Our Lady's Wardrobe

"Then I looked up and caught sight of the cave where I saw a lady wearing a lovely white dress with a bright belt. On top of each of her feet was a pale yellow rose, the same colour as her rosary beads." St. Bernadette Soubirous

Mary of Nazareth

Regarding the clothing which Mary wore as she walked the dusty Nazareth roads, we can assume that she was satisfied to have the typical tunic and veil that a poor person of that time and place had. She most likely wore natural colors, evidenced by the relic of her head-covering called the ‘Veil of the Virgin'. Tradition holds that she wore the now faded, plain white veil when she gave birth to Jesus. This cherished relic is located still at the cathedral in Chartres, France.

Clothed with Light

Through the many apparitions of Our Lady, we notice that her heavenly wardrobe is luminous and otherworldly in appearance. She is always described as beautiful. Usually she appears as a ‘brilliant light’ or surrounded by light.

This is consistent with the depiction of the heavenly Mother in the book of Revelation. Mary, the Ark of the New Covenant, is depicted as being a cosmic pregnant woman, clothed with the sun, wearing a crown of stars and standing on the moon. “A great sign appeared in the sky, a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars. She was with child and wailed aloud in pain as she labored to give birth” Rev 12:1-2. 

Heavenly Clothing

In heaven Our Lady, you might say, had a ‘Wardrobe GlowUp’. She has multiple richly colored tunics, mantles, veils, sashes or belts, and other accessories such as crowns, diadems, brooches, rosaries, flowers, scapulars and necklaces.

In looking at nine different well known apparitions which took place in Lourdes, Guadalupe, Fatima, Knock, Kibeho, Champion, Pontmain, Mt.Carmel and La Salette, we can see a variety of clothing colors, styles, and accessories. These outfits were carefully selected to match the location, the culture, the message she wanted to express and the disposition of the seers. The variety is interesting.

Let’s go through each clothing item and accessory starting with a definition since they are not modern Western style cloths that we are used to. Then we will look at where the item was seen at which apparition event.

Crown: Mary’s crown can either be a golden traditional royal crown with gems and flowers or a crown of 12 stars above her head formed by light. At Knock, Mary wore a golden crown and a rose was located on the crown above her brow. At Guadalupe, Mary wore a crown of twelve stars appearing as white light. At Champion, she wore a crown of 12 gold stars above her golden hair. At Mt. Carmel a gold crown and at Pontmain a gold diadem style crown was worn. At La Salette she wore a diadem style crown of multi-colored roses.

Mantle or Mantilla: A mantle is an outer garment or cloak used to encompass and protect those under her care. At Fatima and at Champion, she wore a white ankle-length mantle with a gold thread border with no collar or cuffs. At Guadalupe, the Queen of Heaven wore a turquoise mantle spangled with golden stars and edged with gold. At Kibeho she wore a solid blue mantle. At Lourdes she wore a simple white mantle and at Pontmain it was a bluish-purple mantle covered with gold stars. Our Lady of Mt. Carmel wore a tan colored mantle and Our Lady of La Salette wore an apron style mantle, gold and white with multicolored roses for trim.

Tunic: A tunic is a loose-fitting, gown-like dress, worn under a mantle, that reaches down to the ankles or even covering the feet. At Fatima, Lourdes, Kibeho and Champion it was white. At Guadalupe it was a pink tunic with an elaborate flower pattern. At Mt. Carmel it was a dark brown color.

Veil: A veil is a piece of fabric, often blue, used as a shoulder length head covering. It usually covers her hair and ears. It is symbolic of humility and reverence before God. At Kibeho and Mt. Carmel Our Lady wore a white veil. At Pontmain it was black. 

Belt or Sash: Belts or cinctures can be made of rope, cord, or broad ribbons, and come in various colors. They are worn around the waist. A sash can be worn around the waist or over the shoulder. At Lourdes she wore a bright, light blue color sash around her waist and at Champion it was gold. At Guadalupe she wore a special black belt indicating that she was pregnant with our Lord.

Other Accessories: A brooch is an ornament fastened to clothing with a hinged pin and catch. At Guadalupe it was a black cross. At Mt. Carmel it was a gold circle. Both held the corners of her mantle together. At Fatima and Kibeho Mary held a rosary. At Lourdes, Mary held a yellow rosary in her right hand which matched yellow flowers on her feet. At La Salette, Our Lady wore a chain with a large crucifix attached. While at Mt.Carmel, Mary held a brown scapular.

In every apparition Our Lady revealed her royalty and her dignity through modest, yet brilliantly stunning garments. In just about every appearance her clothing helped to get across her message which was to honor and respect Jesus, repent of sins and pray the rosary for conversions.