About some of those old Nun's Habits

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https://twitter.com/x/status/1251271429682630656

(I am leaving the above tweet up but I do see it is from some “Sedevacanist” which I don’t agree with. I hope that is not “rule-breaking”.) I am only using the picture which is quite nice.

They may still wear them like this for all I know. This is very elaborate. I’m not really sure, what I might be asking. Has anyone ever seen these kinds of Habits being worn (other than for me, on the “Flying Nun”)?? Discuss any insights you may have to these if you care. Origin, significance, etc. etc… Usually I see these worn by European Nuns some very long time ago.

Sister Laboure:



Thank you for any feedback.
 
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I, too, would be interested in the history of this headwear!

My first thought…I couldn’t help it, was it would sure help to keep social distancing! 😂😂😂
 
The Daughters of Charity, shown here, have not worn that particular habit since the 1960s. This particular design is now a registered trademark.

The Conference of Major Superiors of Women Religious is comprised largely of congregations who retained some form of habit. The Institute on Religious Life has member congregations who wear habits.

Some congregations were founded during persecution, and avoided any external signs.

I have a religious habit discussion group on Groups.io, if you’re interested.

Blessings,
Mrs Cloisters, O.P.
Lay Dominican
http://cloisters.tripod.com/charity/
http://cloisters.tripod.com/
 
Do you know how that particular headwear (if it has a correct name, I’m sorry, I don’t know what it is) was designed with a reason or purpose? It IS rather large and seems impractical in a windy area. I’m just curious…
 
The cornette shown here was not St Vincent’s original intention. They wore a common sunbonnet, and the wings kept going up. The French DCs wore the “floppy” version. The American DCs, originally founded by Mother Seton, had their wings straight up.

There are several variations-on-a-theme where cornettes are concerned. Lladro copied the Daughters of Charity of Spain. The Sisters of St Paul of Chartes had a cornette whose wings could be let down like blinders. They usually kept them tied over the head.
 
Thank you…fascinating. Especially, …they just kept getting bigger! 😂
❤️❤️❤️
 
My new congregation is Vincentian, and will be wearing royal blue and white. We are still working on the actual habit’s headgear. At present, we wear a hair triangle with levels of formation shown by the color. We will retain that, but will add the habit to the clothing options once we get our foundational/guiding documents in order.
 
I know I’m terrible here, but that first one is extremely funny to me. I’m thinking paper airplane things and hang-gliders. They either have some wide doorways, or they go through sideways. Get on a hill, run, and glide safely to the valley below. I know I’m not much help.
Dominus vobiscum
 
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Yes, they had to go sideways through doors if they weren’t wide enough. If traveling, they would pin/clip the wings together. The wings would make a scraping noise if they bumped the wall.

The Sisters were issued three cornettes. Rain could melt them. If cleaning one, after starching, they would plaster the large square on the side of the fridge overnight. There was a cap under the cornette called the “Bonne” (Bonnie), which was made with oatmeal can cardboard.
 
I’m sure @Cloisters can correct me if I’m wrong, but the Daughters of Charity were primarily an active congregation, on the order of nursing and direct service to the poor (here in Indianapolis, they were nurses and hospital foundresses, among other things), so in the Vatican II Renewal, many of them would have exchanged (perhaps optionally) the habit for sensible, modest work clothes. And I understand the original habit was to be patterned after the common French wear of the worker in that day.
 
I read up on that cornette at one point, because St. Catherine Laboure (who was a Vincentian sister) is always shown in it, and also because “The Flying Nun” cornette was based on it. It’s my understanding that when the order was founded, the cornette was the normal headgear worn by middle-class women in their area, and they dressed like that in order to look the same as other ladies and not stand out. Obviously over time the other ladies’ fashions changed, but the habit didn’t, so they did stand out with the cornettes, more and more. I believe they stopped wearing them around the time of Vatican II.

 
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I do wonder where the fascination with horns came from to inspire the fashion.
Dominus vobiscum
 
It’s like there must be a bit of tradition to it.

Something female farm workers might have worn? I do think it might be something to it.

And I certainly never saw it as horns in my years of living nor ever referred to as such until now.
 
Victoria33 said:
Something female farm workers might have worn? I do think it might be something to it.
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It was a fashionable headgear for middle-class women in Paris in 1801. It was not something worn by the peasants at that time.
I believe it was originally worn in the countryside in the 1600s in a different form - not as starched probably, it would be hard to keep it like that if you were milking cows all day.
I edited my post because the sisters might have taken it up before it was fashionable but they kept it through the years when it was.
 
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Thanks, I am reading this and will bookmark the website.

I also did a tiny bit of reading on the matter last night through my own websearch.

I’ve read St. Vincent de Paul’s biography, I have a fair bit of knowledge about him so, I find this fascinating.

By the way, for those who don’t know, St. Vincent de Paul was even once captured and made a slave which is fascinating. I’m sure, even the wikipedia entry on him or anything else on the web, surely to be plentiful, will tell you that.
 
Some of you oldsters here may remember Sally Field in The Flying Nun TV show!

 
Yes, the Flying Nun is an interesting case, her habit is certainly different than the Daughters of Charity habit… different BUT similar I’d say. I think I caught the show, perhaps in reruns at that and, again to wikipedia, it probably tells all, the story took place in Puerto Rico (more after picture).

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So, some time, I will try to watch an episode, I am sure, some are to be found.

I’d like to thank all members for contributing, especially @Cloisters who has great insight on this and again, I read up on this. I even found some blog specializing in religious wardrobe at that but it was not specific to this habit, so I didn’t post that. If something else comes up directly on topic, I will try to update but my question has largely been answered.
 
That’s interesting that it covers why St. Louise de Marillac didn’t wear the cornette. I was wondering that myself. Now I know.
Victoria33 said:
So, some time, I will try to watch an episode, I am sure, some are to be found.
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I remember this series well from when I was a very young child. I was not old enough to have seen Sally Field on her previous TV series as “Gidget” the surfer girl so I always primarily remembered her as “The Flying Nun”. I think the show is worth a watch, it was certainly a positive portrayal of Catholicism. Although I think some of us kids wondered if somehow we too could fly if we got just the right size and shape cornette 🙂

I have considered looking for the book on which the show was based.
 
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