Votive and Devotional Habits

by Rev. Cav. William Rock, FSSP, SMOCSG

In Southern Italy and in the Italian diaspora, there is a tradition of wearing habits based on the usual appearance of a saint (abitini; abitinu in Sicilian; habitus or vestes in Latin).  In many cases, the habit chosen is that of a local patron(ess), but it could also simply be that of a saint chosen out of personal or familial devotion.  There is also variety as to the when and the why a habit is worn.  In some cases, one might vest as a saint on his or her feast day solely out of devotion.  In other cases, the vestiture is worn as the fulfillment of a vow (votive or ex voto).  It is common in Southern Italy to “bargain” with the saints.  In this case, the bargainer vows the wearing of the habit of the saint if the saint obtains, by his or her intercession, the intention of the bargainer.  It could be that the bargainer himself vows to wear the habit, which is commonly done yearly on the saint’s feast day, but it could also be the case that it is to be worn daily, or it could be that the bargainer vows that another will wear it.  An example of the latter is that parents would promise that a mortally sick child, if he recover through the intercession of the saint, would wear the saint’s habit daily until his first Holy Communion.  The child himself may decide to continue wearing the habit afterwards, either daily or on the feast day, out of devotion and as a continued thanksgiving.  By way of illustration, with regards to the promise to personally wear it, a mother may vow to wear the habit yearly on the appropriate feast day (or even every day for the rest of her life) if her son, through the intercession of the saint, return safe from war.  There are even cases where the vow is continued by descendants after the death or incapacity of the one originally obligated out of gratitude towards the saint.¹

Lest those who practice what has been thus far described be accused of impiety or something bordering on superstition or paganism, it ought to be pointed out that this “bargaining” is more properly, and technically, the making of a conditional, suspensive vow, “that is to say, [a vow which makes] the commencement of the obligation depend on the happening or the not happening of some future uncertain event; for instance, the words, ‘If I recover my health’, make the obligation commence upon the recovery.”² In a conditional, suspensive vow, then, one would only fall under the obligation of the vow (such as the wearing of a habit ex voto) if the condition placed on the vow is fulfilled by the other party invoked, be that party either God Himself or one of the saints.  Regarding specifically vows to the saints, “God is well pleased with the honour paid to His saints, and they rejoice at the glory given to God.  We may then confirm by a vow the promise made to a saint, and likewise we may honour a saint by a vow made to God, as for instance, to erect in memory of some saint a temple for Divine worship”³ or, as in the case under consideration here, to wear a votive habit.

The making of such conditional, suspensive vows have a foundation in Sacred Scripture where, for instance, Anna “made a vow, saying: O Lord of hosts, if thou wilt look down, and wilt be mindful of me, and not forget thy handmaid, and wilt give to thy servant a manchild: I will give him to the Lord all the days of his life, and no razor shall come upon his head” (1 King [Samuel] 1:11).  Anna here is making a conditional, suspensive vow.  If God will remove her barrenness, then she will dedicate the first male child she may have to the service of the Tabernacle.  God granted her request, and she gave birth to the Prophet Samuel (1:20).  Once Samuel was weaned, but still “very young” (1:24), the child, in fulfilment of the vow made by his mother, was offered to the High Priest and lived and served with him at the Tabernacle (2:11).  Samuel, even though he was a child, was vested as a priest, wearing a vestment made for him by his mother (2:19-20; Samuel himself was of the Tribe of Levi according to the genealogies in the First Book of Chronicles).  In all this, not only is there an example of a conditional, suspensive vow, but one in which the obligation is shared both by the one making the vow and her child, just as can be the case in the wearing of a habit ex voto.

While the wearing of habits ex voto or out of devotion is a great example of folk religious practice (and an expression of how thin the veil is between the here and the hereafter, how close and real the saints are in the spirituality of Southern Italians), it is not without liturgical support.  An edition of the Franciscan Ritual contains a quite elaborate ceremony for the clothing of boys or girls in votive habits (Ritus induendi pueros vel puellas habitu ex voto) and an edition of the Dominican Ritual has an equally complex ceremony for vesting children in the Dominican habit, either out of devotion or in the fulfillment of a vow (Ritus induendi puerum, vel puellam, ex devotione, vel voto habitu Ordinis Nostri).  The traditional Roman Ritual, for its part, contains two comparatively simple blessings.  The first is the blessing of a habit (vestis) in honor of the Blessed Virgin Mary:

℣. Our help is in the Name of the Lord.
℟. Who made heaven and earth.

