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“Presently, my firm is redesigning the sacristy at our church which was originally built in @ 1950. This is the only article that I have been able to find on the subject although our clergy has tried to contact a number of churches for suggestions. Thank you!
Lucille McKey, IIDA “
Thanks for your email Lucille. Yes, finding information about how to design a working sacristy is nearly impossible. There are no sources. Of course common sense is always an ingredient and discussions with altar guild workers who have many years’ experience with the requirements can be beneficial. Altar Guild workers are frankly brilliant at making do and often have to be very innovative in making things work in unbelievably cramped and challenging spaces.
To be able to get it right from the beginning is wonderful, so put a lot of thought into the layout. Hire professionals and keep in mind any historic spaces or architectural elements in your church which should be conserved as you are renovating for the sacristy. Work with the style and architecture of your edifice. Here is my list of absolute basics:
1. Will there be a separate priest vesting sacristy or will one space have to serve for everything? Christ Church in Westerly is very lucky to have a small vesting sacristy for clergy and across the chancel, a large, airy working sacristy for the guild. If you can manage this, life will be simpler. Note the height of this vesting space in the photo below. This is convenient and one does not have to bend over a low counter top.
2. When measuring for horizontal storage, take the WIDEST chasuble you have in inventory, lay it flat and measure across and add on a little for maneuvering. This should be the width of your horizontal flat storage drawer. There ought to be at least FIVE horizontal chasuble drawers labelled top to bottom: green, white, purple, red, Lenten array (or other color such as blue, black, floral, unbleached linen Lenten array, etc.) It is helpful to store the whole Low Mass set together. In this photo below from St. Stephen’s House, Oxford, England, note the eucharistic set stored in horizontal fashion and a clean white cotton liner all ready to cover up the set- excellent! Better still if the fiddleback chasuble could lie flat.
3. You will need a deep pull out drawer for small eucharistic linens. I like to line these with damask fabric so the drawer looks beautiful when the linens are laid out inside.
4. Two drawers, deep ones, will be needed for rolled FAIR linens. Measure your LONGEST fair linen on a roller. That will be the length measurement for the drawer plus a few extra inches.
5. Measure your longest small linen, such as credence shelf or table linen. These should also be stored rolled and kept separate from the fair altar linens as they tend to get mixed up if stored with the fair linens. A label with the type of linen marked IN PENCIL lightly is a help.
6. Measure any pulpit fall or lectern hanging or Bible markers at the widest part and their length to get drawer dimensions. These can be stored flat if you do not store them with your frontals. It is easier to store them separately.
7. You will need a double sink, stainless steel is best. Lining it with a plastic dishpan will save dings and cracks in glass cruets from happening. Another small sink which drains into the ground is desirable ( a piscina) for pouring down consecrated wine and wafer residue when washing vessels.
8. You will need frontal storage for heavy paraments. Flat storage or vertical hanging storage are both good options. Measure the widest frontal from side to side to obtain the width and add on a few inches extra for good measure. If you opt for vertical hanging storage, then you will need suspension dowels to drape the frontals over. They should be sanded very smooth and sealed with polyurethane to prevent snagging. Always put the lining next to the dowel. You may wish to have a separate space to hang your large funeral pall apart from the frontals. Be sure the height of the cabinet unit allows for the frontal to hang freely down without touching the bottom of the cabinet. A top opening can make getting frontals in and out tricky, a front opening of two doors swinging OUT from the center is preferable.
9. Additional small drawers near the sink are great for storage of cloths, cleaning products, and small items. An ironing board hanger which has the built-in iron holder is a godsend and can be mounted inside a closet.10. A cork bulletin board is a must for posting rotas and announcements and a calendar.
11. A closet deep enough to hang chasubles with plenty of air space between vestments is a must-have if you opt for vertical hanging storage instead. A ventilation panel in the lower door is also helpful for air circulation, a light inside the closet is useful. Use hangers which have the curved shoulders, usually made of resin, – never unpadded wire hangers! You may wish to have a separate closet for albs and surplices if space is available.
12. Chalice safe: Measure the height of the tallest metal vessel and add extra inches for easy access. The chalice safe should have a LOCK. There should be ample room to set up a communion chalice with pall, and a breadbox or ciborium at the least. Some churches which have daily communion actually have 7 small safes labelled for daily Mass, Mon- Sun! Imagine that! Below is San Giovanni Rotundo showing the 7 chalice safes with communion set up in each. Wow!
