From a reader:
May a priest wear black vestments for a funeral mass in the Novus Ordo?
Yes! Without question, yes!
Black is a legitimate liturgical color and may be used for Masses for the Dead, All Souls, funerals, graveside services, etc. The General Instruction of the Roman Missal 346 identifies black as a legitimate liturgical color.
Black has long been in use in the Western Church for many centuries.
Will you allow me to quote Ven. Pius XII on the matter? He writes in Mediator Dei…
62. Assuredly it is a wise and most laudable thing to return in spirit and affection to the sources of the sacred liturgy. For research in this field of study, by tracing it back to its origins, contributes valuable assistance towards a more thorough and careful investigation of the significance of feast-days, and of the meaning of the texts and sacred ceremonies employed on their occasion. But it is neither wise nor laudable to reduce everything to antiquity by every possible device. Thus, to cite some instances, one would be straying from the straight path were he to wish the altar restored to its primitive tableform; were he to want black excluded as a color for the liturgical vestments; were he to forbid the use of sacred images and statues in Churches; were he to order the crucifix so designed that the divine Redeemer’s body shows no trace of His cruel sufferings; and lastly were he to disdain and reject polyphonic music or singing in parts, even where it conforms to regulations issued by the Holy See.
I urge priests to use black.
I urge laypeople to request the use of black.
I urge laypeople to rally together and purchase beautiful black vestments for their parishes.
