These Last Days News - October 9, 2025
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The Veil and Me: A History...

EXAMPLE OF QUEEN OF HEAVEN
"The world must follow the example of the Queen of Heaven. Modesty, purity of heart and purpose." - St. Michael, December 7, 1973

OUR LADY'S EXAMPLE
“All who are labored with sorrow, come to My Mother and be solaced. There is no rest in Heaven. There is no time as you measure it upon earth.
"Know that My Mother is ever present on these grounds. Ask and you shall receive, for She has set Herself with willingness as a Mediatrix for you, for She is your Mother, and all mothers upon earth will look up to My Mother as an example of purity and sacrifice." – Jesus, June 15, 1974

The above Messages from Our Lady were given to Veronica Lueken at Bayside, New York. Read more

CrisisMagazine.com reported on October 3, 2025:

By Leila Miller

My history of veiling is a short one, as I’ve only been wearing veils for a few years. I can’t exactly remember when I first entered the church building with a veil on my head (feeling self-conscious), but I’m guessing it was about eight years ago, at around age 50.

Here’s a quick survey of that half-century that was my pre-veiling life. 

I was baptized Catholic a month after my birth in 1967, and I have no memory or experience of anything pre-Vatican II. My first memory of Mass was when I was about four years old and everything was already “groovy,” “renewed,” and festooned with felt.

When it came to veils at Mass, there simply weren’t any. For the entirety of my Catholic childhood in the 1970s and ’80s, I don’t recall seeing a single veil at church, even though we never, ever missed a Sunday or Holy Day Mass. Veiling at Mass was simply not a thing.

As I grew up, I learned that women used to wear hats or head coverings at Mass. I gleaned this information from old photographs in magazines, from viewing old movies, and from historical footage of JFK’s Catholic funeral. The traditional, bygone era captured by these beautiful, obsolete images seemed like eons ago to me, but it was not many years removed from my own day. Now, I must disclose that I did wear a veil at my First Holy Communion in 1975, but the girl next to me in the blue dress (so hip!) had only a ribbon in her hair, the kind we would wear to school. 

Not only did I see zero veils on the laywomen at Mass, but religious sisters were largely unveiled as well. The precious few sisters that I did encounter as a child were generally older ladies in polyester pantsuits with their short hair fully exposed. Sisters or nuns in habits were foreign to me, seen only in the movies. 

Fast forward to my college years at a Jesuit university in the late 1980s. Veils? Obviously not. Things had really devolved by then, and there was no dignified, reverent, appropriate attire at all. In fact, we even had what we called “pajama Masses,” convened on Sunday evenings in the dorm common areas. Mass attendance (and the Faith in general) was not a priority for me then, and the casual liturgies attended by chatty college kids in sweats and bathrobes made me even less interested in going to Mass.

When I finally reverted back to the fullness of the Faith at around age 27, I was married with three children. I call it a reversion because I was within days of jumping the Barque of Peter for a “Bible church” that my Protestant friend was enjoying. Praise God, my mom (a convert) told me, “find out what you’re leaving before you leave it” and gave me a book of apologetics. The clear and shocking truth at hand, God set my soul on fire, and I returned to the Catholic Church without a backward glance.

Full of newfound zeal, I sought out a parish that seemed reverent to me, and I fully immersed myself in all things Catholic. One of the things I learned during those years of catching up through self-study was that some “super-traditional” Catholic women wore something called a mantilla on their heads, and, for many years, that is what I called Catholic chapel veils. I didn’t think much about them, but I loved the idea, and I admired them in theory—so feminine, ethereal, sublime! 

It is a rare woman who does not appreciate the beauty and delicacy of lacework in varying, graceful arrays of color, texture, pattern, and sheen. And every little girl who plays “bride” knows that the veil is the ultimate thrill, literally and figuratively crowning the whole day of magical make-believe and dress-up! On my own wedding day, it was the placing of the white veil over my head that mysteriously stirred my feminine soul.

