Since the 10th century, on the eve of the Feast of the Purification on February 2, a canoness in charge of the Essen Abbey treasury would hand over the Golden Virgin, to the youngest canon of St. Michael Church. The canon would carry the statue in his arms, carefully wrapp…
The Golden Virgin of Essen - Queen and Mother
Since the 10th century, on the eve of the Feast of the Purification on February 2, a canoness in charge of the Essen Abbey treasury would hand over the Golden Virgin, to the youngest canon of St. Michael Church. The canon would carry the statue in his arms, carefully wrapp…
A Summery Green Vestment Set from Venice (ca. 1740-1760)
The following set of vestments are dated to 1740-60 and were manufactured in green Venetian gros de Tours silk with lisere and gold metallic galloons. The example in question shows a particular beauty and as such I wished to share it, both for reasons of historical interes…
Before and After: The Chapel of the Canons Regular of the New Jerusalem
Today, as part of our Before and After series, I wished to turn our readers' attention to the chapel of the Canons Regular of the New Jerusalem (CRNJ), a clerical institute of consecrated life located in Charleston, West Virginia.
The CRNJ celebrate the usus antiquior…
A Seventeenth Century Folded Chasuble and Set
I have written here before of the folded chasuble ( planeta plicata ) and in that article (as well as my 2009 article on New Liturgical Movement), I noted that the form varied throughout history. In some cases the front was simply "cut" off or shortened, while in o…
Romanesque Revival: St. John the Evangelist in Plaquemine, Louisiana
The gothic revival is very well known of course, but what is less known (and less seen, more's the shame) are examples of 'Romanesque Revival' -- or Neo-Romanesque -- which was founded in the mid-19th century -- slightly later and rather less popular than its …
Some Examples of Eighteenth Century Pontifical Sandals
In an earlier article here on LAJ we detailed the history of the pontifical sandal , a liturgical shoe that has been worn since ancient times in varying forms. In that article we detailed how it originally took the form of a sandal proper with a stocking worn underneath and…
Book Notice: John Henry Newman - On Worship, Reverence and Ritual
By way of a quick book notice, I wished to mention to LAJ readers that a compilation of the liturgically oriented writings of John Henry Newman (recently canonized) has been edited and published by Dr. Peter A. Kwasniewski: John Henry Newman on Worship, Reverence and Ritual …
Silk Lamé -- Handwoven, Machine-woven and Some Historical Examples
One of the fabrics that has been utilized in vestment making these past few centuries, particularly those of a more solemn and precious nature, is silk lamé. Lamé is fabric that is interwoven with metallic fibres -- generally gold or silver -- that gives the fabric a lumin…
Before and After: St. Joseph's Church in Shanghai, China
Many of our 'before and after' series have come from parts of North America and Europe, but today we are pleased to present another edition of that series coming, this time, from Shanghai, China; specifically, St. Joseph's Church which was built in the 1860'…
More on the Noble Simplicity and Beauty of the Traditional Sanctuary Arrangements of the Latin Rite
As a result of years of writing on liturgical matters, I have gotten accustomed to graphically altering images in order to present design concepts, and one of my "pastimes" (if you will) is 'cleaning up' sanctuaries to consider them in their traditional ve…
New Vestment Work from Benedicamus in Poland
Amongst the liturgical arts, vestments are certainly particularly high in the popular interest -- which makes manifest sense since so many priests and parishes are upgrading their personal closets and parish sacristies given the drought of recent decades in this regard. F…
Vestments in Art
While it is most common to look for examples of earlier, historical vestments in sacristies and museums, an often overlooked source are paintings comprised of religious figures or themes -- especially those from the renaissance and middle ages. These sources can be valuabl…
Two Recent Works From Pluriarte Arte Sacro
Today I wished to re-focus on some contemporary work in one of the most popular expressions in the liturgical arts, vestments. Specifically I wanted to look at a couple of examples of some of the recent work of Pluriarte Arte Sacro (based out of Spain).
The first set, a so…
Guilio Romano's Monumental Sacristy in the Abbazia di San Benedetto
Generally our Sacristy Tour series is focused on the contents of sacristies -- vestments, liturgical metalwork and so forth -- but every once and awhile it is the sacristy itself that is noteworthy and that is certainly the case in this instance, the monumental sacristy o…
The Evolution of the Apparelled Amice: The Cappino, Collarin and Colletin
Over the years I have published many photos of liturgical events from across the globe and in some of those an article is worn around the neck that invites both interest and curiosity. The article in question is derived from the ornamental "apparel" that was plac…
Customs of Epiphany
Epiphany is another of those feast days which has various customs which surround it and today I wished to look at these, turning to Fr. Francis X. Weiser's Handbook of Christian Feasts and Customs .
Before we look at what Weiser has to say on the blessing of water on t…
A New Altar by Jasper and Scheer Liturgical Art
This past September, LAJ introduced readers to Jasper and Scheer Liturgical Art , giving particular focus to their painted works in that article. However, as noted then, Jasper and Scheer also provide a number of other artistic services, including woodcarving, gold-leafing,…
Pugin Inspired Vestments by Watts & Co in Canada
Ordinations offer cathedrals and dioceses a rare opportunity to showcase a plethora of liturgical arts. It was impressive to see this semi-Gothic Pugin-inspired chasuble at a recent ordination in Vancouver, Canada. Made in England and designed with great care by Watts &a…
Before and After: St. Mary of the Assumption in Lancaster, Ohio
In another continuation of our ever popular 'before and after' series, we turn to the parish church of St Mary of the Assumption located in Lancaster, Ohio . The project was executed by William Heyer Architect who are based out of Columbus, Ohio -- and longtime LAJ …
Pope St. Pius X's Gift to His Childhood Parish
Recently while on pilgrimage in the North of Italy I had the privilege to visit - for the second time in my life - the home town of Pope St. Pius X. This small little village is called today Riese Pio X (formerly known as Riese). It is located in the middle of nowhere in…
