When you look at enough church arrangements over the years, you begin to pick up on patterns and can start to discern particular styles. One which has been particularly evident to me for some while is a particular form of altar found in the north of Italy, particularly Mila…
The Milanese Altar
When you look at enough church arrangements over the years, you begin to pick up on patterns and can start to discern particular styles. One which has been particularly evident to me for some while is a particular form of altar found in the north of Italy, particularly Mila…
Our Lady of Victory Chapel at St. Catherine University
One of my absolute favorite churches in North America is the Romanesque Revival chapel of Our Lady of Victory at the University of St. Catherine in St. Paul, Minnesota. The structure was built by the school Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet (CSJ) in Roman Basilica style,…
The Silver Altar and Tribuna of the Basilica of Santa Maria Assunta in Gandino
Within the Basilica of Santa Maria Assunta in Gandino (Bergamo, Italy) is a very unique and beautiful piece of liturgical art whose history spans the 17th through 19th centuries. It was originally donated by four prominent families from the region and its earliest piece dat…
The Detwang Triptych by ALBL Oberammergau
The German woodcarving firm, ALBL Oberammergau , recently released an image of one of their most recent works, the Detwang triptych. The piece was inspired by the work of German woodcarver Tilman Riemanchneider (1460-1531), a late gothic carver from Wurzburg who bridged the…
More Embroidery From Sacra Domus Aurea
So we have been on a bit of a "bespoke vestment" roll this past week and there has been a lot of interest in embroidery of recent, so I thought I should specifically highlight another example. This particular piece is one that appeared in the midst of another arti…
A Pontifical Set of Vestments from Pluriarte
It has been a little bit since we have featured some of Pluriarte's work and what better time than to feature a Pontifical Mass set they made for the Priestly Fraternity of St. Peter. Many of you will have no doubt already seen the photos of the Mass, but may not have k…
Vestments from the Treasury of the Cathedral of Brixen
An interesting collection of antique vestments are on display at the diocesan museum of Bressanone . Nicola de Grandi was recently there and took a number of photographs showing some of the collection. As it has been some while since we have featured antique vestments it is …
Simplicity Without Iconoclasm - Duncan Stroik Reviews Geoffrey Webb's 'The Liturgical Altar'
The Liturgical Altar. By Geoffrey Webb.
USA: Romanitas Press, 2011. ISBN
9780300159080. $15.00. Reviewed by Duncan G. Stroik Would you like to get a glimpse
into the philosophy of the
Liturgical Movement in the
1930s? This period between World
War I and Vatican II witnessed…
The Ecclesiastical Work of Louis Comfort Tiffany
Mention the work of Tiffany and Co. (or simply Tiffany's) and what naturally springs to mind are domestic items such as lamps with ornamental stained glass, or secular designs in public buildings (such as the Education window at Yale University), but what may not spring…
Before and After: St. Wenceslaus in Wahoo, Nebraska
A reader recently sent in some information on a restoration project taking place at St. Wenceslaus Parish in Wahoo, Nebraska. This particular project can almost be classed as a "restoration" because it is clear that a key guiding principle was to restore the sanct…
Other Modern: Christus-König-Kirche in Thuine, Germany
Prompted by our last piece on the Other Modern, one of our readers sent in information about Christ the King Church (Christus-König-Kirche) located in Thuine, Germany. The church forms a part of the motherhouse of the Sisters of St. Francis of the Martyr St. George and was…
Patrimony Preserved: Tenth Anniversary Conference on the Catholic "Anglican Use"
[The following is a guest article written for LAJ by Christopher Mahon which details some information about the liturgical patrimony of the Anglican Ordinariate, set within the context of of a conference they held in Toronto late last year. (For those interested, there are…
A Unique (and New) Embroidered Rose Vestment Set
Having observed the new liturgical movement in action for a few decades now, I can recall the time when people would search antique shops or dream of obscure finds hidden away in parish vaults and the like in the hopes of uncovering liturgical items, including vestments, st…
When Romanitas Reigned in the Liturgical Movement
While "reigned" might be an exaggeration, there was a time when Romanitas held significant sway within the 20th century Liturgical Movement, especially with regard to the arrangement of the altar. In the 1930's the A. Gross Candle company of Baltimore, which m…
More Processional Banners
Regrettably, for many, when they hear tell of a church "banner" what they tend to think of are the very poor examples that became popular in modern era, particularly since the 1960's and 70's. This sort of banner tended toward primitivism in both form and …
Funerary Processional Banners with Memento Mori
While the consideration of liturgical textiles tends to be primarily focused on vestments and antependia, one of the less widely seen instantiations is the processional banner. Processional banners are, of course, used within processions, carried as devotional objects, oft…
The Other Modern Ciborium of the Basilica of Our Lady of Licheń
There are some altars which simply cry out for your attention. One of those is the high altar of the Basilica of Our Lady of Licheń (Sanktuarium Matki Bożej Licheńskiej) in Poland. This is particularly so because of the ciborium. It is one that I've long intended to hig…
An FSSP Inspired Solemn Mass Set
Recently, Altarworthy completed a new Solemn Mass Set that was commissioned by benefactors for (soon to be Father) Thomas Sofatzis, FSSP -- who will be ordained to the priesthood this Saturday in Sydney, Australia. The folks at Altarworthy offered LAJ a few comments on thei…
The Liturgical Construction of the Altar - Part 2 of 2
We continue with the second part of "The Liturgical Construction of the Altar" written by Fr. Edwin Ryan and published in the Fall 1931 issue of Liturgical Arts Quarterly. * * * The Altar Furnishings The crucifix should be large and prominent. It may be of metal or w…
The Liturgical Construction of the Altar - Part 1 of 2
Our previous reprint on the "textile appurtenances" of the altar from Liturgical Arts Quarterly proved of great interest to many, so I thought I would reprint another similar article from the Fall 1931 issue of the same (the very first issue in point of fact), th…
