Bulletin Q&A article, published 3-19-23:
What is the significance of women wearing veils?
Not so long ago, when I was a child, women were required by canon law to wear a head covering in church. The 1917 Code of Canon Law stated: “Men, in a church or outside a church, while they are assisting at sacred rites, shall be bare-headed, unless the approved mores of the people or peculiar circumstances of things determine otherwise; women, however, shall have a covered head and be modestly dressed, especially when they approach the table of the Lord” (Can. 1262). This particular canon was based on this passage from the Bible: “Any man who prays or prophesies with his head covered brings shame upon his head. But any woman who prays or prophesies with her head unveiled brings shame upon her head, for it is one and the same thing as if she had had her head shaved. For if a woman does not have her head veiled, she may as well have her hair cut off. But if it is shameful for a woman to have her hair cut off or her head shaved, then she should wear a veil. A man, on the other hand, should not cover his head, because he is the image and glory of God, but woman is the glory of man” (1 Cor. 11:4-7).
The custom of wearing hats, by both men and women, was much more common back in the day, especially as part of your “Sunday best”. I remember that there were clips on the back of the pews which men could use to hold their hat during Mass. Jenni remembers that if she forgot her head covering when going to catechism class, that if the class visited the church, the nun would put a Kleenex on her head.
But the requirements of Canon 1262 of the 1917 Code of Canon Law were not included when the 1917 Code was replaced by the 1983 Code of Canon Law. And even before the new code was in place, the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith issued a document in 1976, Inter Insigniores, On the Question of Admission of Women to the Ministerial Priesthood. Within that document they stated: “Another objection is based upon the transitory character that one claims to see today in some of the prescriptions of Saint Paul concerning women, and upon the difficulties that some aspects of his teaching raise in this regard. But it must be noted that these ordinances, probably inspired by the customs of the period, concern scarcely more than disciplinary practices of minor importance, such as the obligation imposed upon women to wear a veil on their head (1 Cor. 11:2-16); such requirements no longer have a normative value.”
While the Church no longer requires head coverings, neither does it discourage them. Women wearing chapel veils, or mantillas, may seem, to some much younger than me, to be a novel concept. But, in fact, it is a return to a long standing tradition based on Sacred Scripture. Not wearing head coverings is actually the novel concept, a fairly recent development in the Church’s history. Some look at women who wear chapel veils and make a judgement that they are assuming a “holier than thou” attitude. But for most, I believe it is a symbol of humility, modesty, and respect. Veils are worn on special occasions; by young girls at their first Communion and women at their weddings. Wearing a veil at Mass can be an appreciation that this, too, is a special occasion. It is a personal choice for them, and I have never heard a women who wears a chapel veil be critical of other women who chose not to wear one.