What's It Like To Wear A Habit In Hot Weather?

[Cherie]

[quote name='laetitia crucis' date='07 July 2010 - 10:24 PM' timestamp='1278555863' post='2139154']
Hmmm... so, do Dominican habits of pockets, or do they have holes to reach into one's petticoat? (That's something I didn't think to ask! Haha!)
[/quote]

Our habit was "modeled" in a sense after the Nashville Dominican's habit (since our founder was a former Nashville Dominican) so ... not sure if your Dominicans have the same habit, but if they do, then yes, there is a hole in the habit to reach the petticoat pockets. It's actually more secure that way ... you'd DEFINITELY notice a pickpocket trying to reach into your petticoat pocket! I guess each community is different in that regard, though. Some of our work habits, interestingly enough, didn't have holes, but had actual pockets instead. But the "real" habits just had holes -- but the neat thing is, they[i] looked[/i] like pockets!


We had four layers -- (five if you count the "women's undergarment"? Which we wore, by the way ... many people wondered whether or not Sisters got to wear them, but yes, we definitely did!) -- so T-shirt, tunic, then scapular, then cape. Yes, very hot in the summer, that's for sure! (But awfully nice in the winter, although I'm cold-natured so I usually wore a brown wool sweater over the habit in winter, also)

[Cherie]

[quote name='Mary Veronica' date='07 July 2010 - 09:46 PM' timestamp='1278553610' post='2139140']
They also wear things called tunics. it's a thin but loose [i]over[/i]-garment that covers the wrists and passes the knees. it goes above your undergarments. then comes the habit. what is that three layers? unless your Carmelite and you wear the cape. that makes four.
[/quote]

Our Sisters used to wear something like that - the actual habit, minus the cape and scapular, is what was referred to as the "tunic" however. What you refer to as a "tunic", in our community, was called something else and I can't even remember the term now!

They switched to T-shirts and petticoats at some point, for a particular reason -- but guess what! I can't remember that now either! (I can't remember anything anymore! It's the pregnancy hormones...at least I hope! )


[size="1"]Edit: Clarity, it's tired and I'm late! [/size]

Edited July 8, 2010 by CherieMadame

[tnavarro61]

[quote name='IgnatiusofLoyola' date='08 July 2010 - 03:09 AM' timestamp='1278526155' post='2138964']
The Order of Sisters who live across the street from me, the Sisters of Christian Charity (not the same as the Franciscan Sisters of Christian Charity) have a mission for the blind in the Phillipines. They are in Quezon City. The original work done by the founder of the Order in the mid-1800's was working for the blind.

Their Web site has a picture of the Sisters and they are all in white, including their veils. From the picture, it doesn't appear they have air conditioning, since there is a large fan in the corner of the room. Although only a few Sisters are shown in the picture, I'm pretty sure there are more. It seems that the Phillipine Sisters have a small, but steady number of new vocations each year. I think most of the Sisters in the Phillipines are from the Phillipines, so they are probably used to the weather, although I'm sure they get hot like anyone else.

The Order wears a modified habit, but from everything I can tell (and from others on Phatmass who have looked at the Order's Web site), they are fully orthodox in their beliefs and practices.

I live in the U.S. near one of the convents for retired Sisters, and I worry about the elderly Sisters in hot weather. But, their convent does have air conditioning, at least in the portions that function as a hospital. Loss of electricity can be a problem when it gets very hot, but the town I live in has made special arrangements so that, even if the rest of the town loses electricity, the town provides electricity from another source to the Sisters, so they always have electricity.

Here is the Web site for the branch of the Order in the Phillipines. [url="http://www.sccphil.com/index.htm"]http://www.sccphil.com/index.htm[/url]
[/quote]

thank you for sharing this website! are you from the Philippines, or have been in our country?

and hey! i remember a sister with similar habit, and maybe she belongs to that order. She used to visit us us when we were in nursery, and everybody hugged that nun (including me). How I miss that nun, probably she's already dead now (it was 14 yrs ago and she's quite old the last time I saw her.)

[tnavarro61]

[quote name='CatherineM' date='08 July 2010 - 03:06 AM' timestamp='1278525964' post='2138960']
You know, I've never asked. They work at Catholic Social Services with immigrant women. CSS is a block away from church, so they make daily mass every day.
[/quote]

with the power of internet search, we'll know their order!

