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Nun's Habit

Catholic nun's veil and robe

Names in Other Languages

수녀복한국어
Nun's Habit · 가톨릭 수녀의 베일과 로브
修道女服日本語
カトリック修道女のベールとローブ
修女服繁體中文
天主教修女的面紗與袍
NonnentrachtDeutsch
Katholischer Nonnenschleier und -robe
Habit de religieuseFrançais
Voile et robe des religieuses catholiques
Hábito de monjaEspañol
Velo y túnica de las religiosas católicas
Hábito de freiraPortuguês
Véu e túnica das religiosas católicas
Habit zakonnicyPolski
Welon i szata katolickich zakonnic
Одеяние монахиниРусский
Вуаль и ряса католических монахинь

The nun's habit is the dress of Catholic religious women, distinguished from monks' habits by the veil covering the head and the wimple framing face, neck, and chin. From medieval times until the Second Vatican Council in the 1960s, habits strictly concealed the hair, with each order prescribing its colors — Benedictines in black veil and robe, Carmelites in brown with white wimple, Dominicans in white with black veil. The veil combined the medieval custom of married women covering their hair with the spiritual identity of a "bride of Christ." A crucifix and rosary at the waist completed the ensemble. After Vatican II most orders simplified their dress, though traditionalist communities preserve the classic habit. In fantasy and gothic literature, the nun's habit signals purity, mystery, and sometimes a hidden darkness.