12/30/2025
THE MOTHER OF A PRIEST
This is how, according to tradition, the mothers of priests enter Heaven.
At a priest’s ordination, the bishop anoints his hands with sacred oil. Those hands are then wiped with a white linen cloth called a *maniturgium* (or *manutergio*). Because the oil is holy—having been blessed by the bishop—the cloth may never be discarded or treated as ordinary linen.
Throughout history, many priests have preserved this cloth and, at their first Mass, reverently presented it to their mothers.
An ancient and tender custom tells that the mother keeps this linen safely until the day of her death. When her body is prepared for burial, the maniturgium is placed in her hands. Tradition then describes what happens when she reaches the gates of Heaven.
Brought before Our Lord, He asks her, “I gave you life—what have you given Me?” She offers the cloth and replies, “I gave You my son as a priest.” At these words, Christ welcomes her into paradise.
It is a beautiful and consoling tradition, one that deeply moves all who witness it. When a newly ordained priest places the linen into his mother’s hands, tears often flow—tears not of sorrow, but of profound joy.
May the Lord bless you and keep you.
