Capirote

Historically, the flagellants are the origin of the current traditions, as they flogged themselves with a discipline to do penance. Pope Clement VI ordered that flagellants could perform penance only under control of the church; he decreed Inter sollicitudines ("inner concerns" for suppression). This is considered one of the reasons why flagellants often hid their faces.

The use of the capirote or coroza was prescribed in Spain by the holy office of Inquisition. Men and women who were arrested had to wear a paper capirote in public as sign of public humiliation. The capirote was worn during the session of an Auto-da-fé. The colour was different, conforming to the judgement of the office. People who were condemned to be executed wore a red coroza. Other punishments used different colours.

When the Inquisition was abolished, the symbol of punishment and penitence was kept in the Catholic brotherhood, however, the capirotes used today are different; they are covered in fine fabric, as prescribed by the brotherhood. To this day, they are still worn during the celebration of the Holy Week/Easter most notably in Andalusia, by penitentes (who perform public penance for their sins) who walk through streets with the capirote.

The usage of the capirote during the Holy Week was once common throughout Spain's colonies, but this custom has since died out in most of them by the late 19th century. Notable exceptions to this are some parts of Mexico, Guatemala, and the Philippines.

In the Philippines, a former Spanish colony, male Catholic penitents of the Tais-Dupol confraternity wear capirotes during Holy Week in Palo, Leyte. The group's name comes from Waray tais, meaning "pointed", and dupol, meaning "blunt", referring to the shape of the hood. The tradition has been followed since the late 1800s when the group was organized by the Franciscan friar Pantaleon de la Fuente. The wearing of the hood is based on Matthew 6:16-18 which advocates for anonymity during fasting.

The capirote is today the symbol of the Catholic penitent: only members of a confraternity of penance are allowed to wear them during solemn processions. Children can receive the capirote after their first holy communion, when they enter the brotherhood.

Historically the design is called the capirote, but the brotherhoods cover it with fabric together with their face, and the medal of the brotherhood that is worn underneath. The cloth has two holes for the penitent to see through. The insignia or crest of the brotherhood is usually embroidered on the capirote in fine gold.

The capirote is worn during the whole penance.

The capirote was appropriated by the early 20th-century American Ku Klux Klan, a white supremacist and anti-Catholic group. Alison Kinney of New Republic traces the modern uniform to the popularity of the film The Birth of a Nation, whose costume inspiration was not credited.

Due to the capirote being appropriated by the KKK in American history, the capirote in Europe has often been a source of confusion and misunderstanding by Americans who incorrectly believe it to be the Klan.

• The Penitent One, the protagonist of the video games Blasphemous and Blasphemous 2, wears a metal helmet that combines a capirote with a face mask, wrapped in thorns.
• In the 1979 Lupin III film The Castle of Cagliostro, during the wedding of the Count and Clarisse, as they approach the altar, they are accompanied by a procession of his armored assassins, all wearing black capirotes and robes over their usual armor.
• In the tabletop skirmish game Trench Crusade, many of the Trench Pilgrims wear an iron capirote as military equipment, said to render them utterly fearless.
• The Neo Atlantean soldiers from the 1990s anime Nadia: The Secret of Blue Water wear capirote like hoods with a face mask, the color and design of the face masks differ to signify different ranks and professions within the organization.