This is also true of missionary sisters who minister in tropical heat. Another dispute over habits rooted in questions of identity erupted at the convent of Le Vergini in Venice.

But the papacy upheld the nuns’ choice. Besides the linen around the face and hair, the outer headpiece was frequently fashioned to block peripheral vision. Very few nuns or sisters wear any habit at all since the 1960s. The colors of a Catholic priest’s vestments help the faithful know that certain celebrations are at hand. Check out “The Nun’s Story” on DVD – very nice habits, indeed! The most typical style of habit that you see is that of the Franciscan nuns, while the sisters of St. Anne usually wear a necklace upon which is attached a large silver cross. (Ordinary time is the rest of the year that’s not the Christmas or Easter season — […] Monks wear hoods, and nuns wear veils and — …

Many Catholic nuns and other religious (monks, friars, sisters, brothers, priests, etc.) The headgear was also fashioned after the time in which the community came together. can be seen wearing a particular set of clothing called a habit. Nowadays, though, many are opting to wear secular clothing rather than their traditional religious habits, even giving up the veil. Normally the blue was worn by the teachers, the white by the nurses and the grays were, well, I don't really know, maybe just …

Blue is associated with the Virgin Mary. Different Colors. While certain modifications were made by the various communities, the scapular was a distinctive part of the religious habit. Robes were gray, brown, undyed wool or a mix of dun colors.

Nun’s habits were fashioned after mourning clothing, or so I have read. Veils vary in color.

The sense of sight, including color, plays an important role in Catholic worship.

Turning the book, and habits, into a form of information design. Green: The color of vestments used during ordinary time. A black veil indicates a nun who has already taken her solemn vows and is therefore a full-fledged nun. Monks wore whatever color of poor garment was available, based on donations from the faithful, local cloth and vegetable dyes, or the tradition of their monastery. … You can also tell which stage of the profession a nun is in based on the style and color of the veil and habit. A religious habit of the sort that enclosed Carmelite nuns wear isn't part of a secular vocation, and I think there are good reasons for that. Nursing sisters (regardless of the normal color of their habits) wear white when they are nursing. Difference in color help to display the hierarchy within the convent.

A group of nuns was sent to reform the community and they wore grey habits. Each order is assigned a background color. However, there are many other orders and congregations of sisters who wear diverse colors: Brown, beige, blue, white, grey, and even one or two that wear pink! Then there are sisters who belong to religious communities who always wear white such as Dominicans (with black veils and mantles) and Olivetan Benedictines among others. The rosary.

Historically, the largest orders of nuns and lay sisters wore black and white and that’s most likely the reason why. ... distinguished by color, symbolism and devotion.

In early days, the habits of religious orders were somewhat of a hodgepodge. When I was being taught by the Sisters of Mercy, the nuns had three habits -- navy blue, white and gray -- all the same style. The black color symbolizes death to the world, penitence and, practically speaking, it was the cheapest fabric available during the sixth century. You can't get a habit without going to a religious community, because being in community is what gives the habit its meaning. Nuns who wear white veils are still in training to become a nun and have not taken their vows of chastity and devotion. The earliest nuns of the Middle Ages wore habits of grey and white, the colors of undyed wool. A helpful glossary of terms related to female Catholic religious: nuns, sisters, novices, aspirants.

Here, in the early sixteenth century, the Augustinian nuns fought over a different choice of colors. The colors varied according to their order.