The Abbaye Notre-Dame de Sénanque is a picturesque Cistercian Abbey tucked away in a deep valley in the South of France. Hidden in the countryside, it is one of the most iconic views of Provence, nestled below the village of Gordes. The Sénanque abbey was founded in 1148 by…
Abbaye Notre-Dame de Sénanque in France
The Abbaye Notre-Dame de Sénanque is a picturesque Cistercian Abbey tucked away in a deep valley in the South of France. Hidden in the countryside, it is one of the most iconic views of Provence, nestled below the village of Gordes. The Sénanque abbey was founded in 1148 by…
Exploring Polychromatic Sculptural Details from the Studio of Mussner G. Vincenzo
There are different approaches to sculpture in our churches. In some cases, we see monochromatic sculptures, made of stone or in some cases carved from wood, while in other instances we see painted, or polychromatic statues. The former were often inspired by the impression …
The Monumental, Suspended Paschal Candlestick of the Duomo of Milan
During the Easter Vigil and Easter season, there is an interesting feature one can see in the Duomo of Milan. Namely, suspended over the choir and in front of the historical high altar of the cathedral is a monumental candlestick. This candlestick contains the Paschal Candl…
Before and After: Our Lady of Lourdes in Denver, Colorado
I ntegration Design Group (IDG) have yet another interesting 'before and after' project to share, this time with Our Lady of Lourdes in Denver, Colorado. As we usually do, we begin with the company's own account of the scope and accomplishments of the renovation…
A Stunning Mitra Pretiosa from Atelier LAVS
Being within Paschaltide, it seemed like a perfect moment to share this wonderful mitra pretiosa (precious mitre) coming out of the Italian atelier, LAVS . Just as various companies may have 'signature' pieces for which they become iconically known, primarily throug…
The Labours of Rugo Stone at St. Patrick's in Washington, D.C.
In 2024, Rugo Stone , in partnership with Franck & Lohsen Architects, undertook a project at St. Patrick's Catholic Church in Washington, D.C. which saw the renovation of the church's sanctuary with new Italian marble appointments, and further work involving clea…
The 'Hall of Popes' Vestments at Santa Maria Maggiore
The Patriarchal Basilica of St. Mary Major has dominated the city of Rome for sixteen centuries. It is a universal pilgrim destination and a Marian temple par excellence . A global place of prayer an worship, it is a unique portal to the past. Of all the major basilicas in R…
The Impressive Treasures of the Museo Diocesano di Livorno
Think 'Tuscany' and most will tend to think of the city of Florence but don't tell that the Livornese. Livorno is the third most populous city in the region. It is the capital city of the province of Livorno and a historically important port city that has had a …
Spanish Colonial Style Retablos and More: The Wood Iron Factory's Efforts at St. Augustine's Cathedral in Tucson, Arizona
Situated in Tucson, Arizona, the Cathedral of St. Augustine is a beautiful, Spanish colonial baroque style structure. In fact, while we are focused in particular today on the excellent work of The Wood Iron Factory , a San Diego based company specializing in architectural an…
The Custom of Veiling Sacred Images for Passiontide
In many parishes across the Catholic world the custom or practice of veiling the crucifix and sacred images for Passiontide (the last two weeks of Lent), is making a comeback. This is a welcome sign of the renewal of the Church, with many people asking the right questions a…
The Return of the Spanish Biretta
The Spanish biretta is a nice touch and always a bonus to see because it is inextricably identified with the identify of a priest. It is a custom that was born in Spain and later carried to her colonies. These images show this style of biretta, courtesy of our good friends…
Rome's Famed Barberini Bees Revived - A New Bespoke Work by the Atelier Sacra Domus Aurea
Maffeo Barbarini, who is better known to Catholic history as Pope Urban VIII, reigned as Roman Pontiff from the years 1623-1644. If one looks around Rome one of the most iconic symbols that one can routinely find in the Eternal City, along with "S.P.Q.R." or Romul…
Historical Chasubles for Good Friday
Being as it is once again Good Friday, most all liturgically oriented minds are focused on the Triduum and, today especially, the Passion and Death of Christ. As such, it seemed like a good day to feature some chasubles that are especially apropos to the day.
