Bearded Priests

[Angel Bradford]

Both my pastor and parochial vicar have beards. When my brother was in the seminary, he had a goatee and was told to shave it. After he was ordained , he grew it back.

[rben20]

Not only the SSPX but the FSSP as well during seminary discourage beards. Not sure why though. Like someone mentioned earlier it might just be a disciple thing. Nothing more or less.

[Filioque]

Styles and practices have differed over time. A glance at the Pontificale Romanum, (Book containing the rituals preformed by Bishops) from before Vatican II had two rituals for Tonsure, one for the tonsure of the hair, which was a rite that a man went through to enter into clerical life before Minor Orders, and another for tonsure of the beard.

[ConstantineTG]

Originally Posted by BenjaminD

I just had a random question pop into my mind.

Is it actually forbidden for a Priest to have a beard? Seminaries I have looked into say you cannot grow facial hair during your studies and I have heard that it is banned for Priests by many people.

But what is the background of this? The only Priest I know of that has had a beard (Besides Eastern Catholics) is Father Corapi.

I haven't really paid attention to this until recently haha.

Here's what I understand from it from a discussion with our subdeacon (Eastern parish) when I asked himi about the beard of Eastern priest. The original tradition was priests were to be bearded, one reason was to ensure those who are given Holy Orders are men. Also another is they have unkept beards, which means they do not desire to look clean and well shaven and attractive so as not to draw attention to themselves, its an act of humility.

Eventually in the West, there was concern about spilling the Precioud Blood on the beards, so Western priests started shaving and it became the tradition of the West. But today there is no rule against it. My favorite RC priest is bearded. And many Eastern priests, while bearded, have them trimmed and kept.

[po18guy]

Truth to tell, it is quite possibly shaving that has become vanity in the modern age. It exposes the entire face and hides the grayness or scraggliness of a man's beard. Those who expose their gray and/or scraggly beards may be demonstrating a form of humility.

[ConstantineTG]

Originally Posted by po18guy

Truth to tell, it is quite possibly shaving that has become vanity in the modern age. It exposes the entire face and hides the grayness or scraggliness of a man's beard. Those who expose their gray and/or scraggly beards may be demonstrating a form of humility.

I forgot who but there is a saint who's half-shaven and half-bearded. Just because he wanted to look unsightly as his sign of humility.

Well kept beards are also quite the vanity for some people. I'd love to have a properly trimmed beard if I had the ability to grow one

[Steve56]

Here is one with a beard (Cardinal Sean O'Malley the Archbishop of Boston):

[Seamus L]

I think they should be optional. Not allowing beards sounds too rigid and making them mandatory smacks of Old Testament legalism.

[ConstantineTG]

Originally Posted by Seamus L

I think they should be optional. Not allowing beards sounds too rigid and making them mandatory smacks of Old Testament legalism.

I don't think there is such a rule in the Church today, even in the East. But its more of a traditional gesture in the East you'd hardly find any priests who's unbearded. Definitely Eastern Bishops are bearded.


edit:

I stand corrected:



Bishop of Saskatoon, Canada

[I_R]

a priest i know, who has been a priest for a little over a year now, says he is thinking about not shaving during Lent because it was some kind of old tradition for men to not shave for Lent. but he told me its not a required practice anymore and that he is only considering it.

[ConstantineTG]

Originally Posted by I_R

a priest i know, who has been a priest for a little over a year now, says he is thinking about not shaving during Lent because it was some kind of old tradition for men to not shave for Lent. but he told me its not a required practice anymore and that he is only considering it.

Reminds me of the hockey playoff beard. Hockey players don't shave during playoffs until they are either eliminated or have won the Stanley Cup. The tradition indeed has caught on in the secular world.

It would be nice if the priest can share with the congregation in his homily the significance of it. I've been taught fasting and abstience my entire life but only last year did a priest had such a wonderful teaching about it he gave during his homily which suddenly the practice made sense to me.

[JReducation]

I think that we're all over the place on a very simple point. Let's breat this down. A priest may be a secular man or a consecrated religious.

Let's take secular priests. A secular priest may belong to a diocese or to a society such as the FSSP, Maryknoll, SSPX, and a few other societies of priests, not including the Jesuits. They are a true religious order of consecrated men.

A secular priest must abide by the dress code of his diocese, if he is diocesan or by those of his society, if he belongs to a priestly society.

That takes care of two groups of priests. The third group are men who are both priest and consecrated religious. These priests belong to either a religious order or to a religious congregation. They follow the dress code of their order or their congregation.

Someone posted the picture of Cardinal Sean, who by the way does not go by Cardinal O'Malley, because he's a brother and we don't use last names except to sign silly things.

Sean is a Capuchin Brother. For centuries, we had to wear beards, because Francis had a beard. In 1970 the beard was made optional, but strongly encouraged. The reason it was made optional was cultural. In some countries the beard was associated with certain lifestyles that are less than respectable or with Communism, because many Communist leaders had beards. The General Chapter decided to modify the statute on the beard. Since it had been written by the friars, not by Francis, the friars have the right to abrogate it or modify it. That's why Cardinal Sean wears a beard. He entered before it was an option. I entered three-years after him, but I also wear it.

Fr. Mitch and Fr. Corapi are both consecrated religious. The statues of their religious communities trump any disciplinary regulations that apply to priests, unless Canon Law says otherwise. A priest who is a member of a religious community is bound to the statutes of his community, not regulations that apply to other priests. Except, those that Canon Law says that apply to everyone who is a priest. The beard is not in Canon Law. The Jesuits and the SOLTs allow beards.

Some religious communities demand it.

I hope this answers the question.

Fraternally,

Br. JR, OSF

[po18guy]

As usual, Brother Jay, your answer is complete, accurate, appropriate, charitable, and has just killed yet another thread!

[LilyM]

Originally Posted by po18guy

Truth to tell, it is quite possibly shaving that has become vanity in the modern age. It exposes the entire face and hides the grayness or scraggliness of a man's beard. Those who expose their gray and/or scraggly beards may be demonstrating a form of humility.

Goes both ways. I'm pretty sure my Dad grew a beard to hide his double chin and wrinkly neck as he got older. And he certainly spends a fair amount of time in the mirror grooming it. So in his case it may well be the beard that is the sign of vanity, and shaving would be the act of humility.

[Ed Normile]

I travel in my work and have seen many priests with beards. I feel that perhaps the seminary rule is because they are students. Most schools have some sort of dress code, its a discipline thing, providing discipline conditions the students to recognize authority and act as expected.

ed