After my reversion, and in my heart of hearts, I would’ve loved to wear a veil; but, of course, that would be seen as “prideful”—that I somehow wanted to stand out and appear holier-than-thou. At least, that was the unspoken message—that wearing a veil was pretentious and a show of false piety. The negative perception of veil-wearing was enough to keep me far away from the idea for almost 20 years. I did not want to be “that person.” Best to lay low and not draw any attention or criticism. 

And yet, throughout the years, I began to see veils pop up at Mass. Only one or two at first, but the momentum was there. None of these ladies seemed particularly pompous or arrogant or showy. They seemed prayerful, humble, and quiet—not offensive. Were they really trying to draw attention to themselves and their pretense of holiness, as many claimed of veilers? I wasn’t so sure. And they weren’t all elderly women, either. That was intriguing, and I liked it. I wanted the trend to continue; I cheered it on silently; but I was too afraid to participate.

Isn’t that ironic? I was afraid to be judged as being judgmental! Those who judged the veiled as being implicit judges of the unveiled were judgy enough to scare me away from what I now know to be a personal devotion, an understanding between a woman and God, between a bride and her Bridegroom. I wasn’t on any crusade to get women to return to the veil, but personally, interiorly I was being drawn to it more and more. I acquired a veil or two and kept them stashed in my drawer, “just in case.” And then one day—was it a weekday? A Sunday? I don’t remember—I made a decision. I donned a veil and walked into Mass. That was it for me. I’ve been veiling ever since.

When I first took that leap, yes, I was a little self-conscious…What are people thinking? Are they staring? Do they even notice? Do they think I’m trying to make a show of this? (Interestingly, my thoughts were directed at fellow women—I knew that the men did not care and probably liked women in veils.) 

The truth is that even those questions are prideful. We often believe that people are thinking about us or judging us, and sometimes that is true, but most of the time it isn’t. Most people are focused on their own lives and insecurities and problems, and we are not always the focus of others’ attention and speculation. I’ve seen friends and fellow parishioners go from unveiled to veiling, both before and after my own switch to wearing a veil, and my thought has always been, “I love that!”

For a couple of years, I was only comfortable wearing my veil in my own parish or in parishes where I knew that others would be wearing them. But in an out-of-town or more “spirit of Vatican II” parish? No. To put a veil on in an unknown or liberal parish would be to stick out like a sore thumb, just like kneeling to receive Communion, or receiving the Host on the tongue. I didn’t want to be uncomfortable; so for a long time, I skipped it. 

Eventually, however, my veil became so much a part of my personal devotion during the Mass and Adoration that I altogether stopped caring what others think. When we travel, my veil comes with me, and I am happy to report that—even in new-to-me Novus Ordo parishes—I almost always find at least one or two other veiled ladies in the pews. Maybe times are changing? Let us pray!

For any ladies reading who are on the fence, I want to lay out some fruits of wearing the veil, at least in my experience. First is an increased focus. We moderns are a distractable bunch, and any aid to focus on God is most welcome. A veil drapes down the sides of one’s face and provides a gentle, physical “barrier” that limits peripheral vision. This helps me keep my eyes and attention on the ambo and the altar up front. My lace “blinders” keep me from being too curious, jokey, or distracted in the Mass. 

That may seem silly, but it’s effective, as the veil becomes its own “prayer stall” or “grille” if you will, as I listen to God’s Word and assist at the Holy Sacrifice. The veil is also an ever-present reminder that I am on sacred ground and that the Lord is truly present—in the Tabernacle from the moment I enter the church, on the altar at the Consecration, and in my body after Communion. I do not veil myself in a grocery store, a friend’s house, a gas station, a restaurant, or the symphony. I would certainly never wear a veil in a Protestant church. The veil signifies, “Christ the King is truly and substantially present here.”

