In Roman Catholicism, a black veil is the traditional sign of a solemnly professed nun. The nun will make her profession of solemn vows during a Mass. During the course of the Mass, she will lie prostrate as the community and all in the Churchpray over her, present her vows, signed upon the altar, to the bishop and profess her vows to the Abbess or Prioress of the monastery. After the vows have been professed her white veil will be swapped for a black veil. As a sign of her espousal commitment to Christ, she will be presented with a ring which she will wear for the rest of her life and subsequently be buried in. It is also common that she will receive a wreath of flowers. In some monasteries, according to traditional practise, the nun making her solemn profession will also receive the Rite of Consecration of Virgins, although this may also be omitted or delayed to another time. During Mass the nun will wear the habit she has worn since her clothing. The clothing of a novice nun is a ceremony which may be public or private. It will include the clothing in the monastic habit and often also the tonsuring of the postulant's hair. In some congregations and religious orders the woman who is taking the habit will present herself in a wedding dress and veil. It is the Clarissian tradition and Poor Clares, according to the wishes of St. Clare, will almost alwaysdo it, while orders who follow different rules may choose to have the postulant receiving the habit wear a dress of her own choosing or simply the uniform she has worn as a postulant. The clothing may be public, in a church and attended by family and friends, or private, in the monastic Chapter House or private choir. Some orders and congregations, like the Poor Clare Colettines will exchange the white veil for a black veil upon the profession of First Vows, while the wear white veils at all stages of their formation. Amongst the apostolic orders of sisters veils of all colours may be worn according to the regulations of the particular order. In Lay circles, a triangle- or rectangle-shaped cloth or lace veil, also known as a mantilla, is worn by Catholic women while attending church Mass. This practice has fallen into decline since the 1960s among those who attend the revised rite of the Mass, but traditional Catholic women who attend the ancient Latin Mass still wear them. Traditionally, married women have worn black veils, while unmarried women wore white veils and some still follow this tradition today.
