Q. 1. What is the cincture used for? Does it have a symbolic meaning like some other Catholic vestments?

A. 1. The cincture, a liturgical vestment, is a cord of about 81 inches, used as a belt to gird the alb and stole. It symbolizes the virtues of chastity and continence (meaning "the exercise of self constraint in sexual matters") required of the priest.

In the Roman Catholic Church, the cincture is a long, rope-like cord with tassled or knotted ends. The colour may be white, or may vary according to the colour of the liturgical season.

As deacons tie their stoles on the right, they often fasten the cincture on the left instead. Priests and bishops usually have the knot of their cincture in front of them; the loose ends are often passed around the stole and tucked through the waist of the cincture at each side. When the cincture is tied in the front and the ends draped on either side, it is called a Roman Knot. The material of the cincture is preferably flax or hemp, but wool and silk — the latter especially for occasions of solemnity — are not prohibited. This material is woven into a cord, and the ends are usually decorated with tassels, By way of ornament strands of gold and silver thread are sometimes introduced, particularly in the tassels at the extremities.

When putting on the cincture, the priest says the following prayer, "Gird me, O Lord, with the girdle of purity and quench in me the fire of concupiscence, that the grace of temperance and chastity may abide in me."

Like the other Mass vestments, the cincture must be blessed before it is used.