sacristy

American  

[sak-ri-stee] / ˈsæk rɪ sti /

noun

sacristies plural

1. an apartment in or a building connected with a church or a religious house, in which the sacred vessels, vestments, etc., are kept.

---

sacristy British  

/ ˈsækrɪstɪ /

noun

1. a room attached to a church or chapel where the sacred vessels, vestments, etc, are kept and where priests attire themselves

---

Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• sacristies
  plural

Etymology

Origin of sacristy

1400–50; late Middle English < Medieval Latin sacristia vestry, equivalent to sacrist ( a ) ( see sacristan) + -ia -y ³

Explanation

A sacristy is the room in a Catholic church where religious objects used during rituals like Holy Communion are stored. Things like a chalice, altar linens, and holy oils are kept in a sacristy. A sacristy is sometimes called a vestry, although this is more typically used for the room where priests change into their vestments, or the special robes they wear during church services. And while robes might be stored in a vestry, most other holy objects are kept in the sacristy. Orthodox and Catholic churches are most likely to have a sacristy. The word literally means "repository for sacred things," from the Latin root sacer, "sacred."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

sacristy sacristies

In the 18th century the painting was moved to the sacristy, and in the 19th to the town hall.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 23, 2026

There is still scaffolding around much of the eastern end, and in coming years the outside walls of the apse and sacristy will need treatment.

From BBC ● Nov. 29, 2024

One sister recalled a time when she and another altar server accidentally spilled open a bag of already-consecrated Eucharist wafers as they were preparing for mass in the wood-paneled sacristy.

From Salon ● Mar. 31, 2024

“It was a church that was not in the sacristy, but with the people.”

From Seattle Times ● Sep. 6, 2023

The sycamore was still there in the sacristy, and the stars could still be seen through the half-destroyed roof.

From "The Alchemist" by Paulo Coelho

The sounds of “Hallelujah! Hallelujah! Hal-le-lu-jah!” echoed around the sacristies and the nave.

From The Guardian ● Feb. 27, 2019

When he died in 1614 his fame was already on the wane, and soon his greatest paintings were tucked away in dim sacristies and behind altars.

From Time Magazine Archive

One of our newspapers' slogans," snapped Father Narciso Saguer Vilar of San Ildefonso's Church, "is that we priests should only preach the Gospel and stay closed in our sacristies.

From Time Magazine Archive

Eyes that came to life in the moonblaze of sacristies and witnessed the birth of the world struggled to open against the priest’s grip.

From "The Great Santini" by Pat Conroy

There are doubtless many interesting specimens still to be found in the sacristies of Italian churches.

From Needlework As Art by Alford, Marianne Margaret Compton Cust, Viscountess