Curated from Msgr Charles Pope’s article found here:
These guidelines are in line with the current guidelines found in the notices at each Mass.
When in church, please turn OFF all cell phones, hand-held electronic devices, pagers, watch alarms or any other gadget that makes a wrong-ful (not-joyful) noise in the House of God.
- Men should wear formal shoes to Church. We used to call these hard shoes (because they were) but today many formal shoes are actually quite comfortable.
- Men should wear trousers (not jeans).
- Men should never wear shorts to Church.
- Men should wear a decent shirt, preferably a button down shirt. If it is a pullover shirt it should include a collar. Wearing a plain t-shirt without a collar is too informal.
- Men should consider wearing a tie to Church and in cooler weather, a suit coat. Some may consider this a bit too stuffy and formal but who knows, you might be a trend setter!
- Women should wear decent shoes to Church. Flip flops, beach sandals etc. seem inappropriate.
- Women, if they wear pants, should never wear jeans to Church. Some nice slacks that are not too tight can be fine.
- Women should consider wearing a dress or at least a skirt in preference to pants. It just looks a bit more formal than pants. Shorts should never be worn.
- Women should wear a nice blouse (if they are not wearing a full dress). The blouse or shirt they wear should not be too tight.
- Sleeveless garments are pushing it a bit but can be acceptable. Women should never wear tank tops, tube tops, spaghetti straps, or bare midriffs to Church.