Can women wear gloves at Mass?

[teresasnamesake]

Our pastor has told us that the directions for receiving holy Communion say that “gloves are never worn.” Is this because people are receiving Communion in the hand? If someone is going to receive Communion on the tongue, does it matter whether or not he or she is wearing gloves?

My daughter wants to wear pretty gloves at Mass and she receives Communion on the tongue, but should she still remove her gloves at Communion?

 

[Michelle_Arnold]

I checked the USCCB’s document Norms for the Distribution and Reception of Holy Communion under Both Kinds but could find no mention of gloves, so I do not know to which document your pastor is referring. I recommend that you ask him for a copy of the document he has in mind. Although I do not know of a document in which the Church specifically forbids distributing Communion in the hand to someone wearing gloves, gloves could make handling the host and chalice more difficult, thereby increasing the chance that the Eucharist could be dropped or spilled. For that reason, your pastor’s recommendation makes sense.

As for a woman wearing gloves to church: As a matter of general Western etiquette, there are two pieces of protocol to keep in mind: Women may certainly wear gloves to church. Women may not wear gloves while eating. Putting together those two pieces of protocol then, a woman who chooses to wear gloves to church would remove her gloves while receiving Communion. That said, the prohibition against wearing gloves while eating assumes that the woman is using her hands to eat. Thus, a woman who receives Communion on the tongue should be able to wear gloves while receiving Communion. As a matter of prudence, she should either refrain from receiving from the chalice or remove her gloves before doing so.