Keeping Liturgical Time: Examples of Vestments for Maundy Thursday
Maundy Thursday is an interesting time of the liturgical year for reason that we have been living now in penitential purple for weeks, we are surrounded by muted images which have been covered over by the veils of Passiontide, and now, after this long period of penitential …
Good Friday 'Recumbent Christ' Altar of Repose at Assumption Church
One of the warmest and most vivid memories of my childhood took place on Good Friday mornings when I would rise early and go with my father and grandfather and brother to the church of the Assumption in downtown St. Paul. In silence, we entered the dark church and made our …
A Seventeenth Century Pontifical Set Comprised of Twenty-Three Chasubles
Made from a beautiful pale purple silk lamé between the years 1650-1700, this beautiful (presumably pontifical) set comes from the Archdiocese of Matera-Irsina located in Italy's southern region of Basilicata. Uniquely, this particular set is not only comprised of the u…
The Urn of Repose from the Cathedral of Florence
We have discussed previously the urn used on the altar of repose for the reservation of the Blessed Sacrament during Holy Week, and we have also previously shared a number of historical examples of this liturgical object. However, I recently came across a rather noteworthy…
The Veil of Veronica and Trinitarian Eye of Providence: A Neoclassically Styled Lenten Set
Produced between the years 1800-1825, this beautiful, Lenten themed chasuble is made of a purple/gold silk lamé with metallic gold thread embroidery, wiht the usual vegetal motifs that characterize vestments of the seventeenth through nineteenth centuries, as well as neo-cl…
Watts & Co. of London's Passiontide Cope
Vestments with imagery of the instruments of the Passion of Christ, which is to say, the Arma Christi, or weapons of Christ, are frequently considered some of the most unique and most striking works in the historical repertoire of vestment design. Typically such vestments …
Gothic, Neri and Roman: Variations of the Folded Chasuble and Broad Stole
The folded chasuble was (and is) a vestment used within the Roman liturgy during penitential times as well as Good Friday. (For a detailed account of the history of this, please see our December 2017 article on the " History and Designs of the Folded Chasuble .") Of…
Dal Molin Stefano's Via Crucis (Stations of the Cross)
One of the interesting projects that the Italian woodworking and iconography studio Dal Molin Stefano unveiled in recent years is this particularly beautiful set of Stations of the Cross that they worked on in collaboration with iconographers Giovanni Raffa and Laura Renzi …
Beuronese Inspirations in Tempe, Arizona: New Jerusalem Studios Work at All Saints Newman Center
N ew Jerusalem Studios , based out of Phoenix, Arizona, is a firm that was founded in the year 2014 by Ruth and Geoff Stricklin (the latter of which is a graduate of the Liturgical Institute in Mundelein, IL, an institution that I suspect many of our readers will be familiar …
Rediscovered and Revived Lenten Veils in Austria
Today I'd like to feature some nineteenth century Lenten veils from the parish church of St. John the Baptist ( Pfarrkirche hl. Johannes der Täufer ) in Kaning, Austria. The parish was founded in the mid fifteenth century and is a quaint gothic structure with some Baroque…
A Traditionally Wood-Carved Statue of St. Joseph by Hape Sculpture
Nestled in the Dolomites in the north of Italy is Val Gardena, an area renowned for its tradition of wood carving, is the workshop of Hape Sculpture . This particular firm has been operating for more than 35 years now, though from the quality of their work, you'd certain…
New Church Architecture: St. Jude Catholic Church in Spotsylvania, Virginia
O 'Brien and Keane , an architectural firm based in Northern Virginia and Maryland, recently shared with LAJ, news of a new church project they were involved with in Spotsylvania, Virginia:
Reprint of the Breviarium Monasticum (1963 Edition)
It brings great joy to see the Breviarum Monasticum has been reprinted in its 1963 edition. The publishers are the monks of the Monastere Saint Beoit in France. The two-volume set is a dignified and worthy edition of the monastic breviary.
The Chasuble of St. Ignatius of Loyola
The chasuble of St. Ignatius of Loyola is one of the oldest in the world still in existence. It is a hallowed relic from the sixteenth century kept in his former personal quarters in Rome, attached to the church of the Gesù. Today it is faded and a shadow of its former self…
A Rose By Any Other Name: A Medievally Inspired Rose Chasuble from Atelier LAVS
Typically when we have shown rose coloured chasubles over the years, most of them have come in the baroque form. This is for good reason; this period and style is where most of the extant historical examples are situated and, frequently, it is the examples coming from this …
Cult Meets Culture: Lecce's Patronal Festival and the Silver Statue of St. Oronzo, Bishop and Martyr
Lecce is a southern Italian city, located right within the 'heel' of the Italian boot near the Adriatic and each year, between August 24-26th, the city celebrates its patron festival and saints: St. Oronzo (the city's first bishop), as well as two of his discipl…
A Eighteenth Century Belgian Solemn Mass Set
Brussels' Inventaire du Patrimoine Mobilier has an interesting set of vestments that they have dated to the eighteenth century, taken from the inventory of the Sint-Katelijnekerk (St. Catherine's Church) -- an impressive fourteenth or fifteenth century gothic pile l…
The "Rito del Faro" at the Cathedral of Milan
The mystical edifice of Christ, the Church, has permitted and lauded through the centuries certain pliable customs and traditions for teaching in her liturgy. Respectful and solemn, they avoid any irreverent attitude, but are faithful to the teaching role applied to them.
