Blessing/dedication of newly renovated church-- veil question

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Our church has just been renovated, and we are having the blessing (rededication?) this evening. I had the opportunity to see the beautiful “new” sanctuary and church during choir practice the other night when we were helping with the adjustment of the sound system. It’s simply beautiful! Of course, the Blessed Sacrament was not yet in the newly renovated Tabernacle area so I did not wear my veil.

I’ve never been present during the dedication or blessing of a church, whether it is new construction or a renovation so I’m not sure about the proper way to don my veil in this instance. (I also realize that veils are, sadly, no longer the custom in most EDITED BY MODERATORchurches in the States. However, I am one of the very few who will wear at least a chapel cap during Mass. I attended an older church the other day for the Feast Day of Our Lady of Guadalupe where many ladies still don a veil, and I wore my full veil instead of a chapel cap-- I was one of many who did, and it was quite lovely to see so many veiled ladies! 👍 )

Anyway, the Blessed Sacrament, of course, will return to the new Tabernacle during the blessing at Mass this evening. This is a first for me. When would I put on my veil? Would I don the veil as soon as I enter the church even if the Blessed Sacrament isn’t in the Tabernacle yet (but is on the way) or would I don my veil when the Sacrament is being brought in during the Processional?

Thank you!

In Christ,
~Spoken4
 
Spoken4 said:
Our church has just been renovated, and we are having the blessing (rededication?) this evening. I had the opportunity to see the beautiful “new” sanctuary and church during choir practice the other night when we were helping with the adjustment of the sound system. It’s simply beautiful! Of course, the Blessed Sacrament was not yet in the newly renovated Tabernacle area so I did not wear my veil.

I’ve never been present during the dedication or blessing of a church, whether it is new construction or a renovation so I’m not sure about the proper way to don my veil in this instance. (I also realize that veils are, sadly, no longer the custom in most EDITED BY MODERATORchurches in the States. However, I am one of the very few who will wear at least a chapel cap during Mass. I attended an older church the other day for the Feast Day of Our Lady of Guadalupe where many ladies still don a veil, and I wore my full veil instead of a chapel cap-- I was one of many who did, and it was quite lovely to see so many veiled ladies! 👍 )

Anyway, the Blessed Sacrament, of course, will return to the new Tabernacle during the blessing at Mass this evening. This is a first for me. When would I put on my veil? Would I don the veil as soon as I enter the church even if the Blessed Sacrament isn’t in the Tabernacle yet (but is on the way) or would I don my veil when the Sacrament is being brought in during the Processional?

Thank you!

In Christ,
~Spoken4
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You would wear the veil while you are present in church, of course, especially for the liturgy. The presence or absence of the Blessed Sacrament has absolutely nothing to do with it.

Let’s look at the 1917 Canon law, shall we?
1262 §1. Optandum ut, congruenter antiquae disciplinae, mulieres in ecclesia separatae sint a viris.
§2. Viri in ecclesia vel extra ecclesiam, dum sacris ritibus assistunt, nudo capite sint, nisi aliud ferant probati populorum mores aut peculiaria rerum adiuncta; mulieres autem, capite cooperto et modeste vestitae, maxime cum ad mensam Dominicam accedunt.
My translation:
1262 §1. It is desirable that, in accordance with the ancient discipline, women in church be separated from the men.
§2. Men, within a church or outside a church, while they assist at sacred rites, are to have their heads uncovered, unless the approved customs of the people or a particular set of circumstances should determine otherwise; women, however, with heads covered and dressed modestly, especially when they approach the Lord’s table.*
As you can see, the Blessed Sacrament has nothing to do with it. This is why one would wear a veil to Mass even at, say, a chapel where the Sacrament is not reserved, or someplace like St. Peter’s where it is reserved, but apart from the nave. (I can just imagine the scene of a church full of women scrambling to don their veils at the instant the priest pronounces “… enim corpus meum”, can’t you? :))

*Oh no, it says table! Paging Cranmer, paging Luther!
 
It’s only appropriate to enter church dressed the way you wish to be for the entire duration in church. Likewise, one does not wait in the pews in a t-shirt and jeans, only to quickly change into their Sunday best when the Blessed Sacrament makes an entrance. One’s attentions should be focused wholly on humble prayer and worship without having to fumble with one’s clothing. 🙂
 
Thanks! Makes sense, too-- I thought it was right to don the veil as I normally would, for any other Mass and that’s what I had planned to do. But I just couldn’t stop the nagging feeling of “Hmmm, is this one of those ‘unusual’ cases?” Since our “church” up until now has been either in the gymnasium or in the Parish Center while the construction was taking place, I would veil in those places as that was the ‘temporary church’. Makes sense, then, that I would veil when I enter the ‘permanent’ church.

Okay, please allow me some “Catholic guilt” here! 😃 Should I have veiled, then, during choir rehearsal and sound checks when we were in the almost-complete renovated church when Masses were still being held in temporary quarters?

(Honestly, I don’t feel all that guilty for not having done so, as it was not a Mass, and Masses were not being held in that space for the time being, so… but now that the permanent church is open again, I will ‘veil up’ anytime I enter that space!)

Looking forward to the first Mass in our BEAUTIFULLY renovated church! :crossrc::heaven:

~Spoken4
 
Spoken4 said:
Okay, please allow me some “Catholic guilt” here! 😃 Should I have veiled, then, during choir rehearsal and sound checks when we were in the almost-complete renovated church when Masses were still being held in temporary quarters?
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There are no regulations on fine points such as this (nor were there in the past). The phrase “especially when they approach the Lord’s table” in the 1917 canon certainly implies that at other times the requirement to veil does not “especially” hold. That’s not to say that it doesn’t exist, just that this is not a clear-cut issue, nor is it intended to be.

My quick-and-dirty rule would be that if the church is consecrated, then it should be treated like a church. If not, then not.
 
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