What kind of woman veils at Mass?

26 thoughts on “What kind of woman veils at Mass?”

1. Viagra

2. Thank you. In my country, children don’t wear veils for their First Communion either. Only some brides do but it’s not considered a sign of humility or submission at all, it’s more like a fashion issue or surprise effect. I realize that this must be something peculiar to the US now.

3. I tried wearing a veil for a few years in college, but I felt so self conscious, especially when I wore it in a non-Trad church in a liberal suburb… the priest actually gave me the evil eye. It only felt natural when a certain critical mass of other women were wearing them. Then there would be all the times I forgot it or didn’t have one on me when I wanted to visit a church, and the whole thing in the end was more trouble than it was worth. If I wanted to cover my head again, I think I would wear a hat because that doesn’t stand out as much.

4. I don’t cover my head in church, but I think I know why some do. I imagine that they want to feel the transition between the sidewalk and the sacred space. The quiet does it for me, the light filtered through stained glass and the smell of incense still hanging in the air, the day after the wedding or funeral

5. What kind of woman veils at Mass? I do. I started veiling a couple of months ago. I, a woman in my 40s, have been inspired by my 11-year-old daughter who asked me almost two years ago if she could start veiling as a sign of her humility and love for Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament. We attend a Novus Ordo Mass at a moderate parish and, 99% of the time, she was the only one who veiled – until I began joining her followed shortly by my 8-year-old daughter. So, who are we? “Normal” Catholics who love Jesus and adore His true presence in the Blessed Sacrament. We see our veils as sacramentals that help us draw closer to our Lord, much like Miraculous Medals or scapulars.

   1. I am curious, if you can answer: how did your daughter even think of wearing a veil as a sign of humility if nobody else in your community veils? Where did she learn about it? My oldest daughter is 10 and has no idea that veiling is a thing.

      1. I think she first learned about it when we talked about her veil for her First Holy Communion. It was around that same time that we attended a young priest’s first Mass and several of the women who were at that Mass wore veils and I think she really took it to heart.

         1. Thank you. In my country, children don’t wear veils for their First Communion either. Only some brides do but it’s not considered a sign of humility or submission at all, it’s more like a fashion issue or surprise effect. I realize that this must be something peculiar to the US now.

   2. Very similar experience here, Nicky, though I started first and my daughters decided on their own to veil as well.

6. This post is a timely one for me. At some point over the next few weeks, our high school freshman son has to go to a Latin Mass as part of a Religion assignment and we were thinking we’d go this Sunday or next. The veil has always struck me as a Dark Ages holdover – I didn’t wear one at my wedding, but even so, I was actually going to get one for this Mass just because it seems rude not to wear one. Same as I’d buy an hijab if I were going to Iraq. When in Rome… 😉

7. Veil is smoking hot? Vile. Why? Because you’ll nab a lazy husband who is after a submissive wife? What if when the moment she leaves that Church and takes off the veil, she goes back to her ‘normal’ self which is not what the husband ordered. Just ridiculous.

   Go to Church for God. God doesn’t care if you veil or not. He looks at your heart. My late grandmother used to veil, and that’s how her era grew up. But, I find it ridiculous that we live in an era where we have grown up adopting modern clothing, and then all of a sudden out of nowhere, people are calling on women to express their “holiness” through a veil during Church. What happened with ‘come as you are’. Your authentic true self.

   1. Come as you are means come no matter if your a sinner or not. Come as you are God loves all people especially the sinner. Let me ask you, if you were gona go visit the president or the Pope, or the queen of England, even go for a job interview, would you go like a slob in torn jeans flip flops and tshirt? Ofcourse Not. You would dress your best out of respect. Such as with good. It doesn’t matter how expensive your clothes are, but it matters that you would want to look your best in presentable clothing when going to Gods house. God doesn’t care what you wear, but if you are able to dress in Somthing presentable or dress like a lazy slob, why would you choose the latter? It’s one thing if you don’t own a dress or slacks and dress shirt, but it’s another to choose to dress like your goin to the beach after mass.

