The Blue Scapular Prayer Book

29 showing the prostrate figure of a nobleman with the scapular visible on his bare chest—people perceived it as a powerful witness. The scapular was always vested by authorized persons and always according to a strictly defined ceremony that concluded with a special blessing. The acceptance of the scapular meant, in each case, the assumption of specific responsibilities which, in their essence, usually referred to the rule of life of a particular religious community. The Church has always looked favorably upon scapulars, endowing them with indulgences, defining their prerogatives, establishing conditions of investiture, and even designating their shape, size, and the manner of wearing them. On December 6, 1910, by the decree of the Congregation of the Holy Office, Pope Pius X permitted the substitution of every scapular with a medal bearing on the obverse the image of the Sacred Heart of Jesus and on the reverse—the image of Our Lady. The regulations regarding its conferral in this new form, and the indulgences and blessings attached to it, remained unchanged. Undoubtedly, the idea of allowing the laity’s participation in the spiritual life of religious orders, expressed in the act of receiving a “new vestment” —even if this vestment was only a symbolic one