Pius XII blessing bugia collegio capricana 1 21 1957 1

A bugia (Latin: scotula, palmatorium, French: bougeoir) or hand-candlestick is a liturgical

candlestick A candlestick is a device used to hold a candle in place. Candlesticks have a cup or a spike ("pricket") or both to keep the candle in place. Candlesticks are sometimes called "candleholders". Before the proliferation of electricity, candles wer ...

held beside a

Latin Catholic The Latin Church () is the largest autonomous () particular church within the Catholic Church, whose members constitute the vast majority of the 1.3 billion Catholics. The Latin Church is one of 24 ''sui iuris'' churches in full communion w ...

bishop A bishop is an ordained member of the clergy who is entrusted with a position of Episcopal polity, authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance and administration of di ...

or other

prelate A prelate () is a high-ranking member of the Minister (Christianity), Christian clergy who is an Ordinary (church officer), ordinary or who ranks in precedence with ordinaries. The word derives from the Latin , the past participle of , which me ...

Description

Bishop Watterson Bugia 2 Museum of Catholic Art and History

The bugia is a low, portable

with a long handle, held next to clergy to illuminate books being sung or read from. According to the 1886 ''

Caeremoniale Episcoporum The ''Cæremoniale Episcoporum'' () is a liturgical book that describes the church services to be performed by bishops of the Latin Church of the Catholic Church. History Pope Clement VIII published on 14 July 1600 the first book to bear this ...

'', it was to be made of gold or gilt silver for

cardinals Cardinal or The Cardinal most commonly refers to * Cardinalidae, a family of North and South American birds **''Cardinalis'', genus of three species in the family Cardinalidae ***Northern cardinal, ''Cardinalis cardinalis'', the common cardinal of ...

and

patriarch The highest-ranking bishops in Eastern Orthodoxy, Oriental Orthodoxy, the Roman Catholic Church (above major archbishop and primate), the Hussite Church, Church of the East, and some Independent Catholic Churches are termed patriarchs (and ...

s and silver for all other prelates, but this distinction was seldom followed. The candle used in the bugia was made of beeswax.

Usage

The bugia is held near and to the right of the book by one of the attendants of the prelate whenever he reads or sings a text from the

evangeliary The Evangeliary or Book of the Gospels is a liturgical book containing only those portions of the four gospels which are read during Mass or in other public offices of the Church. The corresponding terms in Latin are and . The Evangeliary develo ...

missal A missal is a liturgical book containing instructions and texts necessary for the celebration of Mass throughout the liturgical year. Versions differ across liturgical tradition, period, and purpose, with some missals intended to enable a priest ...

. In the case of the

Roman Pontiff Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of Roman civilization *Epistle to the Romans, shortened to Romans, a letter w ...

, this role is filled by an

assistant to the papal throne The Bishops-Assistant at the Pontifical Throne were ecclesiastical titles in the Catholic Church. It designated prelates belonging to the Papal Chapel, who stood near the throne of the Pope at solemn functions. They ranked immediately below the ...

, but he holds an ordinary wax candle, not a bugia. For any other prelate, this was performed by an

acolyte An acolyte is an assistant or follower assisting the celebrant in a religious service or procession. In many Christian denominations, an acolyte is anyone performing ceremonial duties such as lighting altar candles. In others, the term is used f ...

or other

cleric Clergy are formal leaders within established religions. Their roles and functions vary in different religious traditions, but usually involve presiding over specific rituals and teaching their religion's doctrines and practices. Some of the ter ...

. It was generally classified among the

pontificalia Pontifical vestments, also referred to as episcopal vestments or pontificals, are the liturgical vestments worn by bishops (and by concession some other prelates) in the Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, Anglican, and some Lutheran ...

of a bishop, along with the

mitre The mitre (Commonwealth English) or miter (American English; American and British English spelling differences#-re, -er, see spelling differences; both pronounced ; ) is a type of headgear now known as the traditional, ceremonial headdress of ...

crozier A crozier or crosier (also known as a paterissa, pastoral staff, or bishop's staff) is a stylized staff that is a symbol of the governing office of a bishop or abbot and is carried by high-ranking prelates of Roman Catholic, Eastern Catholi ...

episcopal gloves The episcopal gloves or pontifical gloves (''chirothecœ'', called also at an earlier date ''manicœ, wanti'') are a Roman Catholic pontifical vestment worn by a bishop or other prelate, such as an abbot, when celebrating Solemn Pontifical Mass. ...

, and other items. Until 1905, only bishops and prelates with pontifical privileges could use the bugia at Mass. The

motu proprio In law, (Latin for 'on his own impulse') describes an official act taken without a formal request from another party. Some jurisdictions use the term for the same concept. In Catholic canon law, it refers to a document issued by the pope on h ...

''Inter multiplices'' issued by

Pius X Pope Pius X (; born Giuseppe Melchiorre Sarto; 2 June 1835 – 20 August 1914) was head of the Catholic Church from 4 August 1903 to his death in August 1914. Pius X is known for vigorously opposing Modernism in the Catholic Church, modern ...

allowed all prelates, even titular protonotaries apostolic,

vicars general A vicar general (previously, archdeacon) is the principal deputy of the bishop or archbishop of a diocese or an archdiocese for the exercise of administrative authority and possesses the title of local ordinary. As vicar of the bishop, the vicar ...

, and

diocesan administrator A diocesan administrator (also known as archdiocesan administrator, archiepiscopal administrator and eparchial administrator for the case, respectively, of an archdiocese, archeparchy, and eparchy) is a provisional ordinary of a Catholic partic ...

s to use the bugia throughout liturgies. Its use on

Good Friday Good Friday, also known as Holy Friday, Great Friday, Great and Holy Friday, or Friday of the Passion of the Lord, is a solemn Christian holy day commemorating the crucifixion of Jesus and his death at Calvary (Golgotha). It is observed during ...

, however, remained forbidden regardless of clerical rank. Also prohibited was its use by the

ordinary Ordinary or The Ordinary often refer to: Music * ''Ordinary'' (EP) (2015), by South Korean group Beast * ''Ordinary'' (album) (2011), by Every Little Thing * "Ordinary" (Alex Warren song) (2025) * "Ordinary" (Two Door Cinema Club song) (2016 ...

when he celebrated Mass at the

faldstool Faldstool (from the Old High German, O.H. Ger. ''falden'' or ''falten'', "to fold," and ''stuol'', German Language, Mod. Ger. ''Stuhl'', "stool"; from the medieval Latin ''faldistolium'' derived, through the old form ''fauesteuil'', from the Fr ...

in the presence of a cardinal. Priests who needed an additional light near the missal on account of darkness were allowed to use a candle, so long as it did not have the form of the bugia. In 1968 its use was restricted to situations where practicality made its use necessary.

Etymology

The word "

bugia Bugia may refer to: *Béjaïa, a port city in Eastern Algeria near the mountains of Little Kabylia *Béjaïa Province *a candlestick, especially used as the name for an additional candle carried by a server standing beside a bishop at some Christi ...

" (), originates from the Latin name of the city of

Béjaïa Béjaïa ( ; , , ), formerly known as Bougie and Bugia, is a Mediterranean seaport, port city and communes of Algeria, commune on the Gulf of Béjaïa in Algeria; it is the capital of Béjaïa Province. Geography Location Béjaïa owes its ...

, Algeria, a source of candle wax.

References

External links

{{Mass of the Roman Rite of the Catholic Church Artworks in metal Formal insignia Catholic liturgy Episcopacy in the Catholic Church Religious objects Christian religious objects

Description

Usage

Etymology

See also

References

External links