8. I appreciate this post a lot. Trad Bro Catholics and their wives are turning people off big time and they ARE objectifying women.

   1. Thats not true at all. The traditional masses are growing at a rapid rate while masses in novus ordo parishes are declining with parishioners. Oh yes traditional mass goes objectify women in dresses that hit past the knee and that actually wear pantyhose, and cover their shoulders, but at the novus ordo masses,women in cut off booty shorts and middifts and tank tops are regarded with respect. What a stupid comment Emily.

9. I wore a veil as a kid on Sundays in the cover your head if female days. We went with veils because they could be stuffed in a coat pocket and took up no room. I would take off hats and berets and tams as a kid and “forget” where I put them. Mom had spare veils for those days.

10. Thanks, Simcha. I know a few very young Catholic women that veil. I have to admit that it seems very bizzarre to me and I find it very hard not to be judgemental. I don’t understand how someone can feel “called to veil”just as I don’t understand how someone could feel called to wear brown shoes…
    It seems like part of a movement that is desperate for some kind of Catholic identity and is making an idol out of veiling/Latin Mass, etc.

    1. I don’t veil, but I know people who do who I respect. I think they see it more as a prayer aid, like a rosary, than a calling.

    2. What a stupid comment. Women always veild out of respect for God. You sound like you would wear a ball cap to mass. Women stopped wearing veils after Vat2 but even then it was never done away with. Progressive Catholics did away with it and with no reason other than they just didn’t want to do it anymore. Ofcourse it makes women stand out as being Catholic. They do it because they have respect for God. Unless you understand the reason Catholics do certain things, keep your mouth shut and don’t make stupid comments.

11. Very well written.

    People I know veil, but they see it as a personal thing. I admire the tradition for it’s own sake, but the cultural connotations of it have kept me from doing it.

    1. I agree with Gianna. Veiling is something I could never even consider doing, precisely because of its cultural connotations.

       1. So following trends is more important than showing reverence
          For God. Ok , you sound like a great Catholic.

12. I wonder if this would all be less polarized if more people realized that most pre-Vatican-II American women usually wore hats, not veils. “In your Easter bonnet, with all the frills upon it” – written by a Jewish man about an upper-class Protestant milieu, but I think that was what Catholics wore as well. Nowadays, of course, hats are just generally out of fashion. A veil obviously seems more respectful than a winter hat or a baseball cap, the only kinds of hats that contemporary women (or men) commonly own. But it does create a mistaken impression that this was the norm of the past when it was not. (In the U.S. Latin America is obviously a different story. And maybe this does also reflect increasing Hispanic influence on the U.S. Church.)

    1. Yes, you are totally correct. And it wasn’t called “veiling” either. Women wore a “head covering,” usually some kind of a hat. It was the custom and had nothing to do with “being called,” nor was it considered a sacramental. My mom remembers some women occasionally forgetting theirs and pinning kleenex on their head! And no offense to anyone here, but in rural New England, veils were called “mantillas” and not worn culturally by the Irish Catholics, they were for Spanish/Mexicans.

       1. No, your not correct. The Bible clearly states that women must cover their heads in church. Hats were acceptable because they covered their heads. Mexican women wore hats too. Oh you think that Mexican women were poor wetbacks that couldn’t afford hats so they just used cheap veils? Women from every country used to veil or wore hats aswell. Don’t be such a racist idiot.

          1. Miguel, it doesn’t matter what your interpretation of the bible is. We as Catholics follow the norms laid out for us in the Code of Canon Law. Women are no longer required to cover their heads in the presence of the Blessed Sacrament, according to the most recent Code from 1983.
             Name-calling me a racist idiot for pointing out the truth of the perspective of rural Irish New Englanders, while simultaneously calling Mexicans wetbacks, along with many of your other previous comments, shows you unable to discuss issues and facts without attacking those with differing opinions, or worse, arguing facts from an erroneous rad-trad perspective.

13. Thanks its superb article eye opening topic it have . well written thanks.

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