Romanesque churches are always a favourite topic of mine for in general they tend to combine the strength of paleochristian features with later medieval ones and two such examples exist in Tuscania, both of which are located in sight of one another on the Colle di San Pietr…
The Romanesque Basilicas of San Pietro and Santa Maria Maggiore in Toscanella (Tuscania)
Romanesque churches are always a favourite topic of mine for in general they tend to combine the strength of paleochristian features with later medieval ones and two such examples exist in Tuscania, both of which are located in sight of one another on the Colle di San Pietr…
Renaissance Elegance: Cardinalatial Vestments of the Early 1500's
The following set of vestments are dated to the Renaissance period, specifically to the years 1500-1520, and are found within Perugia. This particular set, unlike so many that include embroidered panel orphreys, is not an instance of an earlier medieval embroidery that has …
Hand Illuminated Altar Cards of the 19th Century
In the past we have shown some contemporary approaches to hand-illuminated altar cards, but today we are going to focus on an antique approach to the same. This particular set comes by way of the Musée de la Visitation located in Moulin, France -- which, incidentally, is a …
Design For a New Carmelite Monastery in Pleasant Mount, Pennsylvania
It has been a little while since we've stopped to take a look at some new architectural projects that might be on the horizon and today we wished to turn your attention to the Carmelite Monastery of Our Lady of Mount Carmel and St. Joseph in Pleasant Mount, Pennsylvania…
A Closer look at the Apsidal Mosaic of the Basilica dei Santi Cosma e Damiano
We have done a more general post on the Basilica of Ss. Cosmas e Damiano in the past, but the details of the splendid apsidal mosaic of the basilica is well worth pausing to stop and take a look at for its own sake. As part of their series on the Station Churches of Rome, …
Before and After: St. Helen's Catholic Church in Vero Beach, Florida
It has been a little while since we've done a 'before and after' so I thought we would today briefly explore a work pursued by way of Conrad Schmitt Studios at St. Helen's Catholic Church in Vero Beach, Florida. The church was founded in the 1950's, and …
Holy Rood Crucifix Modelled After the Shroud of Turin (Columbia, South Carolina)
St. Joseph's church in Columbia, South Carolina is very fortunate to have one of the most beautiful hand-carved crucifixes in the nation. Thirty years ago I had the privilege of visiting here for the first time and it was a thrill to return this year to see its holy ro…
The Church of Santa Maria e San Donato, Murano
There has always been something I've found particularly striking about simple but beautiful apsidal mosaics. Italy has a few such examples (most notably that of the basilica of Torcello, Santa Maria Assunta) and another one that recently came to my attention is that of …
Churches of Venice: Chiesa di Santa Maria Assunta detta i Gesuiti
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While Venice is a city of gothic, Byzantine and Middle Eastern influences, the counter-reformation and baroque are certainly also to be found in that city, and it is likely no surprise that if we want to see one of the best examples of that, we need only turn to the church …
Gammadiae: The Mysterious Lettered Symbols Depicted on Tunics in Earlier Christians Mosaics
If you look at antique Christian mosaics enough, you are bound to notice some trends. In many instances the saints are shown wearing white robes, which of course comes with reference to the Book of Revelation which speaks to the saints as being "they [who] shall walk w…
Vestments of Recusant England: The Peasecod Chasuble of Helen of Wintour
Dated to circa 1640, the Peasecod chasuble of Helen of Wintour was originally part of a larger set that included an antependium. The chasuble is made of white satin and embroidered with pearls. The chasuble also features South American passion flowers - so called because it…
The Thirteenth Century Mitre and Crozier of St. Bonaventure, the Seraphic Doctor
Vestments associated with saints are always a popular item of interest for our readers, so today we are happy to present the crozier and mitre of St. Bonaventure, the thirteenth century Franciscan and Doctor of the Church. Bonaventure was born in Italy in the year 1221 and…
Patrons of the Liturgical Arts: The Oratory in Mexico/Texas
Recently news came of an ordination coming out of the Oratory of St. Philip Neri. While we generally automatically tend to think of the Oratory in relation to Rome and the United Kingdom, it is of course much broader than that and this particular Oratorian congregation is b…
Québec City’s Saint Zéphirin of Stadacona
The church of Saint-Zéphirin-de-Stradacona in Québec City is one of the most interesting traditional Catholic communities in North America. For the past several years it has been under the care of the Priestly Fraternity of St. Peter. The relatively simple red brick exterio…
More Noble Expressions of the Altar in Table Form
Altars in "table" form tend to get a bad rap these days and that is mainly because of the many poor approaches that were made in their regard in second half of the twentieth century -- approaches that tended to correspond with a concurrent "horizontalization&…
Approaches to Simpler Vestment Designs
Within the Church, the concept of "noble simplicity" is both frequently misunderstood and it is also often inappropriately weaponized against more traditional and ornamental expressions in liturgical art. In architecture this manifest itself in many "white-w…
High Altar of the Church of San Tomaso Cantuariense in Padua -- A Genuine Example of Noble Simplicity
The high altar of the church of San Tomaso Cantuariense in Padua, which dates to the first half of the eighteenth century, presents a very good example of an elegant altar and altarpiece coming from within the counter-reformation tradition . As such, it features a very large…
The Papal Basilica of San Lorenzo Fuori le Mura
Rome has four major basilicas, all of which are papal basilicas (formerly, patriarchal basilicas): St. Peter's, St. John Lateran, St. Mary Major and St. Paul Outside the Walls. There is, however, a fifth papal basilica in Rome, though unlike the previous papal basilicas…
Introducing Regina Sanctorum: Hand-Painted Paschal Candles
When you're dealing with 'bespoke' art -- not catalogue art -- it is always important to recall that it is a good idea to plan ahead. Original, customized liturgical art takes time to plan and execute, but of course, the end result can be much more meaningful t…
A Treasury of Liturgical Art at St. Mary's in Wausau, Wisconsin
One of the more beautiful parishes in the United States surely must be St. Mary's Oratory in Wausau, Wisconsin under the care of the Institute of Christ the King. The history of the church is one of both tragedy and revival. The church was erected in 1892, replacing a p…
The Thirteenth Century Chasuble of the Treasury of St. Aldegonde
The chasuble of the treasury of St. Aldegonde is a thirteenth century chasuble coming in the conical form -- a form much larger than what most would call 'gothic' today. It is perhaps a good example to consider also for the reason that we frequently tend to associat…
