A Tradition That Never Disappeared

    “Excuse me,” I said.
    The woman looked up from the pew. She had been engrossed in prayer.
    “How come you’re wearing a veil?”
    “It is a sign of submission,” she said.
    I told her that when I was a child, women often wore veils in church. Nowadays the site is rare.
    She told me that The Catholic Church never discouraged the covering of one’s head.
    I’ve noticed an increase, albeit a slight one, of veils worn inside Catholic churches. The ages of these woman range from young to elderly. They usually frequent churches located in urban settings. This woman I spoke to, however, prayed inside a suburban church near Boston.
    Veils symbolize humility, submission, and modesty. Those behaviors contradict the cultural values of self empowerment and individual expression.
    Wearing a veil is not a sign of weakness. Quite the contrary. Wearing a veil in a secular culture requires strength of character.