What are Roman Catholic table manners?

Romans ate with their fingers, like all of Europe until around the Renaissance. It was considered refined and proper to eat with three fingers, keeping the ring finger and small finger clean while eating. Only an uncouth "commoner" would grab at his or her food with five fingers. They used napkins (mappae) to wipe their hands--they also employed finger bowls to aid in the clean up. In the 6th Century BC, during the reign of Tarquinius Superbus, the Romans began to use their napkins for wrapping delicacies from the table to take home--it was considered bad manners to leave a meal empty-handed.