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…
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…
The Art of Portable Altars
Many portable altars date from the time of the First World War when their creation gained an impetus from the urgent needs of military chaplains who were on the front lines or in military camps. One of the travesties of the First World War was that it involved Christians …
From the Papal Chapel: the White Silk Soutane
Here are some very rare images of the papal "moiré" choir cassock of Pope John Paul II. From what I know he made use of it once on the day of his election in 1978. It is made by Gammarelli of white moiré silk and worn with a pectoral cross hung on a gold-colore…
An Early 20th Century Gothic Revival Set
Continuing on with our consideration of some of the more notable gothic revival vestment work out there, I wanted to turn readers attention to a set of early 20th century vestments which were restored under the auspices of the now defunct Cistercian Abbey of Our Lady of Spr…
Before and After: Adoration Chapel at Prince of Peace Catholic Church, Greenville, SC
Father Christopher Smith of Prince of Peace Catholic Church in Greenville, South Carolina very kindly shared with LAJ a few photos of their redesigned Adoration chapel. Those of you who are already familiar with that church will know that it is a reasonably modern church …
Mitre and Gloves of Bishop Karol Józef Wojtyła
This year I was privileged to lead a pilgrimage through Poland marking the 60th anniversary of the episcopal consecration of Pope St. John Paul II. Interestingly enough, there are still people alive who were there on Wawel Hill on that historic day when the saint was orda…
All Souls at All Saints Minneapolis
Father Alex Stewart, FSSP of All Saints Minneapolis very kindly sent LAJ notice of their recent All Souls Day Mass in the usus antiquior and as a meditation upon the various sacred arts, I wanted to share just a few of those photos (The full set of which may be found here .…
Beauty and Crucial Role of Monastic Liturgies
On All Souls Day I was privileged to attend the Conventual Mass at Westminster Abbey in British Columbia, Canada. After Mass the monks and students processed to the monastery cemetery to pray for the deceased members of the community. The prayers included the De Profundis . …
A Contemporary Case for the Inclusion of Memento Mori on Black Vestments
Over the years I have shared many photos of black requiem vestments replete with skulls, scythes, bones, even the poor souls in Purgatory. These vestments usually inspire a great deal of interest for reason of their relative rarity and also for reason of these symbols. R…
