Vimpa

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title: "Vimpa" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["roman-catholic-vestments", "anglican-vestments", "catholic-liturgy"] description: "Veil or shawl worn by religious servers" topic_path: "general/roman-catholic-vestments" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vimpa" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary Veil or shawl worn by religious servers ::

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e6/Bishop-priest-acolytes-vimpas.jpg" caption="The vimpae may be seen here, though out of use, as the Anglican Bishop shown is wearing his mitre and holding his crozier. 'Pockets' may clearly be seen in the vimpae, for the servers to insert their hands when holding the pontificalia."] ::

A vimpa (plural: vimpae) is a veil or shawl worn over the shoulders of servers who carry the mitre and crosier during liturgical functions when they are not being used by the bishop, in the Roman Catholic, Anglican, and some other western churches.

Function

The vimpa is used to hold the mitre or crosier, thus preventing direct contact with the pontificalia by anyone other than the bishop.

A vimpa is also used on certain occasions to hold other sacred objects, such as vessels of holy oils.

Design

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/be/Saint_Padre_Pio_of_Pietrelcina_Chapel_Baliwag_37.jpg" caption="An altar server with a vimpa (right) before a [[pontifical Mass"] ::

The vimpa is a narrow, winding shawl or scarf, made of a light fabric (usually silk). It is either plain or simply decorated. The base colour is usually white, but for certain occasions it may be purple, green, or gold.

The vimpa may be considered a type of humeral veil.

References

References

1. (24 January 2020). "The Origins of Catholic Words: A Discursive Dictionary". Catholic University of America Press.
2. (1980). "Episcopal Services". Church Literature Association : Alcuin Club/SPCK.
3. (October 2016). "The Catholic Priesthood: Biblical Foundations". Emmaus Road Publishing.
4. (2019). "Ceremonies Explained for Servers: A Manual for Altar Servers, Acolytes, Sacristans, and Masters of Ceremonies". Ignatius Press.
5. (6 December 2012). "Churches - Their Plan and Furnishing". Read Books Limited.
6. (30 June 2021). "Guide for Servers". Liturgy Training Publications.

::callout[type=info title="Wikipedia Source"] This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page. ::