Sitting, as we are, on the cusp of the feast of Mary, Mother of God, it seemed like an apropos time to show this stunning 18th century chasuble from the Musée de la Visitation in Moulins, France.
Regrettably, I can offer little in the way of detail about it beyond what I h…
In Festal White, Gold and Blue
Sitting, as we are, on the cusp of the feast of Mary, Mother of God, it seemed like an apropos time to show this stunning 18th century chasuble from the Musée de la Visitation in Moulins, France.
Regrettably, I can offer little in the way of detail about it beyond what I h…
Rose Chasuble of Pius XI from the Papal Treasury
This past Advent 2018 was the first "violet" season where we didn't post up a selection of rose vestments for our readers enjoyment -- and the seemingly endless debate about what should or shouldn't constitute "rosacea." To make up for this defi…
Folded Chasuble of the Barberini Pope, Urban VIII
There are times when there are a collision of elements that are irresistible. Include within that the following example of a folded chasuble (planeta plicata) in the "cut" form that comes the era of Pope Urban VIII, the Barberini pope with the famed heraldic bees…
The Voyages Liturgiques de France: St. Maurice of Vienne
The first in a series of selections from a 17th-century traveler's account of French cathedrals and monasteries. See the Preface here . Download the French original here . Vienne
The city of Vienne in the Dauphiné ( Vienna Allobrogum in Latin) was a Roman colony and one of …
The Challenges and Rewards of Gold and Silver Vestments
Being the vigil of one the great feasts of the Christian liturgical year, it seemed appropriate to consider a festal vestment that would be worthy of so great a feast. This particular set is one that was restored by Atelier Sirio in Italy.
Very frequently gold and silver …
A Liturgical Curiosity
One of LAJ's priestly readers sent in the following to us a few weeks back and with the week winding down as we head into the Christmas season next week, it seemed like a good opportunity to share what I consider a curiosity. Here is what our reader had to say about it…
Traditional Craftsmanship and the Nativity
With the Feast of the Nativity fast approaching, I thought it would be fitting to share some of the incredible work of Mussner G. Vincenzo , one of LAJ's long time advertising partners who are based out of Italy. Of particular interest to me is the fact that they work i…
Other Modern in Fontgombault
Today I wished to share with LAJ readers another entry in our Other Modern series. This particular set of vestments is one that I featured many years ago on NLM, but I hadn't the opportunity at that time to show them used within their proper liturgical context.
Recentl…
A Vision of Loveliness and a Paradigm for Marian Altarpiece
Enclosed by a fetching garden, off the corner of Locust and 17 th in central Philadelphia, only a short walk from the Rittenhouse Square, stands the historic St. Mark Church, Decorated Gothic style edifice and one of the most picturesque landmarks in the city. The crown jewe…
Shades of Rosacea III
With yet another of the "rose" Sundays upon us and behind us, it seems an apt time to add yet another instalment to our "shades of rosacea" series. The series is really just intended to give readers a sense of the broad manifestations of the liturgical …
The Brébeuf Hymnal: An Interview with Jeff Ostrowski
Some months ago, Jeff Ostrowski, President of Corpus Christi Watershed and choirmaster at the FSSP apostolate in Los Angeles, contacted me for some thorough background on the Huron carol. This was my first inkling that his most recent project, the St. Jean de Brébeuf Hymna…
Latin Rite Altar on Mount Calvary (Church of the Holy Sepulchre, Jerusalem)
One of the great privileges of my life has been to lead each year a Traditional Catholic (FSSP) pilgrimage to the Holy Land. I helped organize two last year and one this year. The highlight is always Mass in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, the holiest shrine in Christe…
Hand Coloured 16th Century Pontificale Romanum
I was browsing Kline Books recently when I came across this rather unique Roman Pontifical they have for sale. The book includes illustrations that correspond to the various rites and ceremonies and while that particular aspect is not unique, what is are that these illustr…
Other Modern: An Art Deco Inspired Solemn Mass Set
It has been a little while since we featured any 'Other Modern' and a good opportunity was presented with a recent posting from the Institut of St. Phillip Neri, a priestly society based out of Germany. For the feast of the Immaculate Conception they utilized a set…
Some 20th Century Varieties of Violacea
To conclude our little 'mini series' considering some examples of violet vestments from the 18th, 19th and 20th centuries, we now conclude with the latter century. One can see in these examples transitional carryovers from the previous centuries, now often expressed …
From Theotokos to the Immaculate Conception: Select Landmark Images of Marian Iconography
