Because St. Paul asked it of them, and the Church kept the custom for nineteen centuries. In 1 Corinthians 11, Paul writes that a woman should cover her head when praying — not as a badge of inferiority, but in the presence of “glory.” In the same passage he calls man the image and glory of God and woman the glory of man; glory veils itself before the higher glory of the Lord. The chapel veil is, in that reading, a sign of dignity rather than subjection — the same instinct by which the sacred vessels themselves are veiled when not in use.

Be clear about the law, because clarity removes the pressure. The 1917 Code of Canon Law required head covering; the 1983 Code dropped the requirement and did not replace it. So no woman is under any obligation today — the veil is kept purely as a personal sign of reverence, freely chosen. In TLM communities it remains common because the deeper logic still resonates: when one draws near the altar where God becomes substantially present, one covers oneself as for any sacred occasion.

Practically, a mantilla or chapel veil is most common, but a hat or a simple scarf serves just as well, and the color or style carries no rule. The covering is not a charm or a magic act; it is a sign — a small, visible way of telling oneself and everyone present that something extraordinary is about to happen on the altar, and that even the way one’s hair is arranged is drawn into the orbit of the sacred.

Above all: no one is judged for not wearing one, and you should not feel watched if you don’t. Many women take it up only gradually, and not because anyone told them to — the liturgy simply drew it out of them over time. Come as you are. If the custom ever speaks to you, it will be there; if it never does, you are no less welcome at the rail.