VATICAN GUIDELINES  or ROMAN STANDARDS (Of MODESTY in DRESS)

​Pius XI, on September 24, 1928, ordered the Sacred Congregation of Religious to issue another letter on the "Crusade against Immodest Fashions" in which the following standards were prescribed:
  • "We recall that a dress cannot be called decent which is cut deeper than two fingers' breadth under the pit of the throat, which does not cover the arms at least to the elbows, and scarcely reaches a bit beyond the knees. Furthermore, dresses of transparent material are improper."
DATES AND DOCUMENTS OF THE MODESTY CRUSADE
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August 1928 Letter of the Sacred Congregation for Religious  (August 23, 1928) 
  • ​The “Crusade Against Immodest Fashions, Especially in Schools Directed by Women Religious,”  was ordered by Pope Pius XI on August 23, 1928. The letter containing the order was sent to all Ordinaries of Italy through the Sacred Congregation for Religious. Later it was made known and addressed to the world when referenced in the 1930 Letter of the Congregation of the Council titled: Vigilance: To Treat of Modesty in Women's Dress (1930, Acta Apostolicae Sedis,vol. 22, pp. 26-28).

September 1928 Letter on the “Crusade Against Immodest Fashions”  (September 24, 1928)
  • This letter could not be found online. It is referenced in Chapter 2 of the Marylike Modesty Handbook of the Purity Crusade of Mary Immaculate, by Reverend Bernard A. Kunkel. See below for an excerpt:
  • "Pius XI, on September 24, 1928, only one month later, ordered the Sacred Congregation of Religious to issue another letter on the "Crusade against Immodest Fashions." It was in this letter that the following standards were prescribed: "We recall that a dress cannot be called modest which is cut deeper than two fingers' breadth under the pit of the throat, which does not cover the arms at least to the elbows, and scarcely reaches a bit beyond the knees. Furthermore, dresses of transparent material are improper." (Excerpt retrieved from http://cora.dashjr.org/trad/modesty.html)
  • Refer to the Handbook for further information regarding this letter.
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1930 Letter of the Congregation of the Council   (January 12, 1930)
​Article on the 1928 and 1930 Letters
  •  Reprinted from Reverend Bernard A. Kunkel's Marylike Crusader, Nov-Dec 1963.

Marylike Modesty Handbook of the Purity Crusade of Mary Immaculate (file below)
  • A movement established and managed by the Reverend Bernard A. Kunkel, and blessed by Pope Pius XII on two occasions: July 14, 1954, and on May 11, 1955.​
Marylike Modesty Handbook.pdf
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ADDITIONAL RESOURCES
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​Notification Concerning Men's Dress Worn By Women
  •  By Giuseppe Cardinal Siri (June 12, 1960)  [See file below]
Siri Notification.pdf
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Purity Crusade Booklet - OLPH Sodality (May 2022)

Those Who Serve God Should Not Follow the Fashions (Booklet)

​Immodest Dress: The Mind of the Church (Booklet) 
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Modesty Tips for Pro-Life Women by Fr. Jenkins (video 2018)​

1936 Prayer Booklet to Our Lady of Perpetual Help
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The Sacred Heart and Modesty by Fr. Paul Krug (Video 2021)

A People Set Apart by Fr. Paul Krug (Video 2022)

Catholic Father to Catholic Daughter by Fr. Jenkins (Video 7/31/22)

Catholic Father to Catholic Daughter by Fr. Jenkins (PDF 7/31/22)

Article by Fr. Krug on Our Lady of Perpetual Help  (below)
OLPH Dolorosa, June 2018 (Fr. Krug).pdf
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