sacristy

noun

sac·​ris·​ty ˈsa-krə-stē 

plural sacristies

: a room in a church where sacred vessels and vestments are kept and where the clergy vests

Synonyms

• vestry

Examples of sacristy in a Sentence

our choir robes were stored in the sacristy

Recent Examples on the Web

Over time, the former church’s transept became a bathroom; the sacristy a kitchen. —Jeastman, oregonlive, 23 June 2023

But at the 2019 Mass, Monsignor W. Curtis Mallet, the diocese’s vicar general, pulled Broussard aside in the sacristy of St. Edward, just before the ceremony began. —Nathaniel Rich Stacy Kranitz, New York Times, 20 Dec. 2022

In Chicago, the show focuses on El Greco’s early Toledo years using the Assumption and the Trinity, the anchors of his first big success, and The Disrobing of Christ, from 1580, a midsize replica of his Disrobing of Christ from 1577–79 now in the sacristy of the cathedral in Toledo. —Brian T. Allen, National Review, 15 Aug. 2020

Only the original kitchen, new bathrooms and former sacristy had four walls. —Dallas News, 17 Feb. 2023

A decade later, their reporting was vindicated by the Argentine forensic team’s findings, which included the skeletal remains of at least a hundred and forty-three bodies in the town’s church sacristy. —Peter Canby, The New Yorker, 10 Sep. 2021

Moreno helps restore the mission's sacristy, a room where the priests prepare for services and that holds items used for worship. —Sarah Lapidus, The Arizona Republic, 7 Dec. 2022

Patronato is focusing on conserving mural art and plaster walls in the mission's sacristy, and treating a set of historic original doors. —Sarah Lapidus, The Arizona Republic, 7 Dec. 2022

The original tiles in the sacristy and in the baptistery were not able to be saved, however, because they were ruined by flooding in the aftermath of firefighting efforts. —Andrew J. Campa, Los Angeles Times, 8 Sep. 2022

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Word History

Etymology

Middle English sacristie, from Medieval Latin sacristia, from sacrista sacristan, from Latin sacr-, sacer

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined above

Kids Definition

sacristy

noun

sac·​ris·​ty ˈsak-rə-stē 

plural sacristies

: vestry