Catholic Graduation

It’s graduation season!!

But did you know that graduation is connected to Catholicism?
The graduation cap’s roots go back to the biretta, a hat worn by Catholic clergy and scholars.

That is a biretta!

During the Middle Ages, most education occurred at Catholic-run universities. The professors were clergy and their uniform consisted of robes and a biretta.

As universities expanded beyond the Church, the biretta evolved into what we know today to be the graduation cap or mortarboard. The square shape is also said to resemble a mason’s mortarboard, used by bricklayers to hold mortar, symbolising the building of knowledge.

The “biretta,” a square hat with three or four peaks worn by Roman Catholic clergy and academics
–symbolising the scholarly nature and rigorous study associated with higher education– is the forerunner to the modern-day graduation cap.

Isn’t it interesting to know that higher education, university learning, universities, and even graduation caps and gowns/robes all came from the Catholic Church?

The graduation gown itself is based on the Benedictine habit, the stoles are reminiscent of the most priestly of Catholic garb, the hoods come from the cowls of both Western and Eastern Christian monks, the university is a Catholic invention, as are the ranks of Provost, Dean, and Chancellor.

In fact, it isn’t just the caps and gowns that are Catholic in origin; universities themselves are modeled after medieval monasteries, and you can see elements of these in many universities today, especially the older universities.

How wonderful that every facet of Western culture and civilisation stemmed from the Catholic Church’s influence.

This is why it is hilarious these days to see traditional Catholic demonic frauds, riddled with red pill misogynistic brain rot, claim that it is not Catholic or trad for Catholic women to get an education.

Please, do not listen to them. See THIS and THIS

As we celebrate and congratulate all the students graduating this graduation season, we are also celebrating centuries of Catholic influence on education, higher learning, and ceremony.