Further Vestments As Seen in Art
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Seeing vestments in sacred art provides us with an opportunity to witness the types of vestments -- the shape of the vestments, the textiles that were used used and any ornamentation employed -- at a particular period of history. Anyone familiar with the artistic process of…
Son of Rome: The Roman Baptismal Font Where the Future Venerable Pius XII Was Baptized
Two days after he was born, on March 4, 1876, Eugenio Pacelli was baptized at this font. The location was the parish of Saints Celso and Giuliano, situated near the Ponte Sant'Angelo along an old pilgrims' road that leads to the Vatican. The current church was compl…
More Varieties of Violacea
One of the elements that makes Western liturgical art so very interesting is the great diversity of artistic styles and periods that make it up. By contrast, imagine if all churches looked substantially the same; our natural human tendency would become bored and unappreciat…
A Survey of Some of the Recent Vestment Works of Adornare Paramenti Sacri
We have been taking some time recently to look at what some of our partner liturgical artisans have been up to in their workshops -- after all, while we all enjoy the historical liturgical works of our tradition, it is also a living tradition in which we continue to see new…
Malachite Decorations in the Vatican
The polished stone known as malachite is a very rare sight in Rome. It can be seen in the Vatican Basilica with the altar built over the tomb of St. Peter in the Clementine Chapel of the Vatican Grottos. It can also be seen on two altars at the Basilica of St. Paul Outside …
Take a Guess: What Colour is This Set?
What colour is this set of vestments do you think? Is it a blue Marian set? Is it a kind of green? I suspect if most people were to look at this set, the natural inclination would be to call it blue, and indeed, it certainly appears like that. It is not blue, however; it is…
A Catechism for Penance: The Spectacular Carved Baroque Confessional of Andrea Fantoni
Today, we are going to take a look at a rather stunning baroque confessional that is found in the Cathedral of Bergamo, Santa Maria Maggiore. The confessional was carved from walnut by Andrea Fantoni between 1704-1705,, being originally commissioned by Canon Giovan Pietro M…
Nobility in Stone at St. James Catholic Church in Falls Church, Virginia
Few things are more eye-catching and noble in solid ecclesiastical design than proper use of stone and specifically marble and Rugo Stone (working in collaboration with architects at O'Brien and Keane ) recently put in place a very good example of its potentialities for …
A Survey of Some Recent Work of the Spanish Vestment Atelier, A&M Ornamentos
For those who are in the market for vestments according to the Spanish tradition, you may want to look no further than A&M Ornamentos , a company based out of the city of Pontevedra situated in Galicia in the northwest of Spain. The Spanish style is very unique, comprise…
Metalcraft from the Philippines
It is always impressive to see on display the metal craft creations that are made in the Philippines. This traditional artisanal craft has been preserved in few places and takes the right tools and training. The creations include a variety of items, such as statues and thei…
A Selection of Italian Trompe l'Oeil Altarpieces
We have spoken quite a bit here about altarpieces, be it carved wooden altarpieces, polychromatic marble altarpieces, gilt altarpieces and so on. However, there is also another kind of "altarpiece" we have yet to have truly addressed here. What we are speaking ab…
Magnificent Example of Twentieth Century Italian Vestments
The Museo del Tesoro of the Basilica of St. Francis in Assisi has this magnificent set of Italian vestments on display. Such a fortuitous inheritance we have! The set was manufactured in Italy in the twentieth century. The reliefs are embroidered in polychrome silk threads …
The Stunning Restoration of St. Luke, St. Lucas, Iowa
In this memorable period of our history when so many lovely old churches are being restored, we thank our good friends at Conrad Schmitt Studios for the important role they are fulfilling. The growing list of churches they have saved brings to mind the pages of an ancient c…
A Visual Meditation on the Crucifixion in Vestments for the Beginning of Lent
As we find ourselves now at the beginning of Lent, it seems like a good opportunity to meditate on this season by sharing a few chasubles that prominently use crucifixion scenes within their orphreys. Some of these examples come in violet, another in rose, thus fitting the…
A Sixteenth Century Spanish Set of Vestments from the Cathedral of Segovia in Spain
The Cathedral of Our Lady of the Assumption and St. Fructus in Segovia, Spain, is host to a great number of treasures, beginning with the architecture of the cathedral itself, down to a plethora of sculpture, tapestries, liturgical books and precious vestments. It is the l…
The Abbey Basilica of San Miniato al Monte
The Minor Basilica and Abbey of San Miniato al Monte (St. Minias on the Mountain) is located in the city of Florence, built high on top a hill with a panoramic view of that storied Italian city. The basilica is, in point of fact, considered one of the premiere examples of t…
