Goa, July 15 -- From the Middle Ages onward, the dress of clergy in the Latin Rite of the Catholic Church began to be strictly regulated. Canon law and local synods issued guidelines, with the Fourth Lateran Council (1215) mandating that clergy wear modest, front-closed garments-prohibiting flowing or extravagant styles. Around this time, the cassock (from the Early French casaque) emerged as the distinct everyday attire for clerics.

As Church discipline intensified, Pope Sixtus V (1589) imposed penalties for clergy who failed to wear the cassock (vestis talaris), and Pope Urban VIII (1624) required it be worn with a cincture and matching cloak. By 1708, under Pope Clement XI, a shorter cassock (akin to a frock coat or Nehru jacket) was ...