New Abbey Church of the Benedictines of Mary, Queen of the Apostles

New Abbey Church of the Benedictines of Mary, Queen of the Apostles The Abbey of Ephesus was completed in October 2018 and is the home of the Benedictines of Mary, Queen of Apostles in northwest Missouri. (The sisters are well-known for their vestment making.) Designed by William Heyer Architect of Columbus, Ohio and constructed by Straub …

New Green Gothic Revival Chasuble from AltarWorthy

New Green Gothic Revival Chasuble from AltarWorthy Today I wanted to share another chasuble coming out of  AltarWorthy , a company based out of the United States. This particular chasuble is a gothic revival cut of course, utilizing a fairly standard orphrey pattern. What struck me about this piece, however, was the green te…

Restoring Halloween to the Domestic Church

Restoring Halloween to the Domestic Church Halloween always seems to bring out strong and often starkly opposing positions among my fellow traditional Catholics. Some avoid the holiday like the plague, while others attempt to restore some Christian meaning to it. Everyone, however, is agreed that its demonic excesse…

Customs of Martinmas

Customs of Martinmas Continuing on with our consideration of some of the  customs associated with this time of the liturgical year, one which is coming upon us soon is the feast of St. Martin of Tours, the fourth century Roman soldier who was to become a bishop, celebrated on November 11th. His…

Advent Customs: St. Barbara's Branches (Barbarazweige)

Advent Customs: St. Barbara's Branches (Barbarazweige) Continuing on with our preparations for Advent, let us now turn to an Advent custom which is particularly rooted within the Germanic tradition -- where so many Advent and Christmas traditions seem to originate -- Barbarazweige or St. Barbara's branches. While Germanic i…

Preparing for Advent: The Custom of the Advent Wreath

Preparing for Advent: The Custom of the Advent Wreath With November fast approaching, Advent will soon be upon us. While we are not there quite yet of course, if people and families are to be prepared or it, they need time to think about how they might  observe it. In view of that, I wanted to begin to make a few suggestions …

Modern Polish Chasuble (Mid-Twentieth Century)

Modern Polish Chasuble (Mid-Twentieth Century) This fascinating "modern" chasuble caught my eye on display in one of the many interesting museum rooms at the Jasna Góra Monastery at the Our Lady of  CzÄ™stochowa Shrine in Poland. It is definitely worth sharing on account of its great beauty and historic import -…

Papal Humiliations III: The Cock of the Lateran

In previous posts on the flax burning and  sedia stercoraria , we have seen how the ancient ceremony of papal coronation evinced a continual concern with reminding the new pontiff, at the very moment of his elevation to the loftiest office in Christendom, that he remained a m…

Before and After: St. Stanislaus Oratory, Milwaukee

Before and After: St. Stanislaus Oratory, Milwaukee Today I wished to present a before and after that is slightly different. Instead of our usual view of an entire church or sanctuary going from something more modern to traditional, we are today going to mainly consider the altar -- though I will provide some broader views …

1600: An Ambrosian Gift to the Holy Land

1600: An Ambrosian Gift to the Holy Land Some of you may have seen this posting by Zachary Thomas on the LAJ Facebook page  coming from the holdings of the  Terra Sancta Museum . but I wanted to share them here on the site proper as well. (These are also being cross-posted at the same time over on NLM  incidentally s…

Meditations on the Judica Me (Psalm 42) of the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite

Meditations on the Judica Me (Psalm 42) of the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite Pictured below is photo I took on a recent Autumn pilgrimage through the south of France.  We had Mass on the French Riviera in Nice at Saint-Jacques-le-Majeur (aka the  Église du Gesù) ,  under the care of the priests of the Institute of Christ the King Sovereign Priest. Thr…

Manuel Farrugia: Ecstasy of St. Teresa

Manuel Farrugia: Ecstasy of St. Teresa Some of our readers may already be acquainted with Manuel Farrugia. Farrugia, who hails from Malta, is just 29 years old but despite his young age he has already put together an impressive portfolio of sacred works. One of his major works was featured in The Catholic Heral…

Papal Humiliations II: The Papal Sedia Stercoraria

In a previous article we discussed flax burning during the papal coronation rite . Today we consider a related ceremony, the Possession , i.e. when the pope takes formal possession of the Lateran cathedral and palace. Just as in the coronation rite, here too the ancient cerem…

Some Liturgical Effects of Blessed John Henry Newman

Some Liturgical Effects of Blessed John Henry Newman The feast day of Blessed John Henry Newman was celebrated this week (October 9th to be precise) and before the week passes us by I didn't want to miss an opportunity to resurrect some photos of a liturgical arts nature tied to Newman and the Birmingham Oratory. Of part…

Sacristy Tips: Instructions for Cleaning and Polishing Thuribles of Different Metals

Sacristy Tips: Instructions for Cleaning and Polishing Thuribles of Different Metals Recently LAJ published a very brief and simple tutorial on shining tarnished brass items like thuribles, candlesticks, etc. using super fine steel wool.  We put out the word that we are always on the look out for new submissions to our "Sacristy Tips" series and …

Christ the King Chapel at Christendom College in Virginia

Christ the King Chapel at Christendom College in Virginia LAJ was pleased to receive an update on  the new chapel of Christ the King planned for Christendom College, the Catholic classical liberal arts college located in Front Royal, Virginia founded by Warren H. Carroll. The following images are from  O'Brien and Keane Archite…

Some Noble Gothic Revival Vestments

Some Noble Gothic Revival Vestments The following photo-post is intended to simply provide readers with a few examples of some of the very fine gothic revival vestment work that is found in Britain, and especially from St Dominic's Church - The Shrine of Our Lady of the Rosary  where all of these photos we…

Late Medieval English Vestments

Late Medieval English Vestments Norwich Castle Museum in Norfolk, has a small but significant collection of late medieval English embroidery and among the collection are a number of items for church use: two funerary palls and the remains of two copes.  I had the privilege of being able to view and photo…

Before and After: St. Mary's Church, Norwalk, Connecticut

Before and After: St. Mary's Church, Norwalk, Connecticut We are pleased to share another 'before and after' today, this time coming from the firm of Duncan G. Stroik Architect and St. Mary's Church in Norwalk, CT.   Here is what Stroik's firm says about the project: "The renovation of the sanctuary of Saint …

Synergy in the Liturgical Arts

Synergy in the Liturgical Arts Very often when it comes to church furnishing and art, while there is a harmony amongst the component pieces, there is not necessarily a purposeful and studied integration between them. What do I mean?  What I mean is that you may have an altar and an altar piece, as an ex…

A 17th Century Defense of Rood Screens

A 17th Century Defense of Rood Screens The following is a chapter taken from Fr. Jean-Baptiste Thiers' Dissertation on Rood Screens , a 17th-century essay defending the importance of rood screens in French churches. In this chapter, the author explains the principle of tradition from the point of view of the …

Paraments of the Order of the Golden Fleece

Paraments of the Order of the Golden Fleece Today I wanted to to show readers another set of vestments coming from the Imperial Treasury of Vienna , this time a set that was made for the Austrian branch of the Order of the Golden Fleece -- one of the most elite orders of chivalry in Europe, comprised almost exclusive…

New (Traditional) Altars and Altar Rails by Duncan G. Stroik, Architect

New (Traditional) Altars and Altar Rails by Duncan G. Stroik, Architect If you think substantial altars and altar rails are now a thing of the distant past, capable of only seeing much simpler or more mediocre manifestations today, then think again.  Here is just a small sampling of some of the new work that is taking place today, and these co…