EPISTLES

Because my wife has been happily wearing her church veils for years, I wanted to create this post for awareness and encouragement.

Many people wonder about the tradition of wearing Church Veils or Mantillas. These coverings have a long history. The practice holds deep spiritual meaning.

The Bible roots this practice. Saint Paul wrote about it. His first Epistle to the Corinthians (chapter 11:4-6).

“And whereas any man who keeps his head covered when he prays or utters prophecy brings shame upon his head, a woman brings shame upon her head if she uncovers it to pray or prophesy; she is no better than the woman who has her head shaved. If a woman would go without a veil, why does she not cut her hair short too? If she admits that a woman is disgraced when her hair is cut short or shaved, then let her go veiled.”

Early Church Fathers then expanded on this teaching. They emphasized veiling as a sign of reverence. It also showed modesty and respect for divine order.

The Sacred Meaning of Church Veils

The veil is a powerful symbol. It has several key meanings. Holy women and the Blessed Mother embodied these ideas.

• A Sign of the Sacred: The Church covers sacred items. It veils the Tabernacle. It veils the Chalice. Women are vessels of life. They are living temples of the Holy Spirit. Therefore, the veil marks women as sacred.
• A Sign of Humility and Devotion: The veil covers a woman’s hair. Saint Paul called a woman’s hair her “glory.” A woman covers her glory. She visually affirms God is her true glory. God alone is the object of her devotion.
• The Example of Mary: The Blessed Virgin Mary is a perfect role model. Iconography always shows her veiled. She wears a full head covering. This symbolizes her deep humility. It shows her consecration to God.

Outward dress must reflect virtue. This includes covering the head. Modesty, purity, and reverence are key. This is especially true in God’s holy presence.

Church Fathers Who Promoted Veils

Many major figures upheld this tradition. These were prominent Church Fathers and Doctors. They strongly promoted the use of the veil.

1. Saint John Chrysostom

In his Homilies on First Corinthians, he argues that women ought to be covered not just during prayer, but continually… He equates an uncovered head with being shaven, calling it a reproach for a woman.

“For he said not merely covered, but ‘covered over,’ meaning that she be carefully wrapped up on every side. And by reducing it to an absurdity, he appeals to their shame… ‘if she be not covered, let her also be shorn.’” – Homily 26 on First Corinthians

2. Tertullian

Tertullian wrote an entire treatise called ‘On the Veiling of Virgins’ (De Virginibus Velandis), arguing that not just married women, but all virgins who had passed the age of puberty should wear a veil.

“I will show in Latin also that it behooves our virgins to be veiled from the time that they have passed the turning-point of their age… They who have heard Him prophesying even to the present time, not of old, bid virgins be wholly covered.” On the Veiling of Virgins

3. Saint Ambrose of Milan

He addresses the importance of veiling in his work Concerning Virgins (De Virginibus) and alludes to it as a necessary part of modesty.

In Chapter 3, he discusses the modesty of Rebecca taking a veil: “Was it a small sign of modesty that when Rebecca came to wed Isaac… she took a veil, that she might not be seen before they were united? Certainly the fair virgin feared not for her beauty, but for her modesty.”

4. Saint Thomas Aquinas

The ‘Angelic Doctor’ addresses the veiling in his commentaries. His Summa Theologica, Supplement Q. 28 addresses the veil in the context of the Sacraments and Penance. He notes that the veil is a mark of the honor of virginity: “Hence women after doing penance for fornication are not given the veil, because they do not recover the honor of virginity.”

5. Saint Basil the Great

Basil warns against women who cast off the veil, suggesting they have scorned God and exposed themselves shamelessly.

In his Letter 46 (To a Fallen Virgin), he laments the virgin who has broken her covenant (symbolized by the veil), saying: “Now they see the bride of the Lord herself, whose head is Christ, boldly committing adultery… Revere the holy angels, with whom you were wont to invoke the Father… Remember the divine band of virgins.”

Modern Emphasis on Modesty

The central themes remain vital today. Holy women and saints reinforced them. They stressed humility and the sacred dignity of women.

Saint Padre Pio was very strict. He was a Capuchin friar. He insisted on a high standard of modesty. He posted clear directives for dress. Women had to wear a veil on their head. They were forbidden from short or immodest dresses. He would turn immodest women away. This was often from his confessional.

The tradition of the Church Veils is ancient. It connects women to humility and the sacred. It is a visual sign of devotion.

The Veil After Vatican II

For decades following the Second Vatican Council, the practice of veiling has no longer been enforced by Church law, as the 1983 Code of Canon Law abrogated the previous 1917 Code which had contained the requirement.

The Church has clarified that the former obligation was a disciplinary custom rather than an unchangeable dogma of the faith. This was explicitly addressed by the Sacred Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith in the 1976 declaration Inter Insigniores, which stated that such ordinances “inspired by the customs of the period, concern scarcely more than disciplinary practices of minor importance” and that “such requirements no longer have a normative value.”

Therefore, the Church does not mandate the veil, teaching that a woman’s modesty and reverence are not strictly bound to this specific external symbol.

Imitating Christ’s Mother and the Saints

However, the removal of the mandate does not equal a prohibition; the Church does not discourage women from wearing the veil if they feel called to do so as an act of private devotion. In fact, many devout women are rediscovering the practice as a beautiful way to imitate the Blessed Virgin Mary and the countless female saints throughout history, all of whom covered their heads in the presence of the sacred.

If the Mother of God and the holiest women in Church history wore the veil as a sign of humility and reverence before God, it remains a worthy and meaningful consideration for any Catholic woman today who wishes to visibly honor the Real Presence in the same spirit of tradition.