The old altar cards of St. Peter's Basilica were many and varied. Those on the side altars were simple, in a sort of Arts and Crafts style. Those on the Altar of the Chair and in the Blessed Sacrament Chapel and the Canons Chapel were understandably Baroque in design.…
A Brief Survey of the Altar Cards of St. Peter's Basilica
The old altar cards of St. Peter's Basilica were many and varied. Those on the side altars were simple, in a sort of Arts and Crafts style. Those on the Altar of the Chair and in the Blessed Sacrament Chapel and the Canons Chapel were understandably Baroque in design.…
Vestments of Velvet Through the Centuries
One of the materials that we frequently see used in vestments coming especially from the later middle ages through the renaissance was velvet -- thought it obviously can also be found in other periods as well. Velvet, traditionally speaking, was made from silk and was time-…
Abbaye de Notre-Dame de Fontgombault
My favorite place to visit in France is the Abbey of Our Lady of Fontgombault (Fontgombault Abbey). I wish everyone could visit here on retreat in the summer months, especially priests. This is a Benedictine monastery of the Solesmes Congregation, located down the road fr…
Minor Roman Basilicas: San Crisogono
Continuing on with our considerations of some of the 'must-see' basilicas in Rome -- outside the usual, well known suspects -- we turn today to the minor Roman basilica of San Crisogono. San Crisogono is named after the martyr St Chrysogonus who was killed during t…
Abbaye Sainte-Madeleine du Barroux (Le Barroux)
I remember once having lunch with an eminent French priest in Lourdes who explained that France is the perfect place to live because it is the land of "wine, castles, and cathedrals." Indeed, I had to agree but I reminded him to not forget to include monasteries.…
Mosan Masterpieces: Phylacteries of Hugo de Walcourt
The D’Oignies Treasure is a 13th century collection of liturgical artworks that belonged to the Priory of St. Nicholas in D’Oignies. All religious artefacts that are part of the Treasure represent finest Mosan art accomplishment, a splendid regional variety of the Romanesqu…
Sacristy Art: the Custom of Denoting "Titulus Ecclesiae" and "Nomen Ordinarii"
In sacristies there is an old custom of having a "titulus" sign that reads the name of the church ( titulor ecclesiae ) and the local ordinary ( nomen ordinarii ). Sometimes it will also say Orationes Imperatae or Oratio Imperata at the bottom (to remind priests of a…
A Brief History on the Concept of Titular Churches in Rome
One of the traditions Catholics might hear of but know little about is that of a cardinal taking his "titulus" (i.e. titular church) in Rome. The concept of a titulus itself, some suggest, reaches back to antiquity when stones marked the confines of a property. Wh…
Liturgical Arts Flourishing at Prince of Peace in Taylors, South Carolina
Good things are happening at Prince of Peace parish in Taylors, South Carolina. The pastor, Fr. Christopher Smith, is doing terrific work. Earlier this year I was privileged to visit the parish twice, witnessing the splendor of the Sunday High Mass. The liturgical arts f…
A Sneak Peak of the Private Papal Chapel at Castel Gandolfo
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One of the most interesting places I have ever visited are the papal apartments at the papal summer villa of Castel Gandolfo. Until recently this has been off limits of the public. Under the current papacy the gardens and villa are open for tours. Part of one of the tour…
Prince, Prelate or Pauper: Memento Mori
As we have noted many times before, the use of memento mori (reminders of mortality) have a long tradition in the Church. From vestments to funerary monuments, they have a long and venerable tradition in the life of the Church and served a very great purpose: they remind us…
Restoration of Cemetery Chapel in the Philippines by Escuela Taller
In Catholic culture funerary and cemetery chapels are busy places. Here the rites of final commendation and burials take place as well as Requiem Masses on certain anniversaries, most especially on All Souls Day. It is common for every Catholic cemetery to have at least a…
Development in the Styles of Missal Art as Seen in the Assumption
Missal art is a favourite topic of mine and since today is the feast of the Assumption it seemed like a good day to consider how missal art has been approached within the 'modern' period -- i.e. the post incunabula era. In the seventeenth and eighteenth century, we t…
A Renaissance Chasuble from the Workshops of Sandro Botticelli
The following chasuble is of Florentine manufacture, coming from the period of 1485-95, but what perhaps makes it particularly unique is that it is associated with the famed Florentine artist, Alessandro di Mariano di Vanni Filipepi -- better know to us and to the world as…
The Great Pietà of Melchor Pérez Holguin in Los Angeles
In the United States and abroad, LACMA in Los Angeles has established itself as foremost proprietor of viceregal paintings. The collection and expertise of their staff in the area of South American art has been growing steadily over the years and very recently another wonde…
Popular Saint of the Romans: St. Lawrence, Deacon and Martyr
St. Lawrence, deacon and martyr, was of born in what is today Spain and lived from A.D. 225 to 258, being martyred at the age of 33 on this day in the times of the persecutions of the Emperor Valeria against the Christians. He was one of the seven deacons of the Roman chur…
A Closer Look at the Leonine Mantum Shown in This Famous Photographic Portrait of Pope St. Pius X
One of the more popular formal photographic portraits of Pope St. Pius X shows him wearing tiara and vested in a white papal mantum either standing before or sitting down on a papal throne. I remember the first time I saw this photographic image, being impressed by the beau…
The Metropolitan Cathedral-Basilica of St. John's (Archdiocese of St. John's in Newfoundland, Canada)
I was immensely saddened to hear of the impending closure and sale of the Cathedral-Basilica of St. John's , Newfoundland. This mighty church with its storied past is one of the most beautiful churches in Canada. It is a major cultural loss that everyone should be talk…
The Carolingian Frescoes of the Church of Santa Perpetua in Tirano
Discovered by accident in 1987 when plaster fortuitously fell off the walls like scales before eyes, what was revealed beneath in this very humble and simple monastic church of S. Perpetua in Tirano was a cycle of Carolingian frescoes that depicted not only the martyr St. P…
A Papal Mantum of Pope Leo XIII
For our second consideration of a papal mantum, we turn to one produced during the pontificate of Pope Leo XIII in 1879, once again by the atelier Romanini, this time Giovanni Romanini. The base of this particular item is a beautiful red and gold silk lamé that has been em…
Zairean? Or Sarum? The Forgotten Congolese Liturgy
The Zairean Use has been in the news lately , but despite an interest in the Catholic Congo , I’m afraid I know too little about it to comment intelligently. Little useful comes from polemicism—on either side—that insists on promoting or critiquing various attempts at incultu…
The Flabellum of Tournus - A Rare Surviving Example of the Liturgical Fan in the West
Speak of "flabellum" and naturally one's mind turns toward the great feathered fans which are traditionally carried beside the popes. Historically the flabellum has its origins in ancient times, thought to originate in ancient Egypt, being used for practical a…
Early Roman Christian Sarcophagi from the Age of Constantine
Take a visit to Rome and one will invariably come face to face with countless sarcophagi -- almost to the point of overload. As such it can be very easy to begin to simply skip past these and not give them much attention, but in reality this would be a great mistake for the…
