Fanon
FANON
A liturgical garment, in the form of a double humeral cape, oval in shape, the lower part being slightly wider
than the upper. It is made of white silk, with red and gold stripes running across it; there is a cross in front and an opening at the top for the head. Historically, it was a secondary papal insignia that was reserved exclusively to the pope, and worn when he was vested in pontificals. The fanon became one of the papal insignia when priests and bishops began to wear the amice under the chasuble. Innocent III called the fanon orale (amice) and in his days it seems that it was already a papal vestment, or, more precisely, the papal amice. Later (c. 1500), popes began to wear both amice and fanon. During the reign of Pius X, the fanon was separated into two parts, though supposedly forming one vestment. The lower part was put over the alb and the back part of the upper fanon was pulled over the head after the pope received the chasuble; it was then laid on his shoulders and on his breast. Although the separation into two parts simplified the pope's vesting, it also did away with all the remaining traces of the old papal amice.
Bibliography: j. nabuco, Ius pontificalium: Introductio in caeremoniale episcoporum (Tournai 1956) 187–188.
[j. nabuco/eds.]