Q. 1. What is the Manipule used for?

A. 1. The manipule is an ornamental vestment of colored silk or damask over the left forearms. Originally this vestment was a handkerchief carried in the left hand or thrown over the left arm. It symbolizes the labor and hardship the priest must expect in his ardent apostolate.

It is only used within the context of the Mass, and it is of the same liturgical colour as the other Mass vestments.

In its 1967 instruction, Tres abhinc annos, issued while the Tridentine Mass was still the only form used in the Roman Rite, the Sacred Congregation of Rites removed the obligation to use the maniple at Mass. Thereafter, the maniple generally fell out of liturgical use. It is still required to be worn by those who, as authorized by Pope Benedict XVI's 2007 motu proprio Summorum Pontificum, use the 1962 edition of the Roman Missal.