Those who attend the annual Chrism Mass 10 a.m. April 17 (Holy Thursday) at the Cathedral of St. Paul in St. Paul will notice something new and different. The priests and deacons will be wearing matching vestments given to them by Archbishop Bernard Hebda through the diaconate office of the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis.
Deacon Larry Lawinger, director of the diaconate, came up with the idea in 2024 of getting matching vestments for all priests (chasubles) and deacons (dalmatics). After Archbishop Hebda approved, the diaconate office then provided funding and bought 732 vestments for the clergy of the archdiocese.
Deacon Lawinger — along with Deacons Jim Bauhs and Tom Michaud, also of the diaconate office — made a total of four stops on March 7 to deliver vestments, going to the Cathedral of St. Paul, the Basilica of St. Mary in Minneapolis, the Leo C. Byrne Residence for retired priests and The St. Paul Seminary, both in St. Paul.
“We as a diaconate community were very excited to take on that project for (Archbishop Hebda),” Deacon Lawinger said. “I want to personally thank (Deacon) Jim Bauhs because without him, this would not have happened. He is the most organized person I know, hence the reason we pulled him into the diaconate office. He just kept up with all of the details, which is not my gift. He made sure that we carried it all the way across the finish line.”
The supply of vestments includes those for future priests and deacons, including this year’s priest ordination class of six, plus some for transitional deacons to use, which will be given to The St. Paul Seminary. The vestments are cream colored and lightweight, with a simple embroidered design on the front. The idea is to have something simple that easily can be duplicated down the road in the event more are needed and a different manufacturer is selected. Two priests gave input to the three deacons: Father Joseph Johnson, rector of the Cathedral, and Father Tom Margevicius, director of the Office of Worship for the Archdiocese. The final order of vestments was placed with St. Paul-based St. Patrick’s Guild, which specializes in vestments and other liturgical goods.
The first time people in the pews will see the new vestments will be at the Chrism Mass, Deacon Bauhs said.
“I think we are going to see this just explode come Holy Thursday morning,” Deacon Bauhs said, “when you’re going to have 100-plus, maybe even 200-plus clergy all wearing the same vestment.”
What has been the feedback from clergy who have received the new vestments?
“The reaction has been, without an exception, very positive,” Deacon Bauhs said. “There hasn’t been any contrary opinion voiced. They’re all really thankful.”
