For this last Friday of May I thought it would be of interest to look through more of the papal and papally related vestments that have been so admirably catalogued in the book, Il Papa e le sue vesti . Shown here today are a variety of liturgical sandals as well as some c…
More Vestments from the Papal Sacristy
For this last Friday of May I thought it would be of interest to look through more of the papal and papally related vestments that have been so admirably catalogued in the book, Il Papa e le sue vesti . Shown here today are a variety of liturgical sandals as well as some c…
The 'Three Kings' of Catholic Spirituality: Mass, the Office and Sacred Scripture
This is a combined book notice and commentary that I've been meaning to write for some time. Originally I had thought about it for the Christmas season -- being a gift-giving season -- but in my experience times like those are already over-saturated with gift ideas and…
Updates on Clear Creek Abbey and Another Project from Heyer Architect
It has been awhile since we dropped in with some of our architects and William Heyer Architects recently update their site with some new projects that should be of interest to LAJ readers. One such project is that of St. Mary of the Assumption in Lancaster, Ohio .
From Heye…
What Are Rogation Days?
These next three days are rogation days in the Roman calendar, but in this period of rediscovery of our traditions, many may well be asking: what exactly are Rogation days? Rogation days were days which were instituted to appease divine justice, ask for protection, and inv…
Other Modern: The Moriarty Chasuble of Downside Abbey
One of the contemporary (but traditional) chasubles coming out of the sacristy of Downside Abbey that has always interested me is the so-called "Moriarty chasuble." This particular chasuble is a clear byproduct of the very best of the monastic school of the Litu…
Reader Question: Vestment Offerings in an Italianate Style
Frequently I am asked where vestments of a 'high baroque' variety can be purchased these days -- if anywhere at all. What is typically meant by this are the sort of vestments that have very rich gold embroidery on them, embroidered onto some sort of lamé in one or …
The Poesy and Aesthetics of the Doberan Cross
Doberan Abbey is one of the great Cistercian edifices constructed between the XII c. and XV c., a venerable and original gem of Gothic brick architecture found along the ancient merchant route between Poland, Germany, and Denmark. The buildings and the liturgical treasures…
Before and After: The Restoration of St. Mary's, German Village, in Columbus, Ohio
I wanted to share a little bit of the work coming out of Meleca Architects , namely the restoration of the church of St. Mary's, German Village , in Columbus, Ohio. You can see from this view below that, first off, the high altar has been restored. In the 'before'…
Our Lady of Paris and Other New Work from ALBL Oberammergau
It has been awhile since we dropped in on our friends at ALBL Oberaammergau but as they had recently updated the portfolio on their website, it was an opportune time for a visit.
I would take a moment to note that this company works in traditional materials like wood; as …
Solemn Pontifical Mass in Minneapolis
The FSSP in Minneapolis recently had a visit from Cardinal Burke for the occasion of the First Communions of a number of the children affiliated with the community. I would take a moment to mention the vestments that were used for this event, which take their inspiration …
Chapel el Rancho de las Golondrinas in Santa Fe, New Mexico
I have always been quite interested in the architecture of the missions, especially those of the Native American Missions (which our own Claudio Salvucci so admirably covers). Another area of interest are the Spanish Missions and recently I came across the following altar …
Two Unique Chasubles
Every so often I will be digging through my archives and come across items that I cannot for the life of me recall the details around, including where I even came across them. The dilemma: do you show them or not? Obviously it would be preferable to be able to present some…
The Sacristy Series: Vestments of St. Mary's in Wausau, Wisconsin
Yesterday, in our first instalment of our new Sacristy Series , we looked at the antependia of St. Mary's in Wausau, Wisconsin. Today we return with the second part of our consideration by looking at some of the vestments of the parish.
The first set I would show our re…
The Sacristy Series: Antependia of St. Mary's in Wausau, Wisconsin
Today LAJ is happy to launch a new occasional series (much like our "Before and After", "Sacristy Tips" and "Other Modern" themed pieces) called "The Sacristy Series." (The idea being to show the liturgical accoutrements of a partic…
The Barbavara Mitre in the Cathedral Treasury of Palermo
I thought I would take an opportunity today to share with readers an example of a precious mitre ( mitra pretiosa ) coming from the earlier 17th century by way of Michele Cassatta -- whose work we featured only just earlier this week. The mitre in question is the so-called &…
Before and After in Sydney
In many of our "before and after" considerations, we are generally dealing with a traditional sanctuary and church that was renovated in a very modernistic fashion that is then restored back closer to its historical design; in other instances we are dealing with …
Five Kyrie's
Seldom do I have the opportunity to speak of sacred music here on LAJ, but today I thought I would share a few pieces with you. As many of our readers will know, a traditional Mass setting is made up of the five ordinary parts of the Mass set to music: the Kyrie, Gloria, C…
Kmita Chasuble from the Cathedral Treasury in Krakow
Around the year 1503, to commemorate the 250th Anniversary of the canonization of St. Stanislaus Bishop and Martyr, nobleman Piotr Kmita the Elder commissioned a chasuble with the scenes from the life of the saint. The vestment, now permanently housed in the treasury muse…
Restoration of a Unique Preaching Stole
Recently I came across an interesting bit of restoration work undertaken by Michele Cassata paramenti ricamati a mano who is based out of Palermo, Italy. The restoration caught my attention for two reasons: First, the very fact of the restoration itself for we live in an …
Reliquaries
When you think of reliquaries it is not uncommon to think of the type that are a bit like a small monstrance, however reliquaries can and often have had much more 'evocative' forms -- very frequently taking the form of a bust of the saint or blessed, or in other in…
Unique 16th Century Chasuble from Downside Abbey: The "Glover" Chasuble
Amidst the various important holdings of Downside Abbey are a series of antique vestments dating from the medieval and recusant period. I thought it would be of interest to our readers to take a look at some of these, beginning today with the early 16th century "Glove…
Toronto Oratory: Jesuit Ordained to the Subdiaconate by Archbishop of Ottawa
We do not feature a great deal in the way of event news on LAJ given our particularly tight focus, however, this particular event brought together not only a nice bit of news, but also some focus on some of the liturgical arts associated with the Solemn Pontifical Mass in …