℣. The Lord be with you.
℟. And with your spirit.

Let us pray.
O Lord, bless ✠ this habit which is to be worn in honor of the blessed Virgin Mary, and under her patronage; and grant that he (she) who is to wear it may obtain health in body and protection in soul; through Christ our Lord.

℟. Amen.

The habit is sprinkled with holy water.⁴

The second blessing is for a habit to be worn in honor of the blessed Virgin Mary or of any canonized saint:

℣. Our help is in the Name of the Lord.
℟. Who made heaven and earth.

℣. The Lord be with you.
℟. And with your spirit.

Let us pray.
O Lord Jesus Christ, Who in becoming man for our salvation deigned to assume our vesture of flesh, bless ✠ this habit with a holy benediction, for Your servant is to wear it in thanksgiving to You, with all devotion and a holy intention, and in veneration of the blessed Virgin Mary (or of St. N.).  Pour out on him (her), we pray, Your holy blessing, ✠ so that when he (she) first puts on this garb, which is like that of a religious, he (she) may obtain, through the prayers of the blessed Virgin Mary (or of St. N.), Your grace to protect him (her) from every evil of mind or body.  We ask this of You who live and reign forever and ever.

℟. Amen.

The habit is sprinkled with holy water.⁵

As I am winding things up, I would be remiss if I did not strongly advise that the making of a vow or religious promise should generally only be done after receiving permission from a priest, preferably one’s pastor or regular confessor/spiritual advisor.  Besides, when the practice under discussion in this article is done today, it is generally done devotionally not promissorily.  Now, that being said, while it would be wonderful to see the wearing of votive habits become more common, after all there is a basis for it in the Ritual, I understand that the wearing of a votive habit will not resonate with everyone.  But, if the wearing of a votive habit is something that you or yours, dear reader, are interested in, please discuss it with your pastor or regular confessor/spiritual advisor.

Rev. Cav. William Rock, FSSP, SMOCSG  was ordained in the fall of 2019 and invested as an Ecclesiastical Knight of the Sacred Military Constantinian Order of St. George in the summer of 2025.  He is currently assigned to St. Stanislaus Parish in Nashua, NH.

In support of the causes of Blessed Maria Cristina, Queen, and Servant of God Francesco II, King 

1. The information for this paragraph was supplied by Mr. Patrick A. O’Boyle, Esq., SMOCSG and Mr. Brendan Young, SMOCSG.  Thanks are owed to them for this.  It is also worth noting that there were/are other such ex voto practices.  Here, however, ex voto is more expansive in meaning than that used in the main article and could mean anything given or done either to obtain the favor of God or a saint, or in thanksgiving for a favor received, with or without an accompanying vow or promise, or something given or done simply out of devotion.  For example, some walk barefoot in the saint’s feast day procession while others carry customary votives on their heads, which could range from piles of candles (e.g. the cinte/Italian candle-houses associated with the Madonna del Sacro Monte near Novi Velia, Salerno) to banners of laurel branches upon which hang products of the season (rabbits, hares, seasonal fruit) along with colored handkerchiefs (the bannera di lauru of Cerami, Sicily for the Madonna della Lavina).  If someone were healed, wax, or even metal (sterling silver), shaped into the healed body part could be offered.  Metal ex votos in various sizes and designs (e.g., houses, newborn babies) are also common as well as ex voto paintings.  It was also customary in Southern Italy, and afterwards in the diaspora, to offer jewelry (e.g., wedding rings, earrings, watches, necklaces, strings of peals, military medals, etc.) to adorn images of saints (attached by metal loops and the like) or (less common) frames carried in a saint’s procession.  When not in use, the jewelry would be kept in a safe place until needed.  After its introduction in the 1870s, paper currency was used in this manner as well. Additional information can be found in the old Catholic Enyclopedia article “Votive Offerings” and in the first chapter of Robert A. Orsi’s The Madonna of 115th Street.
2. Old Catholic Encyclopedia, s. v. Vows.
3. Ibid.
4. Rituale Romanum [1957], Titulus IX – Caput 8, 13; English adapted from the Weller translation provided online by EWTN (2, VII, 20).
5. Rituale Romanum [1957], Titulus IX – Caput 8, 14; English adapted from the Weller translation provided online by EWTN (2, VII, 21).