoral cross, refusing more noticeable features including the gold cross and the red velvet mozzetta trimmed with fur.
Humility is not only in the gestures but also in the way a pontiff dresses to celebrate the mass, and Paolo Serpone knows this very well.
His family is behind Serpone, the historical company based in Naples that has been producing liturgical garments since 1820 and that has been making vestments for the Papal Sacristy for years, producing thousands of pieces for the most important anniversaries and for some of the latest events including 200 chasubles for the conclave, all of them characterised by sobriety and simplicity.
Humility and a humble style are definitely set to define an entirely new course at the Vatican. During inauguration mass the Pope called for the Church to serve its flock and not be afraid of tenderness and kindness, embracing the whole of humanity, especially the poorest, the weakest and the least important, as St Francis of Assisi taught. As minimalism knocks at the Vatican doors, it looks like all the Autumn/Winter 2013 fashion collections inspired by the the pomp, splendour and wealth of the church from Dolce & Gabbana to Alexander McQueen may already be out of fashion.
What is the main difference between Pope Francis's choice of vestments and Benedict XVI?
Paolo Serpone: Benedict XVI was a conservative Pope, so he did not inspire a new liturgical line but followed the tradition, also using very important vestments donned by previous popes, wearing absolutely marvellous pieces that are at museum level and that represent part of our artistic heritage. This Pope is essentially a minimalist in direct contrast with his predecessor since he wants to go back to a simple, Franciscan liturgy, this is the main reason why the media are also showing so much interest in his style. He is a Jesuit and the name he chose directly links him with messages such as helping the poor and protecting the planet, God's creation. Pope Francis has put at the centre of his mission these themes and therefore he wants absolute simplicity in the liturgy.
In which way has Pope Francis surprised people so far?
Paolo Serpone: He didn't want to wear the traditional Fisherman's Ring in gold, but opted for a gold-plated version made in silver. In the same way he preferred to wear a simple metal cross rather than a gold one and didn't want to wear the short red velvet shoulder cape trimmed with white ermine. He also opted to wear the Papal stole, symbol of St Peter's reign on earth, only for the "Urbi et Orbi" blessing after he greeted the crowd gathered in St. Peter's Square to celebrate his election. So this Pope has completely broken not only the religious and spiritual lines but also the liturgical line, the tradition. At my family's company we have been making sacred furniture and vestments for over a century and we have a long tradition, competence and culture. We see these garments and objects employed during sacred rites as liturgical pieces charged with a special spirituality, but this Pope is inspiring a completely new liturgical line based on humility and simplicity.
What do you think the future of Pope Francis' Papacy will be like also style-wise?
Paolo Serpone: It will be based on a very essential liturgy that aims at bringing the word of God to ordinary and humble people. In certain countries such as the Pope's native Argentina, the Roman Catholic Church is perceived as something strongly linked with wealthy families and very much interested in the pomp and the circumstance, so as something distant from the poorer classes. This Pope is switching back the attention to the poor reminding us that the church is universal and that Jesus loved everybody especially the poor, those who are often forgotten or abandoned by society. This is the core of the message of the Pope - why do we need the magnificence and the riches? Let's give everybody the chance to have the same possibilities since it is simply anachronistic and crazy to think that only 1% of the world population holds the global wealth and the rest dies of hunger and lives in disadvantaged conditions - the economy is in constant global crisis also for this reason. And this also ties in with messages we received in the past from other figures such as Mother Teresa who highlighted in her Nobel Prize speech how the poverty of the West - the poverty of people who have material things but can't smile to each other and can't love each other - is so much difficult to remove that poverty in disadvantaged countries. Another key message to unlock the new liturgy is eco-sustainability since we have exploited the resources of the planet in a reckless way and we can't go on like this for a long time. So we will see a return to the roots and a focus on real meanings. Translated into garments, we will therefore see very simple yet beautiful liturgical lines, the humble beauty of St Francis and the humble beauty of nature, embodied by simple - and not expensive - vestments that will hint at the grace of God and at spirituality.
Does your company also design the fabrics employed for the vestments?
Paolo Serpone: We design the fabrics, the vestments and the liturgical objects and we produce some of the fabrics, even though we do not have the facilities to produce a lot of metres of fabric. The people who work with us are extremely skilled artisans and they do this job with a lot of passion and devotion since, as you may guess, this is not an ordinary job at all.
Is there a piece among the ones your company made that you particularly remember because it was donned by a Pope in a very special occasion and because it was charged with a special symbolic meaning?
Paolo Serpone: The 5,000 stoles and the hand-embroidered stole we made for Pope John Paul II's 50th sacerdotal anniversary. He commissioned the pieces to us and then chose the drawing we showed him representing the icon of Our Lady of Częstochowa to whom he was very devoted. After some priests who had been the primary targets of persecution in Communist Poland told their stories, Pope John Paul II kissed their hands and put the stole on them, a very symbolic gesture since it's usually somebody else who puts the stole on the Pope's shoulders and not the other way round.
Which are the most important garments your company produced so far for the Papal Sacristy?
Paolo Serpone: Being a historical company, we made garments and vestments for many liturgical celebrations for quite a long time. We made for example 5,000 stoles for the 50th anniversary of Pope John-Paul II's Priestly Ordination; the vestments for the 60th sacerdotal anniversary of Pope Benedict XVI, for all the cardinals' consistories and for the Synod of Bishops in 2010. We also made the vestments for the year of the faith that began in October 2012; for Pope Benedict XVI's last mass celebrated on Ash Wednesday and for the mass in Coena Domini. More recently we produced the vestments for the Holy Mass "Pro Eligendo Pontifice" and we also gave the bookrest for the conclave mass, a very antique and beautiful French piece from the 1800s that we restored.
What kind of objects do you usually restore?
Paolo Serpone: We produce and restore sacred furniture, but also pieces from museums or historical mansions mainly based in Italy. In our team there are architects and restorers who take care of these jobs. We have for example redecorated the Throne Room of the Royal Palace of Caserta and restored the tapestries and the furniture of the ballroom of the Palace of Capodimonte in Naples and the furniture and paintings in the House of Savoy Chapel in Rome.
Image credits:
Images 4 to 9 show a series of religious garments and objects restored by Serpone. All images courtesy of Serpone, Naples, Italy
Member of the Boxxet Network of Blogs, Videos and Photos
Member of the Boxxet Network of Blogs, Videos and Photos
Comments