Popes, Saints, and Devout Quotations:
Pertaining to Modesty and Purity

'Let parents keep their daughters away from public gymnastic games and contests;
but if their daughters are compelled to attend such exhibitions, let them see that they are fully and modestly dressed.
Let them never permit their daughters to appear in immodest dress.'

Popes, Saints, and Devout Quotations:
Pertaining to Modesty and Purity - Part II

'Therefore, know for very certain that as often as they daub their faces with antimony and other extraneous coloring, some of the infusion of the Holy Spirit is diminished in them and the devil draws nearer to them.'

Popes, Saints, and Devout Quotations:
Pertaining to Modesty and Purity - Part III

'O how beautiful is the chaste generation with glory: for the memory thereof is immortal: because it is known both with God and with men.'


St. Alphonsus Maria de Liguori - Modesty of the Eyes

'The evil thought that proceeds from looks, though it should be rejected, never fails to leave a stain upon the soul. Brother Roger, a Franciscan of singular purity, being once asked why he was so reserved in his intercourse with women, replied, that when men avoid the occasions of sin, God preserves them; but when they expose themselves to danger, they are justly abandoned by the Lord, and easily fall into some grievous transgressions.'

Padre Pio and God's Will Regarding Modesty

'The Church is the house of God.
It is forbidden for men to enter with bare arms or in shorts.
It is forbidden for women to enter in trousers, without a veil on their head, in short clothing, low necklines, sleeveless or immodest dresses.'

Padre Pio's Letter to His Spiritual Daughter

St. Thomas Aquinas on the Nature of Modesty,
Excerpts from the Summa Theologica

'Certain Fashions Threaten to Retard Mary's Triumph & World Peace'
by Rev. Bernard Kunkel

'Is it a sin to wear shorts, strapless dresses, short skirts, pants, modern swimwear, etc.?' - Rev. Bernard Kunkel

'The Society of Jesus Crowned with Thorns'
of Fr. Emmanuel Andre

'For him, the practice of modesty consisted principally in two points: to have the head covered, and to wear a cape or an overcoat which modestly conceals the forms of the body.'

Letter to the Congregation for Religious

Letter of the Congregation of the Council

'It is desirable that pious organizations of women be founded, which by their counsel, example and propaganda should combat the wearing of apparel unsuited to Christian modesty, and should promote purity of customs and modesty of dress.'

How Long will a Soul be in Purgatory? What is the Reparation Necessary for Immodest Art?
by Rev. F.X. Schouppe, S.J.

'True art is an inspiration from Heaven, which elevates the soul to God; profane art, which appeals to the senses only, which presents to the eye nothing but the beauties of flesh and blood, is but an inspiration of the evil spirit; his works, brilliant though they may be, are not works of art, and the name is falsely attributed to them.'

St. Jean Baptiste de la Salle - Modesty and Decorum

'It is not appropriate to wear a feather behind your ear, to put flowers in your ear, or to have pierced ears with earrings. . . The most beautiful finery for your ears is to keep them unadorned and clean.'

St. Jean-Marie Baptiste Vianney - A Sermon on the Evils of Dancing

'The Council of Aix-la-Chapelle forbids dancing, even at weddings. And St. Charles Borromeo, the Archbishop of Milan, says that three years of penance were given to someone who had danced and that if he went back to it, he was threatened with excommunication. If there were no harm in it, then were the Holy Fathers and the Church mistaken?'


Further Resources


Inspirational Quotes from the Saints

Selections - Christian Conversation - One Hundred and Three Texts

'Speak, thou that art elder: for it becometh thee,
to speak the first word with careful knowledge, and hinder not music.'

Inspirational Books from the Saints

Abbe Henri-Louis Hulot - Balls and Dancing Parties Condemned by the Scriptures, Holy Fathers, Holy Councils and Most Reknowned Theologians of the Church

'"I know," said St. John Chrysostom, "'I know, that by condemning dances, and wishing to abolish them, I will appear ridiculous to many, and that I will be accused of want of spirit and sense; nevertheless, I cannot keep silence, for all that. Perhaps that if all do not profit by what I believe myself obliged to say, at least some will be converted, and will prefer to be mocked at with us than to mock and laugh at us with a laugh worthy of eternal punishments, and to be punished by tears in hell. I will suffer then to be the object of the raillery of many, if my discourse may be fruitful to a few.'