Among the many acclaimed and beloved representations of the Immaculate Conception shines the one painted by the 17th century Spanish artist Esteban Murillo. A very young and beautiful Virgin Mary effortlessly floats in the heavenly realm, her hands clasped in a gesture of …
Women in the Liturgical Movement: Creating Domestic Rituals
“ If I am to carry Christ home with me from the altar, I am afraid He will have to come to the kitchen because much of my time is spent there .” -Florence Berger, 1949 The American 1950s earn particular opprobrium from the high priests of modernism as a stultified, hyper-patri…
19th Century Varieties of Violacea
Yesterday we considered some 18th century examples of violet vestments. In order to show how each century saw its own particular stylistic progression, I thought it would be of interest to LAJ readers to now see some 19th century examples, once again coming from BeWeb . Read…
More 18th Century Varieties of Violacea
With Advent having begun this weekend, I thought it would be of interest to show some further "varieties of violcaea" (violet) just as we did a year ago. Each of these examples comes from BeWeb and are from the 18th century. It is. of course. the case that each …
Details from Monreale Cathedral, Sicily: The Bible in Stone and Mosaic
One of my favourite endeavours is to show the lesser seen details of famed locales. Few churches rise to the level of iconographic recognizability as that of the Cathedral of Monreale in Sicily, with its Italo-Byzantine masterworks. The most famous view of this remarkable a…
Newly Wood-Carved Statue of Bl. Idelfonso Cardinal Schuster, Benedictine, Liturgical Scholar, Archbishop of Milan.
Longtime readers of NLM and now LAJ will realize that one of my great 'heroes' liturgically speaking was the Benedictine and Ambrosian, Blessed Ildefonso Cardinal Schuster, OSB, Archbishop of the Ambrosian See of Milan.
Schuster is, of course, especially known to E…
The Indian Mass in the Modern Parish (Part Three)
Wrapping up this series on the liturgical uses of the American Indian missions along the St. Lawrence (see Part One and Part Two ), we now arrive at the closely related Mohawk missions of Kahnawake and Akwesasne, where the Indian Mass reached a high point of development tha…
All Saints and All Souls from the Toronto Oratory
It has been awhile since we shared some videos and before November passes us by and Advent upon us, I thought it fitting to share two from the Toronto Oratory.
First we have Gabrieli's "Angeli archangeli", recorded at the Solemn High Mass for All Saints at the…
Revival of the New Classical Architecture in Italy
It is a great joy to witness the evolution of the revival of classical architecture, truly a global phenomena. Interestingly, it is taking continued new forms in different parts of the world as time marches on. It is always a relief to know of these positive developments…
Against All Odds: Restoring Beauty for a Rochester Gem
The cornerstone for Our Lady of Victory, a little French Church in downtown Rochester, NY was laid in 1868. This new church was to serve a young and growing local Francophone community including devout French, Belgian and Flemish immigrant families. From the outset, one o…
Chasuble of the First Bishop of Cincinnati
The following are images of a chasuble that belonged to Bishop Edward Dominic Fenwick, O.P. (1768-1832), the first Bishop of the Diocese of Cincinnati, who served in that capacity from 1822 until 1832. The chasuble is made of silk with silver thread and includes embroidered…
A Visual Meditation on the Unbleached Beeswax of the Requiem
On only the second day of this site's existence we spoke of some of the reasons behind symbols like unbleached beeswax candles for Requiem Masses. Therein we noted: "The matter is, to some degree, one of common sense. In the liturgical sphere of the Western traditi…
St. Kolbe's Vestments and Mass Items Offer Glimpse of Roman Beauty
One very interesting place of pilgrimage in Poland that I have visited is Niepokalanów, the Franciscan settlement in rural Poland. Here St. Maximilian Kolbe founded in 1927 his own friary-publishing house in the rural village of Teresin. A local prince from Warsaw had giv…
Sacristy Tips: Constructing a Catafalque for the Requiem Mass
In the usus antiquior , the catafalque is used for the absolution of the dead when no human remains are present. All Souls Day is one of the times of the liturgical year when it is seen and it has become an iconic aspect of the Roman rite.
As we are in a period of recovery …
The Value of Black as a Liturgical Colour
While All Souls Day is now almost two weeks behind us, it remains the month of the Holy Souls and as such it remains an opportune time to consider some of the liturgical arts which surround the traditional requiem of the Latin rite. Today, I wished to draw readers attentio…
Internet Radio in the Service of Liturgy
Every year in our house we have a running battle to keep Christmas music in Christmastide, particularly as we are setting up our presepio on the first Sunday of the liturgical year. We bought some excellent Advent albums that we enjoy listening to, and it is always delightf…
