Each procession has (and here we depend on Roman Catholic writers) a leader, who is either a priest or a bishop. The priestly leader wears the chasuble and stole, and often the pluvial besides; his head is covered with a barret. The episcopal leader wears chasuble, stole, and pluvial; his head is covered with the mitre; he holds the pastoral staff in his left hand, with his right hand he blesses the people before whom the procession passes. The color of the stole, pluvial, and mitre is suited to the purpose of the procession. If (as is the case in the theophoric processions and when a particle of the cross is carried about for public veneration) the head must be uncovered, the bishop has the staff car- ried in front of him and the mitre behind him. In theophoric processions the blessing with the right hand is also omitted. In this case the leader carries the ven- erabile thus: he holds the ostensorium with both hands before his face, while his hands are covered with the vellum hanging down from both his shoulders. The organization of the Catholic Church, as a community presided over by the clergy, requires this leadership by ecclesiastics. If the leader wears the chasuble and stole, he declares by his dress that unceasing efforts to attain purity of heart (alba) and a childlike trust in the mer- its of Jesus Christ (stola) are the festive robes which every Christian, but more especially every priest, should wear in and outside of the house of God. If, besides, the bishop carries the staff and wears the mitre, it is for the purpose of reminding the Christians that he is their highest pastor, whose care surrounds and whose benedic- tion follows them everywhere. If the leader (unless prevented by his veneration of the body of Christ or
his reverence for the beam of the cross) have his head covered, this is a hint given to the faithful that it is their duty to revere the priest as their father in Christ. If the priest cover with a vellum the hands that hold the ostensorium, he confesses therewith his unworthiness of carrying, under the form of the bread, the body of him who created heaven and earth. The leader of the procession has generally assistants and a suite of honor. If the leader be a priest, he is assisted, if possible, by two levites, one walking to his right, the other to the left, and dressed, according to the color of the leader, as deacon and subdeacon, or at least by two acolytes. If the leader be a bishop, a few canons of his cathedral, at least, should walk before him, dressed in the pluvial. If the procession be theophoric, two aco- lytes, walking immediately before the leader, incense the venerabile uninterruptedly with their censers; in this case, also, a baldachin is generally extended over the leader, and borne by four, six, or eight laymen of distinction. It seldom happens that the leader of a non-theophoric procession walks beneath the balda- chin : it is then a personal honor, only bestowed on bishops on extraordinary occasions, as on their solemn entrance into a church. In countries where the cus- tom has hitherto existed, it is allowable to spread the baldachin over particles of the cross or other instru- ments of Christ's passion. The faithful who partici- pate in the procession walk two by two. This may find an analogy in Christ's sending out his disciples two by two to preach the Gospel. Gregory the Great (Horn. 17 in Evang.~) declares this to be a symbol of the two commandments of love— the love of God and the love of our fellow-man. Though the non-observance of this prescription is attended with much inconvenience, it is neglected in many processions in the cities and coun- try. Mabillon saw even in Rome a procession where the faithful walked partly two by two, partly three by three, and even in larger numbers (Iter Hal. v. 152). The faithful who participate in the procession (monks who are not bound by their rule to entire seclusion can be compelled by the bishops to attendance) are disposed with respect to the class and sex they belong | to. This is a requirement of good order. We find this arrangement mentioned by the oldest writers. St. Augustine speaks of a procession which took place I near Hippo, where the bishop walked in the middle, the | people before and after him (De Civ. Dei, i, 22, c. 8, n. 11). Porphyry of Gaza made the people precede, I and followed himself with his clergy (Sur. 26 Feb.). j The great procession held by Gregory the Great indi- i cated seven different churches, as starting-points for I seven different classes of people (clerks, monks, female servants of God, married women, widows, poor, and children).
In our times the procession is generally (the custom is not the same everywhere) opened by the children : they are put, as it were, in the first line of battle, in order that God may be moved by their innocence to listen favorably to the prayers of the community. The children are followed by the clergy, with the chanters and musicians; among the clergy the leader of the pro- cession walks the last, behind him the men, the promi- nent citizens taking the lead, followed by the wom- en. The promiscuous walking of persons of both sexes is nowhere allowed. The order, as described, places the leader, as pastor of the community, in the middle of the procession : he is the shepherd of the children as well as of the adults, of the innocent as well as of the peni- tent, of the married people as well as of the unmarried : he must always in life be near to all of them. If broth- erhoods, societies of mechanics, and members of relig- ious orders are present, the two first mentioned open the cortege, the latter walk before the chanters and musi- cians. In front of the procession and between its differ- ent divisions, crosses or crucifixes, flags, and, if the pro- cession is a very solemn one, images, relics, statues, etc., are carried. The bearer of the principal crucifix has