The clothes don't make, but they explain, a bishop

By Patricia Kasten
Compass Associate Editor

We have a visual faith. Crosses mark our churches. Roman collars identify priests. Veils and rings tell us that certain women have given themselves totally to God.

All serve as reminders of the presence of Christ, intimately involved with his church and in the world.

	Bishop David Zubik's Installation as 11th Bishop of the Diocese of Green Bay
	• New bishop taking office at Mass on Friday     The ceremony will be broadcast live on both     radio and television     • Sidebar: New bishop     • Sidebar: Setting priorities • Bp. Zubik's schedule for Dec. 11-24 • Bishop eager to start serving Green Bay church     Bp. David Zubik wants to work with priests,     laity to satisfy the hunger for God     • Sidebar: Getting to know him • Proud father: 'You're really going to like him'     Stanley Zubik says his son, the bishop, cares     about all people, rich, poor, young, old • How a bishop takes charge • Editorial -- New leader     Bp. David Zubik comes highly recommended     and he wants to get to know all of us Past coverage:    November 21, 2003 issue:      • Pittsburgh planning farewell Mass for Bishop Zubik Sunday    November 14, 2003 issue:      • Visits scheduled for bishop         Bp. Zubik planning visits to Manitowoc,         Antigo, Marinette, Green Bay and Appleton    November 7, 2003 issue:      • Bp. Zubik to be installed Dec. 12 at St. Agnes         The 2 p.m. Mass will be shown live on         Green Bay channel 11    Other coverage:      • Links to Oct. 10 and Oct. 17 Compass coverage of new Bishop

In the same way, the attire of bishops reminds us of Christ's presence through these successors of his Apostles, to whom he gave the mission to preach, teach and sanctify - to proclaim the Good News to the whole world (Mk 16:15).

Several items readily identify a bishop of the Western church: a miter, ring, pectoral cross, a special chair, and a staff known as a crosier. Each offers visible reminders of the bishop's three-fold role - restated at Vatican II: "teachers of doctrine, ministers of sacred worship and holders of office in government ... bishops, in a resplendent and visible manner, take the place of Christ himself, teacher, shepherd and priest... " (Lumen Gentium, 20-21).

Teachers of doctrine

The first job of the Apostles was to teach, to spread the Gospel learned from Jesus. Vatican II reminded us that "bishops are heralds of the faith, who draw new disciples to Christ; they are ... teachers endowed with the authority of Christ, who preach the faith to the people assigned to them" (LG 24).

• One of the most unique symbols of a bishop's teaching role is the cathedra, the ornate chair in the cathedral. A cathedral, the bishop's church, takes its name from that chair. In Greek, kathedra, refers to chairs from which great teachers and philosophers taught. In ancient times, those in authority sat in chairs - a rare piece of furniture. Others stood around them, or sat at their feet.

The most famous cathedra is in St. Peter's Basilica. There, high behind the main altar and encased in a bronze sculpture hangs an old, wood chair. Whether or not it dates to the first apostle, it nonetheless serves as a concrete representation of the teaching office of all bishops, "transmitters of the apostolic line" (Vatican II, LG 19).

Only the bishop (the ordinary) of a diocese may sit in the cathedra. When Bp. Zubik is installed as Bishop of Green Bay on Dec. 12, the moment he officially takes charge of the diocese is when he first sits in the cathedra. For this reason, the cathedra - normally housed in St. Francis Xavier Cathedral - will be moved to St. Agnes Church for the installation Mass.

Holders of government office

As teachers, a bishop also holds authority to lead others in the practice of faith. Vatican II said "bishops, as vicars and legates of Christ, govern the particular Churches assigned to them by their counsels, exhortations and example, but, over and above that, also by the authority of sacred power which indeed they exercise exclusively for the spiritual development of their flock in truth and holiness" (LG n. 27).

• The image of a shepherd and the flock he protects is the image we should see in the governing actions of a bishop. Therefore, all bishops carry a shepherd's crook, officially called a pastoral staff, or crosier. Crosiers are one of the more ancient symbols of a bishop. Some sources say crosiers derive from the walking staffs of the first teachers of our faith. Others trace it to imperial rods, something like scepters, carried by Roman legates (deputies).

The crosier is curved at the top, about six feet long and often made of metal, though it may be of wood, as is Bp. Zubik's. Some also have a pointed end. Just as a shepherd uses his crook to guide his flock - urging them on, drawing them back, or lifting them when they have fallen - so does the crosier represent the protection of the Good Shepherd.

• Bishops also wear a ring - sometimes engraved with his crest or a religious design and sometimes adorned with a gem, most often an amethyst, but sometimes a sapphire. This ring seems to have developed from ancient signet rings used to seal official documents. However, rings are also used to seal the most permanent of relationships: marriage. As representatives of Christ, who takes the Church as bride, the bishop's ring symbolizes his union with a particular church. The Dictionary of Liturgy tells us that "the pastoral or episcopal ring is ... a mark of (a bishop's) jurisdiction and dignity. It clearly signifies the spiritual union and alliance contracted by the bishop with his particular Church."

Ministers of sacred worship

• Rings symbolize both authority and love. Another symbol of love, as well as service, is the pectoral cross. This cross, often given by another bishop - such as the pectoral cross Bp. Zubik received from Pope John Paul - is worn over the heart (and the pectoral muscles protecting it).

Pectoral crosses are a fairly recent addition to a bishop's attire; The Catholic Encyclopedia says bishops began wearing them officially in the 13th century. However, wearing a cross is an ancient Christian tradition and the first pectoral crosses contained relics of saints or pieces of the True Cross. Some, but not all, still do.

Whenever a bishop puts on his pectoral cross, he says a special prayer that God protect him from evil and enemies, and keep him mindful of Christ's Passion and cross.

As Vatican II said, "a bishop should keep before his eyes the example of the Good Shepherd, who came not to be waited upon but to serve and to lay down his life for his sheep" (LG, n. 27).

Christ's sacrifice is the source of all graces, and the source of every bishop's sanctifying power. Therefore, a bishop must make certain that all his flock have access to the sacraments and the Mass, the source of our faith.

• A bishop's miter - a head covering made of two panels of stiffened cloth, connected by a band and with two lappets down the back - symbolizes this sanctifying power. Canon law says a bishop "is the principal dispenser of the mysteries of God" and must "strive constantly that Christ's faithful entrusted to his care may grow in grace through the celebration of the sacraments, and may know and live the paschal mystery (n. 387).

Usually white in color (since white vestments symbolize Christ's resurrection), the miter is worn at all liturgical celebrations.

While miters were not always worn by bishops - and started out as only a soft, round cap - they do share a history with our Jewish ancestors in faith. Aaron and his sons were instructed to wear miters as part of their priestly attire - and over that miter, they wore a plate inscribed "sacred to the Lord" (Ex 28:36-38).

In all the bishop's attire, we are meant to see and remember the Lord, through whom all sacred things are given to the church, and by whom all of us are made sacred and holy, beautifully attired in His sight.