mozzetta

noun

1. A short cape covering the shoulders and buttoned in front, with a hood, which is worn by the pope, cardinals, bishops, and other senior clergy.

   “Benedict [XVI], the first pope to resign voluntarily in six centuries, will dress in a simple white cassock, forgoing the mozzetta, the elbow-length cape worn by some Catholic clergymen, the Vatican spokesman, the Rev. Federico Lombardi, told reporters at a news briefing.”

   “On that night of his election he [Pope Francis] stepped out on to the balcony overlooking Saint Peter's Square in simple white robes, refusing the fancy red mozzetta or cape that Benedict [XVI] had sported when he had been announced as pope. When told to put on white trousers, he later remembered in his autobiography, he replied: "I don't want to be an ice-cream seller."”

   “The most notable figure in the room is Irish-American Cardinal Kevin Farrell, who is the Pope [Francis]'s "camerlengo" or chamberlain and runs the Vatican until a new Pope is chosen. The cardinal – in red mozzetta and cassock – is shown blessing the body of the late Pope during the rite of the declaration of death.”