13. Vessel storage cabinet for extra eucharistic vessels, wafers and wine, etc. Always store wine away from any heat source and light.
14. A roomy storage cabinet for broom, vacuum, dustpan, cleaning items which are tall. Hang your ironing board and iron inside.
15. Floral arranging supply storage: room for Oasis, vases, pruners, liners, holiday special mechanics for floral display.
16. Wedding and baptism supply storage for kneelers, pew markers, ewer, candleholder, aisle runner, any special equipment used for occasional special services and sacraments.
17. A hard-wearing countertop surface which resists stains and is easy to sponge off.
18. A bookshelf for reference books is a plus.
19. Don’t neglect good lighting, and a light wall paint. I do have a horror,however, of painting over beautiful wood if it is of architectural or historical significance just to make a sacristy “brighter”. Improve the lighting instead.
20. A specified place for plastic waste bins which should be emptied frequently of rotting floral material.
21. Drying rack for wet cloths. These usually are hung near or over the sink and fan out from the wall about 10 inches with about 4-5 separate hanging bars. This attaches on the wall.
22. The door to the sacristy should have a sturdy lock and either each member should have a key, or else the key should be hidden in a place known to the altar guild and clergy.
23. A carpet may be cushy to stand on and may look great but it is not practical. Wall to wall carpet holds dustmites and mold spores like mad. A tile or wooden floor is easily cleaned. A rubber work mat is great at the sink or in any area where one must stand in one spot for a length of time. Save the fancy oriental carpet for the priest’s vesting sacristy. That space can be made very beautiful with a prie-dieu, framed artwork, and a very handsome horizontal chasuble “press”. I particularly like to have framed vesting prayers, a shelf for books and notes, a clock, a beautiful religious picture or icon and cross, a damask vestment pad on which to lay out vestments, a small chair, a spot to have tissues, a pitcher of cold water and paper cups and a jar of cough drops, a calendar, notepaper and pencils,and a few comforts. Just look at the floor at Saint Paul the Apostle in the Diocese of Joliet! Clean enough to eat off of and easy care.
24. A safe is recommended if very valuable or historic vessels are in the inventory.
I know there may be more ideas out there. Please send in comments and photos of your good ideas in your sacristy. . If you are fortunate enough to be building a sacristy from scratch, you have a wonderful and rare opportunity to customize it to fit every need. Renovations later are expensive so there is every incentive to plan carefully first. Also check Craig’s List, Ebay and local classified ads, many churches which are being closed or are merging with another parish have cabinets and vestment presses, vessels safes and more fittings FOR SALE very reasonably-priced! In closing, gasp at this glorious sacristy in France at the Cathedral of the Holy Cross in Orleans. Once there were so many beautiful sacristies in America. Around the late 50′s, early 60′s so much beautiful wood, marble, and other quality materials were replaced and heaved out in the wish to “modernize”, to the deep regret of us now. Point to ponder.
Sorry to be missing in action for so long. June flew by helping my youngest to relocate to Hartford. It was a busy month. In May the parish administrators gathered for our annual luncheon. This year St. Peter’s in Narragansett was our host church. St. Peter’s is one of the most beautiful churches in the Diocese with its magnificent Gothic Revival architecture and Victorian stained glass. The high altar stained glass gives a golden glow as the story of St. Elizabeth and the miracle of the roses is portrayed. When the sun shines through this East window, the entire nave is bathed in the warm hues.
Also remarkable is the Victorian stencilling within the chancel, executed in the warm terracotta, ochre and moss green palette of the pre-Raphaelites. What a blessing this remarkable decoration was not covered up with tan paint as was the “style” at the turn of the 20th century when new fads were taken up.
The stained glass is worth the trip in itself, with a magnificent Tiffany angel and a seagull over the waves also from the Tiffany studio. The gull had to be back lit when the guild hall was built and covered the window from natural light. There are many fine examples of Victorian glass, some with fascinating and tragic stories. Varina Jefferson Davis, wife of Jefferson Davis, although a lady of the old South, was much admired by the ladies of the town when she would visit Narragansett in summer, and her memorial window bears her name. A striking window featuring a lovely angel and three cherubs has a sad story. Della Waters of Fall River, who had suffered from severe depression and who had recently been in a sanitarium, took her three young children and was heading on a Fall River boat from New York City back to her family home in Fall River when she, in a fit of despair, threw the children into the ocean and jumped in herself just off Block Island. Their bodies were never recovered. The Waters family had a summer home in Narragansett and dedicated this window.