Increased focus is a good thing, but an even better fruit of the veil is humility. It is harder to be prideful when your head is covered and bowed before the Lord. Now, I have read some wonderful articles promoting the veil by reminding women that “holy things are veiled”: the tabernacle, the altar, and the chalice, for example. Although beautiful, this comparison did not serve to humble me, and humility is what I need. 

Personally, I prefer to reverently acknowledge St. Paul’s words in Sacred Scripture that woman should pray with “her head veiled” in submission to her husband, who, in turn, submits to Christ (1 Corinthians 11). The implication regarding the Mass is clear, as these repeated commentaries on head coverings come just before St. Paul repeats Christ’s Words of Institution, which effect the Consecration. It is true that this does not amount to a mandate to veil, but I, for one, appreciate any reminder of my call to holy submission as a woman. Even the USCCB’s footnotes on these verses regarding head coverings lay out the natural and theological hierarchy here: 

…men, dominant, reflect the active function of Christ in relation to his church; women, submissive, reflect the passive role of the church with respect to its savior. This gives us the functional scale: God, Christ, man, woman. 

(If this truth offends you, you might need some deprogramming from the dark spirit of feminism that has slimed us all.)

From here we can appreciate another fruit of veiling, one which will help to restore right order in society—namely, the particularly feminine nature of a veil. In an increasingly “genderless” society, where androgyny is celebrated and where masculine men and feminine women are mocked, disdained, and obliterated, we need to bring back the natural, joyful distinctions between the sexes. The pure femininity of a veil cannot be denied, and all its enchanting incarnations of color, length, style, fabric, and design captivate the female heart, from young girl to old woman. A delicate, ethereal veil of silk or fine lace speaks to a woman’s innate, God-given desire to be beautiful. I wasn’t a particularly frilly little girl, but I can only imagine the sheer delight that would have filled my soul had I possessed an array of pretty veils to wear to Mass as a child. 

Even for those who struggle with poor self-esteem, a lovely veil will encourage a woman to embrace her true nature as a beloved daughter of God—because a veil is beautiful on every woman! In an oppressive modern culture of brutalism, ugliness, and compelled androgyny (don’t you sense the diabolic?), there is a great redemptive quality in bringing beauty back to the woman and to the Mass. Our souls—both male and female—crave it!

And please forgive my superficiality for just a moment, but I would be remiss if I did not mention the merely practical benefits of a veil on a bad hair day! Ladies, we understand each other, yes? Where pride and vanity might tempt a woman to miss a daily Mass if her hair is an unwashed disaster, she need only place her veil and she will not give her hair another thought as she goes to worship. A veil “covers a multitude of sins,” so to speak. I vouch for this benefit personally.

My sisters in Christ, if you are on the fence about veiling, or if you really do desire to take the leap but need that last push, I encourage you to try it—maybe start with daily Mass or Adoration. And if you are holding back because there are not many (or any!) veils at your parish, just remember that every woman who emerges with the first veil—or second, or fifth, or tenth—increases the likelihood that other women in the parish will be inspired and follow suit. That’s how it works, and it’s how my own parish went from no veils to veils seen in every direction! It’s contagious!

In the end, of course, a woman’s decision to veil is between her and God. Whether I am at Mass with a thousand people, or whether I am alone in the Adoration chapel with no one but Christ to see me, I cover my head. My veiling is for Him—not for others, and not for show. Presenting myself before the Lord with my head covered has changed the disposition of my heart and changed the way I pray. Ultimately, by reminding me of who I am, veiling reminds me of who He is.  

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"The judgment of your God is not akin to the judgment of man. The Eternal Father will only judge by the heart. Your rank, your accumulation of worldly goods does not set you up before another. Many have sold their souls within the holy House of God. Better that you strip yourself and remove all worldly interests now while you have the time to make amends to your God, for many mitres will fall into hell." - St. Thomas Aquinas, August 21, 1972

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