The original Carmelite church in Würzburg, Germany, was destroyed during the Second World War. Following the war, the convent church was rebuilt and, in 1976, the artist Paul Nagel was commissioned to decorate the rebuilt church. The new church presents some very interesti…
Other Modern: The Carmelite Monastery of Würzburg (Karmelitenkloster Würzburg)
The original Carmelite church in Würzburg, Germany, was destroyed during the Second World War. Following the war, the convent church was rebuilt and, in 1976, the artist Paul Nagel was commissioned to decorate the rebuilt church. The new church presents some very interesti…
A Strategy for Providing Pontifical Vestments for Pontifical Use
In previous articles, I have spoken on the history and use of pontificals such as pontifical gloves , pontifical sandals and pontifical buskins . Today I wanted to delve a bit more deeply into that subject, but with something more practical in mind.
Before we go there howeve…
Gothic Reborn: St. Kateri Tekakwitha in Ridgway, Illinois
In 2016, the architectural firm of Cram and Ferguson completed work on St. Kateri Tekakwitha (formerly St. Joseph's) in Ridgway, Illinois. The original parish church was a pleasing red brick, gothic revival structure built in 1894. Unfortunately, in February 2012 the ch…
Medieval Lace Albs of St. Francis and Pope Boniface VIII
While the use of lace as a form of ecclesiastical ornamentation generally tends to be thought of as something particular to the baroque period, in actuality its use, ecclesiastically speaking, can be traced back at least as far as the Middle Ages. Two extant examples that I…
A Pieta by Gwyneth Thompson-Briggs
I have been following the work of Gwyneth Thompson-Briggs since LAJ first started up a couple of years back and today I am pleased to be able to share a new commission recently completed by her. (In fact, it is so recently completed that the varnish is literally drying as …
Prelatial Dress of the Religious Orders: The Franciscans
We all know the basic schema. Bishops wear purple, Cardinals red and Popes white. This, of course, remains true. What many today may not realize, however, is that traditionally prelates who belonged to religious orders didn't simply adopt the prelatial dress of their …
Examples of the Traditional Art of Heraldry on Vestments
In a recent article, I commented on matter of heraldry in relation to vestments and how there has been a revival of this practice today. By way of brief explanation, since this tradition is not familiar to all, heraldry was frequently placed upon the vestments of popes and…
A Tour of the London Oratory: The Little Oratory
Continuing on with our tour of the London Oratory, today we give consideration to the Little Oratory. The Little Oratory is not located within the main church itself, but is rather located to the west end of the Oratory House. This chapel is the domestic chapel of the Orat…
Abbe Franck Quoëx: Ritual and Sacred Chant in the Ordo Romanus Primus
[Translated by Zachary Thomas* + Published in Antiphon, 22.2 (2018)] Abstract: The Ordo Romanus Primus offers historians of the Mass in the West a complete picture of a normative liturgy, namely that of the Roman Pontiff. Sacred chant, inherent in the solemn public character…
Saint Bede Studio: Fine Quality Vestments Photos
The splendor of Neo-Gothic in the new world. After returning from touring eight countries in a little over a month, it was pure joy to be home and attending Holy Mass here this morning at the Church of the Sacred Heart in Robbinsdale, Minnesota.
Eighteenth Century Vestments of Bishop Lorenzo Tartagni
The following chasuble comes from the first half of the 18th century and is from the Diocese of Frosinone - Veroli - Ferentino located in Lazio. The chasuble is that of Bishop Lorenzo Tartagni (1666 - 1762) and bear his arms -- which are rather interesting in their own ri…
Keeping Feasts with Greater Festivity
In his book, In Tune with the World: A Theory of Festivity , Catholic philosopher Josef Pieper speaks about the importance and particular qualities of festivals. Pieper proposes that true festivity always involves a divine element for true festivals, he argues, do not arise…
Details from a Cope of Cardinal Henry Edward Manning
Our own Richard Hawker has recently taken up a position at Westminster Cathedral, London, as sacristan and his duties there afford him the opportunity to look through the holdings of the cathedral. One item he recently came across was a cope that belonged to Cardinal Manni…
Thoughts of a Liturgical Art Collector
You may have noticed that there is a fashionable trend for all things ‘retro’ at the moment. "Vintage" and "retro" shops keep popping up all over the place; vintage sartorial classics have returned to the shelves and owning retro crockery and dressing r…
New Italian Vestment Maker: Sacra Domus Aurea
Recently I came across a vestment maker in Italy that I hadn't come across before: Sacra Domus Aurea . From speaking to them, they are still in the process of establishing this business -- and in fact they do not appear to have a formal website yet; only their social m…
Feast of Ss. Peter and Paul in Malta
This past Saturday was the Feast of Ss. Peter and Paul and, aside from Rome itself, what better place to show it from than Malta where St. Paul found himself shipwrecked -- and where he has accordingly ever since been linked. The following images are from the Basilica of …
The Restoration of E.W. Pugin's Hoxton Church
The website IanVisits (by way of the Pugin Society) brought to my attention a restoration which took place a few years ago at St. Monica's, Hoxton Square -- an Augustinian church designed and executed in the mid 1860's by Edward Welby Pugin, eldest son of A.W.N. Pug…
A Baldachin for Christ the King Parish in Paola, Malta
Recently one of our priestly readers in Malta, Canon Marc Andrè Camilleri, contacted LAJ to share another project that is taking place at his parish, Christ the King in Paola, Malta. I say 'another' because his particular parish has an ambitious artistic programme …
Three Varieties of Processional Canopies
Continuing on with some of our considerations around Corpus Christi, aside from the monstrance in which the Blessed Sacrament is carried, one of the next most identifiable pieces of liturgical art that gains particular prominence at this time of liturgical year is the proc…