The small sacristy is a model of neatness, and every square inch is utilized. Note the towel rods on the wall for storing fair linens! If cleanliness is next to Godliness, St. Peter’s must be very close to heaven. Do not miss the memorial garden on the west side, which is filled with perennials and herbs and divine roses!
Of all the symbols of Easter, perhaps none is so familiar as the Agnus Dei. We see it in woven damask for frontals and vestments, on banners and even on special small linen sets for the altar. It must be crowned with a three-rayed nimbus or halo, signifying that it is a symbol of divinity and is featured with the white ground, red cross Banner of Victory.
The LAMB is the symbol associated with Jesus. He is often referred to in the Bible as the “Lamb of God” (Revelation 5:6-14). John the Baptist described Jesus as the “Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world” (John 1:29). The Passover lamb (Exodus 12:1-11) has been interpreted by Christians as foreshadowing Jesus’ sacrificial death (1 Corinthians 5:7).
Although the white lily is most often connected to the Mother of God, and is a symbol for purity and innocence, the EASTER LILY, which blooms in the spring close to Easter time has become a popular symbol. Because they are shaped like trumpets, lilies are symbols of immortality (1 Corinthians 15:52). Lilies are seen as pot decoration and cut for altar vases for Easter as well as motifs on church altar rail kneelers, stained glass windows, Easter bulletin decoration and Easter banners.
More rarely seen in decoration or textiles is the BUTTERFLY. It symbolizes the life cycle of Jesus and the Christian in the following order: the caterpillar stage represents natural earthly life; the cocoon represents death of the body; the butterfly emerging from the cocoon represents the resurrection. Another animal connected to the resurrection is the PHOENIX. Believed to have retained its immortality since, unlike the rest of the birds, it refused to eat from the forbidden tree in the garden of Eden.The phoenix lived for 500 years between rejuvenations. Every 500 years, it created a combination funeral pyre/nest for itself of spices and herbs, sat on it and set itself on fire. When the fire died down, an egg would be found among the ashes from which the phoenix which laid it would hatch. It has become a symbol of the resurrection.
Rarely seen in America as a symbol of the resurrection is the SWALLOW which flew around the cross chirping “Svale! Svale!” which is Scandinavian for “Cheer up! Cheer up!” Since this bird hibernates in the mud during the winter, his awakening in the spring is a symbol of the resurrection.
Another rare symbol is the WHALE for as Jesus said “For as Jonas was 3 days and 3 nights in the whale’s belly; so shall the Son of man be 3 days and 3 nights in the heart of the earth” (Mt 12:40).
The HARE, or wild rabbit is a symbol of the moon. It became associated with Easter because the moon is used to determine the date of Easter. According to the Council of Nicea in 325 A.D. Easter falls on the first Sunday after the first full moon after March 21st. Have you ever seen this in church? It just might explain the “Easter Bunny” popularity in modern culture at Eastertide.
The PEACOCK Symbolizes immortality and the resurrection since its flesh was once believed to be incorruptible or immune to decay. The peacock damask below was found in a Rhode Island chasuble
The LION and EGG are other resurrection symbols. In the Bible, Jesus is called the Lion of the tribe of Judah. The genealogies of the New Testament point out that Jesus was a descendant of Judah from whom the eternal ruler was to come. The EGG shell can be seen as a nurturing, life giving tomb. The hatching chick represents Christ emerging from the tomb. The resurrection symbolism of the egg is enhanced by the legend of the phoenix.
Do you know of other symbols for the resurrection?
Hard to believe but the season after Pentecost is fast drawing to an end and already it is time to get your order in for Advent candles and to hunt up the Advent candle ring. If you use a fresh green wreath from the florist, most shops appreciate an order placed two weeks before to guarantee you will get just what you need. The Farmer’s Daughter (Kingston) and Schartner’s Farms (Exeter)make up a beautiful fresh green wreath to order if you drop off your ring. With a little green wire you can purchase a fresh ring to fit and wire it to your frame yourself.
Last year we ordered the 16 inch pillar candles which burned evenly and looked great with brass followers. There is so much candle left that we plan to use them again this year. Some candle companies will buy back used candles and give a wax credit, but usually this is for a Paschal candle and not for the purple and pink candles of Advent. With the cost of a new set being in the 50-60 dollar range, it makes sense to use up what’s in the sacristy. To freshen last year’s candles, moisten a soft cotton cloth with vegetable oil such a Wesson, Crisco, etc., wipe the length of the candle to remove dull film and dust, then wipe off the excess and buff the candles gently until they shine again. Trim wicks neatly and the candle is all ready for another season. Using a follower of brass or glass will help get the most out of any candle and will help to avoid wax drips and uneven burning.