[IgnatiusofLoyola]

[quote name='tnavarro61' date='08 July 2010 - 08:43 AM' timestamp='1278596608' post='2139294']
thank you for sharing this website! are you from the Philippines, or have been in our country?

and hey! i remember a sister with similar habit, and maybe she belongs to that order. She used to visit us us when we were in nursery, and everybody hugged that nun (including me). How I miss that nun, probably she's already dead now (it was 14 yrs ago and she's quite old the last time I saw her.)
[/quote]

No, I am not from the Philippines and unfortunately, have never been lucky enough to visit your country.

From looking at various Web sites, it appears that the Philippines has a number of devout women who have chosen the religious life. I don't know whether this is the case, but appears as if women's religious Orders in the Philippines have more new vocations than many other countries.

It's possible that your wonderful nun may still be alive--I hope so! I know that when I was younger, I considered some people to be "old" when they weren't elderly at all. If the nun was indeed from the Sisters of Christian Charity, members of that Order seem to live very long lives. Because the convent near me is a retirement home, there have been deaths of Sisters, and many of them lived into well into their 90's, and a few over 100. Obviously, they live not only a blessed and holy life, but a healthy lifestyle, as well! And, I know they get very good medical care.

[MarieLynn]

I am going back to the 60's when I entered !!

As postulants we were required to bring

3 long white cotton nightdresses
A Robe (dressing gown) of a sober colour
1 pair black slippers
3 pairs black lace-up shoes
6 pairs black stockings
3 pairs bloomers
3 singlets
2 skin coloured corsets!!!!!
2 black waist slips (petticoats)
1 dozen mens handkerchiefs
Toilet gear (no deodorant or talcum powder)
1 St Andrews Missal
1 pair black Rosary beads
2 cards hair grips

That is all I can remember, but the list was endless!! I have never forgotten the "underwear requirements" - who could?

As postulants we wore a long sleeved black dress with detachable white collar, a black elbow length cape, and a black net veil with a white front edging. It was very hot wearing this outfit but when I became a Novice our Habit was of heavy black serge, with lots of starch for the headwear, and a heavy white veil, so it became even hotter -- good for mortification we were told.

[sistersintigo]

[quote name='IgnatiusofLoyola' date='07 July 2010 - 12:15 AM' timestamp='1278472534' post='2138811']
Note: Nashville may not be the "deep south" but it is quite warm there in the summer. The tradeoff, of course, is that Nashville is milder in the winter. Also, the Nashville Dominicans send Sisters to schools all over the U.S., so you can't predict where you will end up living. But, I suspect this is also true for many (most?) active Orders.
[/quote]

I second that statement: one of the parish schools run by Nashville (St. Cecilia) Dominican Sisters is across the street, literally, from Providence College in Rhode Island -- and you can bet that THEY have full-strength winter.

[Sarah147]

I love those slips, too! My friend loves them and recommended them to me because I hate the feeling of wearing nothing under a skirt. I was wearing thin long-johns under my skirts until she told me about these. We found one pair left at Kohls I think on sale for about $15. They are fabulous and breathable. I love them.

At one order I was trying out, one Sister was joking around about how one hot summer she was working in the hot, un-airconditioned kitchen and they remarked something about that now they know what hell is like and don't want to go there, and that they are doing their purgatory in that kitchen. Heh.

[toservelove]

I'm with the cloistered Dominicans in Farmington Hills, MI. We wear a traditional habit. I'm a white novice and one of our employees asked if God did something special so I wasn't so hot. I told her, "It's not that you don't get hot, you just don't seem to mind as much."
We wear a tunicell underneath which is like a big baggy full slip. Summer ones are of a lighter material than winter ones. Right now mine have long sleeves, but they will get cut shorter soon! Other than that it's regular underwear.
I also wear pettishorts, but I never knew that was what they were called. I personally call them my anti-thigh-rubbers. I'm starting to look for some workout shorts instead; something that has wicking to help with the sweat. In the winter it's regular long underwear (I like cuddleduds too--they last forever and they're so warm. Another good place to try is Wintersilks.com
There's another post with a photo show of our new postulant entering, so you can see our habits. (I'm the one with the white veil.) Postulants wear a white blouse and black skirt of their own choosing. I wasn't given any kind of list of what to bring, and probably brought too much. It's so hard to part with books! Especially for a Dominican!

[DameAgnes]

Your new sister looks wonderfully happy.

But her pictures reminded me how much I hate button-down shirts. They just look so uncomfortable to me! :-)