Towards the end of Lent, you may notice purple cloths draped over the crucifixes, statues, and saint images at your parish.
Veiling is an old custom that focuses our attention on the penitential character of Lent. It is a visual reminder that Christian glory is not sentimental or effortless. The joy of the Resurrection is real, but it is not disconnected from the Cross. When sacred images are hidden, the church is teaching the faithful to look more directly at what Christ has done: to contemplate the Passion without distractions, and to feel, in a small way, the poverty and silence that accompany the final approach to Holy Week.
The Roman Missal specifically permits this practice beginning on the Fifth Sunday of Lent in the dioceses of the United States. It is optional and left to pastoral judgment, but it is widespread because it speaks so clearly through sign and symbol. Crosses remain covered until the end of the Celebration of the Lord’s Passion on Good Friday, while images remain covered until the beginning of the Easter Vigil.
This last part of Lent is called Passiontide: as Lent reaches its final intensity, the Church narrows our gaze to the Passion of Christ. The veils heighten that focus. They create an absence we can feel, and that absence helps us recognize how much we depend on visible reminders of the faith, and how much we need the saving work of Christ.
Then, in a kind of dramatic reversal, what has been hidden is revealed. The sanctuary does not simply “go back to normal” at Easter; it becomes radiant again. The unveiling at the Easter Vigil reflects the movement from waiting to fulfillment, from sorrow to joy, from death to life. When the Church restores what was veiled, she is proclaiming with the senses what she proclaims with the liturgy: the darkness is not permanent, and the silence of Holy Saturday is not the end of the story
In many places, the Stations of the Cross are not veiled. Practically speaking, this allows the faithful to continue praying the Way of the Cross throughout Lent without interruption. Symbolically, it also reinforces the Church’s focus in these final weeks: everything is being gathered toward the Passion of Christ. Local customs can vary, but this is a common practice where veiling is observed.
Because veiling is a physical and visible sign, it can also be practiced in the home in a simple way. Some families choose to drape a purple cloth over a crucifix or a sacred image during the final days of Lent. The goal is not decoration and not gloom for its own sake. The goal is to create space for recollection and to enter more intentionally into the mystery of Christ’s Passion, so that Easter arrives not merely as a date on the calendar, but as a true feast long prepared for.
Seen in this light, the covered crucifix is not a contradiction. It is an invitation. It invites the faithful to remember that Christ “hid” His glory in suffering, and that the Church asks us to walk with Him there for a time. The veil makes us wait...and in waiting, it teaches us to desire the light.
Explain this custom to your children and encourage your family to engage in this Lenten practice. It is easy for children to become distracted by things like Easter eggs and the Easter bunny. But Lent is an important time of preparation so that we can fully celebrate the Resurrection of Christ at Easter!
Do you have crosses and other images that could be covered and unveiled for Easter?