Egan Church supplies offers a lower price if you use the online shopping option. Order this week and don’t forget to contact the florist for the fresh greens if you cannot make up a wreath. http://www.eganchurchsupply.com/cs/candles_advent.htm
If you get to Westerly during Advent, Christ Church has traditionally hung fresh boxwood wreaths on their doors with deep purple velvet bows which are exchanged for red on Christmas Eve. Very pretty- and so is the new set of doors on the Elm Street side of Christ Church.
It has been a busy month going through boxes of redundant and unused vestments and linens which have arrived from other churches for relocating. It is like Christmas when these things appear in my office. I have quite a number of chalice pall inserts in various sizes and a good deal of linen remnants in various lengths. If your altar guild would like to make a new chalice pall, I am able to send you the insert (either cardboard, plexiglass or metal) and enough linen with an iron-on transfer and making directions to make a pall. They are really not very hard to do. (Revdma@aol.com )
I will be putting up a slideshow this weekend of some of the pretty embroideries I have seen over the summer and of some of the vestments I have relocated. My project for the autumn is documenting needlepoint in the Diocese of Rhode Island. Back in 1995 I did a program on this fascinating topic for the ECW but now we have digital photography, I think I can get better results. Rhode Island does have some LOVELY kneelers and other needlepoint items. Please let me know if your sacristy is in need of something in particular- I may just have it-and my husband will be delighted to see more “church things” exit our burgeoning front parlor!
What beautiful weather we are having! – just the right time to air out our sacristy closets and drawers after the muggy August we endured. September is a time for starting the back-to-church season with all its many programs on a fresh note.
Recently I received an email asking me to recommend an iron for ironing fair and small linens. You’ll want to iron linens quite damp and ideally chilled from your refrigerator. For some reason linen fibers lie down and behave nicely when they are chilled before pressing. You can spend between 30- 150 dollars for a steam iron. The thing is, you do not need steam for pressing damp linens-the idea is to press and dry these items at the same time. A metal soleplate is essential- and one without steam vents is superior and will not leave steam hole “tracks”. I am not a fan of plastic irons, yes, they may be lighter but they do not get the job done. I will cheerfully “pump iron” of 5 pounds with a steel soleplate just like my Mom’s from the 1950′s.
At last I found a source for the steel soleplate, traditional DRY iron which is perfect for ironing wet linen- without the steam holes. Please check out this link http://www.vermontcountrystore.com/browse/Home/For-The-Home/Household-Cleaning/Laundry/Dry-Iron/D/30100/P/1:100:1030:10340:101110/I/f06328?evar3=BROWSE# for Vermont Country Stores and by all means watch the video about this product which is on the same page. At around 30 dollars- this is the iron for your linens and cottons. Every sacristy should have this, and a sturdy, serviceable iron board.
Well, it’s September 1st and we’re back online from a busy summer. In my mailbox this month was a request for small-sized cassocks for a children’s choir. Does anyone have some tucked away in sizes 6-14? Red is preferred but black will do. We also are looking for the little white cottas in the same sizes. Please drop me a line at Revdma@aol.com and I can arrange to pick up these items!
The prie-dieu (singular) or prayer desk once seen in most Episcopal churches is becoming a rarer article these days. Literally meaning “pray (to) God”, these items of convenience for prayers and devotions have been around for centuries-both as home furnishings for private prayers and also in chapels, in front of votive stands, at marriage ceremonies for the bride and groom to kneel upon, in front of shrines to saints, and in priests’ sacristies for prayer preparation before Mass. Often today a long kneeler has taken the places of the wedding prie-dieux and real candle votive stands are on 
the wane. Those electrified candles alas, aren’t quite the same thing! Still a staple in most Episcopal churches are kneelers in a hassock style, or pull-down hard kneelers on a wooden frame.
The prie-dieu to the left is from 1830. Some prie-dieux look very like a chair with an elongated back with a padded top for missals, breviaries and prayer books to perch while kneeling. Monastic prie-dieux have shelves for storage of materials needed during the many offices around the clock. The Episcopal church, especially after WWII adopted the needlepoint kneeler in pews, and on prie-dieux kneelers and padded tops. Trinity Church in Newport has an extraordinary collection of needlepoint kneelers and prie-dieux. That of the rector’s wife, situated in front of the pulpit, is of needlepoint in a pale shade and features violets, the state 
flower of Rhode Island.
