Fascia (sash)

Pope Benedict XVI in white cassock with fringed fascia. Note his coat of arms embroidered near the bottom. The cardinal sitting behind him is wearing a plain scarlet red fascia.

The fascia is a sash worn by clerics and seminarians with the cassock in the Roman Catholic Church and in the Anglican Church. It is not worn as a belt but is placed above the waist between the navel and the breastbone (sternum). The ends that hang down are worn on the left side of the body and placed a little forward but not completely off the left hip.