The following images come from 1936, the time of Pope Pius XI, and show the papal ceremonies of Good Friday in the Sistine Chapel. Following these images we are pleased to provide a description of the papal ceremonies of the same, taken from the excellent work, The Ceremon…
The Papal Chapel of Good Friday in 1936
The following images come from 1936, the time of Pope Pius XI, and show the papal ceremonies of Good Friday in the Sistine Chapel. Following these images we are pleased to provide a description of the papal ceremonies of the same, taken from the excellent work, The Ceremon…
The Arfe Custodia: A Masterpiece in Silver and Gold
Among the remarkable masterpieces of liturgical art, a tall implement developed in XVI c. Spain, the custodia, holds a special place of privilege. At once a canopy, a tower, and a bier, the custodia is intentionally conspicuous, dramatic, and somewhat otherworldly in appea…
Rare Medieval Liturgica: The Exsultet Roll
This Saturday, at the Easter Vigil, will be sung the hymn known as the Exsultet -- or what the Roman Missal titles the Praeconium . The authorship of this great hymn in praise of the paschal candle is suggested by the Liber Pontificalis to possibly be the fifth century pope,…
Revisiting Principles of Tasteful Floral Arrangement for Easter
With Holy Week upon us, in less than a week's time we will move into a period of the liturgical year which will see churches festally decorated with floral arrangements. However, Easter -- like Christmas -- is a time of the liturgical year which, unfortunately, is seld…
A Recent Performance of Native American Abenaki Polyphony
It is always exciting to run across live performances of sacred music from the Native American missions . Here is a beautiful polyphonic setting of the Ave Maria in the Abenaki language, formerly spoken in northern New England and southern Quebec. The music comes from an ea…
Sacristy Tips: Making Paschal Candle Incense Grains
"T herefore in this night of grace accept, O holy Father, the evening sacrifice of this incense: which, by the hands of thy ministers, holy Church doth lay before thee..." With these words, prior to the reforms of the 1950s, the deacon, during the singing of the Ex…
Pierre Lebrun: On the Priest's Preparation
(This article is cross-posted on Canticum Salomonis and is taken from Pierre Lebrun's 1716 Explication littérale historique et dogmatique des prières et des cérémonies de la Messe )
THIRD ARTICLE
On the Priest’s Preparation as Noted in the Rubrics
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Explanation of th…
Ancient and Contemporary: The Douai Abbey Rose Chasuble
One of our readers sends in the following information and photos of a very interesting chasuble that combines the 'ancient' and the 'contemporary':
"Today as celebrant at Douai Abbey's conventual Mass for Laetare Sunday, enhanced in dignity by the …
Vestments from the Sacristeum of the Imperial Cathedral of Frankfurt
One of our readers sent in the following images of some vestments on display in the Sacristeum in the Imperial Cathedral of St. Bartholomew in Frankfurt, Germany.
One that struck me as particularly fine was this dalmatic, taken from a larger set:
Renovation of the Kenrick-Glennon Seminary Chapel
During 2014 and 2015 a renovation was undertaken -- though restoration might be a better word -- of St. Joseph's Chapel at Kenrick-Glennon Seminary in St. Louis, Missouri; another project coming from McCrery Architects. The project included a new altar, ambo, ciborium …
The Importance of Liturgical Beauty
In modern times it is not uncommon -- though, mercifully, it perhaps less common than it was even a decade ago -- that anyone who might suggest that the aesthetic dimensions of the sacred liturgy are important and worthy of attention, that beauty matters and therefore the…
Shades of Rosacea II: Some Further Eighteenth Century Examples
With Laetare Sunday just past us, I wanted to take the opportunity to share just a few more 18th century examples of rose vestments that I haven't shared previously along with some very brief comments. (For further considerations around this subject, see our original Sh…
Chalice by Barkentin and Krall
This stunning Gothic Revival chalice and paten were produced in the workshop of the firm of Barkentin and Krall, sometime in the late 1860s or early 1870s. The firm of Barkentin and Krall was founded in 1868 when Danish born goldsmith Jes Barkentin (1815-1883) entered int…
The Indian Mass in the Modern Parish (Part One)
Note: this article begins a multi-part series on using traditional texts to further the goal of inculturation in Native American parishes.
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When Catholic missionaries first arrived among the native peoples of North America, their first translation priority was basic pr…
John Coates-Carter: A Little Known Arts and Crafts Architect
John Coates-Carter is a somewhat obscure English church architect whose work should be better known. Born in Norwich in 1859. he was initially articled to a local architect in the city, before working in the offices of the Gothic Revivalist J. P. Seddon (1827-1906). In …
The Lenten Veil (Velum Quadragesimale) by Henri de Villiers
Lent is a time of fasting. In former times, in order to prepare themselves to live the great mystery of the death and resurrection of Christ, Christians not only fasted from food but also practiced an auditory and visual fast.
Auditory privation took the form of suppressing…
Tradition Reborn: Cathedral of the Most Sacred Heart, Knoxville, Tennessee
This past weekend saw the culmination of the three year long period in which a new cathedral, the Cathedral of the Most Sacred Heart, was constructed in the diocese of Knoxville, Tennessee. The project began on April 19th, 2015 and was the work of McCrery Architects of Was…
Stunning Renovation of Corpus Christi in London
Recently while on pilgrimage in Great Britain I found myself staying at the London Savoy on the eastern fringes of the city's West End. Crossing the Strand and walking up the hill for dinner at London's oldest restaurant, Rules, quite accidentally (by Divine Provid…
A Comper Altarpiece for Athelstan Riley
Athelstan John Laurie Riley (1858-1945) was one of the leading lay members of the Ritualist Movement in the Church of England in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century. The son of a successful London lawyer and the grandson of a Yorkshire railway speculator, he i…
Images of Elesbaan, King and Saint
King St. Elesbaan of Ethiopia, from the Roman Martyrology's entry for October 27th, is also known to history as Kaleb of Axum (ca. A.D. 510-540). During his reign, the Jewish Himyarite king Dhu Nawas of Yemen was massacring Christians and destroying churches. Elesbaan r…
New Vestment Work: A Gothic Chasuble from Altarworthy
As you know, we here at LAJ are always on the look out for new vestment work and recently I came across a gothic revival chasuble from Altarworthy -- a company which is based out of the United States -- which is worth some consideration.
The design picks up on a point about…
Native American Liturgical Uses: Plainchant in Caughnawaga
Preface: Given the evident interest in the question of the Native American liturgical 'uses' it seemed like a good idea to once again reprint the following article which speaks to the subject of the liturgical chants used within that context, published in the June-S…