Royalty, saints and even the Virgin Mary are often portrayed in art kneeling in pious attitudes on a prie-dieu. Prie-dieux have been made of every possible material, in every style according to the current taste, elaborate, simple, decorated and plain. with all manner of upholstery and padding. The prie-dieu of important persons have often survived to be preserved in museums. Simple, sturdy, and well-constructed ones have survived in humble convents and monasteries and are still in use. 
The amazing gilded prie-dieu to the right is from 1706 Italy and not surprisingly belonged to a lady of great rank and privilege.
A simple prie-dieu offered in a style still very affordable and obtainable through most church furnishing catalogues. The kneeler would look well in needlepoint.
The famous architect, and decorative arts designer and artisan, Augustus Welby Pugin, (1812-1852) who created masterpieces of Gothic Revival style from jewelry to the Parliament buildings in London designed a prie-dieu which had everything included in one impressive design.
Not all priests keep sick call kits in the church sacristy, so you may not have had to clean or pack linens and supplies for a sick call kit as part of altar guild regular duties. Still it is good to know how to do so if ever the need arises. The usual traveling or home Mass kit or sick call case contains miniature linens (purificator, lavabo and corporal), a cross or crucifix, small candles which will fit into spaces on either side of the crucifix, a small chalice and ciborium, paten, water, wine, wafers, a small, short purple stole, cotton balls, and anointing oil, and in some cases a small spoon if the individual receiving the Sacrament is an invalid who may have difficulties. The fittings may be very elaborate and costly or very simple and plain.
Viaticum can be referring to the sacrament given to the dying, or even to the vessel which holds the consecrated elements. I have seen a most remarkable viaticum at St. John’s Newport which is a cylinder of crystal with a cone-shaped threaded screw top which holds a consecrated wafer. The crystal tube is for wine. This was made in Scotland in 1906. 
There are other styles for the portable viaticum container such as the one pictured to the left on sale in a popular church supply catalogue. This one features a compartment for wine and one for wafers.
The priest nearly always prepares the home Mass, sick call kit, or viaticum provisions personally, but the altar guild may well be required to wash and iron linens for the kit, and from time to time may be asked to clean and polish the vessels . If you are asked to wash up after a home communion, or sick call, all the usual rules apply to handling consecrated elements- with water and wine residue from the chalice being put down a piscina or into the earth. The small linens (corporal and purificator) should be blessed. The lavabo towel does not require it, although frequently whole sets are blessed as a unit. If you must dispose of worn linen, it must be burned if it has been blessed.
n. pl. vi·at·i·ca (-k
) or vi·at·i·cums 1. Ecclesiastical The Eucharist given to a dying person or one in danger of death.2. Supplies for a journey.
) or vi·at·i·cums 1. Ecclesiastical The Eucharist given to a dying person or one in danger of death.2. Supplies for a journey.[Late Latin vi
ticum, from Latin, traveling provisions, from neuter of viticus, viatic; see viatical.]
ticum, from Latin, traveling provisions, from neuter of viticus, viatic; see viatical.]
The photo above shows a pocket pyx. We have already discussed pyxes on the site at great length under the Metalware catagory. The pocket pyx is the form which looks a lot like a pocket watch and is generally the style used for emergency trips to deliver consecrated wafer(s). It may fit into the home Mass kit, or more often it is worn around the neck of the priest in a small pyx burse of silk or kid leather on a cord. Burse (boursa) means pouch or small pocket.
If you have worn fair linens or larger small linens which still have areas of good fabric, think about recycling these into small linens for the home Communion kit- a good summer project.
How to Iron Clothes : Ironing with Aluminum Foil
Well- here’s something I just learned about today. Shall we try it? Let me know how it worked for you!
I am glad to see the Lesage book on Amazon.com for under 5 dollars these days. It is actually volume 114 of The Twentieth Century Encyclopedia of Catholicism, section 10 under The Worship of the Church and is translated from the French, published by Hawthorn Books, NY. 1960. This was one of the first books I found when beginning the study of vestments and church furnishings, and is a very useful little volume of 152 pages. Topics included cover information on thuribles, altars, sacred vessels, candlesticks, the font, church bells, vestments and much more. Although some of the material covered applies to Roman Catholic usage, the book is well worth having for the history behind many of the vestments and vessels also used in the Episcopal church. The only negative about this publication may be that there are no diagrams or photographs.
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