I wanted to play a bit of 'catch up' and showcase some of the fine woodcarving of Ferdinand Stuflesser 1875 whom we have featured before. Let's dive right into it with a few comments interspersed here and there throughout. (And to highlight the point once agai…
Ferdinand Stuflesser 1875 Showcase
I wanted to play a bit of 'catch up' and showcase some of the fine woodcarving of Ferdinand Stuflesser 1875 whom we have featured before. Let's dive right into it with a few comments interspersed here and there throughout. (And to highlight the point once agai…
Pontifical Buskins: A Brief History and Consideration
Since we have already covered off pontifical sandals and gloves, I thought it would be fitting to mention a closely related and equally lesser known bit of vesture: buskins -- or caligae in Latin. Buskins are essentially a liturgical form of "stocking" that is wo…
London's Rosary Shrine Vestments
In 1867 work began in north London on the fourth Blackfriars (as the Dominicans and their priories came to be called in England) in London. The Dominicans had first arrived in 1221 and, after an interruption, returned to the city in 1861. The new church was built on an ambi…
Carthusian Nuns and the Use of the Maniple and Stole
Continuing our look at some of the vestural customs and items to be found in the Church, there is a rather unique custom for Carthusian nuns relating to the occasional use of the stole and maniple -- the latter worn on the right arm, instead of the left as is the case with…
Medieval Commentary Continued: The Episcopal Garments
On Thursday, we saw the Gemma Animae's commentary on the priestly vestments. Today we look at the bishop's vestments, following up on several other posts last week on pontifical sandals and gloves .
If the seven priestly vestments signified the perfection of priestl…
Fashion and Redemption: A Catholic Vision
The Metropolitan Museum of Art exhibit, Heavenly Bodies: Fashion and the Catholic Imagination, is a cultural moment of artistic relevance that begs reflection: Why so much effort to showcase the Catholic influence on fashion, as inspired primarily by liturgical garments?
M…
Aesthetics of the Cross in Medieval Commentary
One of the goals of LAJ is to showcase the breathtaking beauty of Catholic liturgical culture. From the general reaction to the stunning images that are shared on LAJ's Facebook page (which, at the time this was written, has over 11,000 followers), it is clear that thi…
Pontifical Gloves: A Brief History and Consideration
Continuing on with our consideration of the traditional pontifical vestments of the Latin rite, we last considered pontifical sandalia (sandals) and I would now like to turn your attention to pontifical gloves -- or what are called chirothecae in the rubrics. This particul…
Symbolic Offerings of the Solemn Papal Mass of Canonization
These are objects you don't see everyday and you would have been hard pressed to have seen them even prior to the Council. These objects were used during the Offertory as symbolic offerings made in the canonization Mass (typically a Solemn Papal Mass) when new saints w…
Pontifical Sandals: A Brief History and Consideration
Pontifical sandals, also called "sandalia" or "compagi," are a topic of long interest to me. While the subject of liturgical footwear might seem somewhat arcane, what it really amounts to is that it is part of the full liturgical 'armour' of the …
Reclaiming the Cloistral Hush of the Sacristy and Sacristy Ceremonial
Those seeking to create a more reverent and prayerful approach to the sacred liturgy often give great focus to the liturgy itself but a reverent and prayerful liturgy doesn't begin with the ringing of the bell at the beginning of Mass; it begins in the pews and in the …
Before and After: Holy Comforter, Charlottesville, Virginia
Here is another 'before and after' coming this time from Holy Comforter in Charlottesville, Virginia, executed by Erik Bootsma Architecture . Holy Comforter's previous sanctuary arrangement would look odd to anyone who was not familiar with the underlying theol…
A Brief History of the Flabellum
Flabella (plural) or flabellum (singular) are liturgical or ceremonial fans that could be made of various materials, from feathers to metal. Most Catholics will be familiar with these at least by sight, if not by name, by virtue of the iconic historical images of the popes…
New Vestment Work from Paramentica: The St. Philip Neri Chasuble
I wanted to introduce readers of LAJ to a vestment maker that we have not shown here before, Paramentica . Since this is our first time featuring them, let's give a bit of background taken straight from their website: Paramentica is a Liturgical Workshop that strives to …
