Today I thought we'd take a quick look at a processional cross that was made in the year 1545. This particular cross is gilded in silver and includes decoration on both the front and back sides. On the front side we find a typical, traditional crucifixion setting, with …
A Processional Cross from the Year 1545
Today I thought we'd take a quick look at a processional cross that was made in the year 1545. This particular cross is gilded in silver and includes decoration on both the front and back sides. On the front side we find a typical, traditional crucifixion setting, with …
The Curious Zucchetto of Pope Pius VI
Most everyone has seen a zucchetto (whether they know it or not). It is the skullcap worn by popes and prelates, as well as by some other clerics, monastics and mendicants. The official name for this item of vesture is actually a "pileolus." The custom of wearing o…
A New Marian Crown Crafted in Malta
With today being the feast of Our Lady of Fatima, we'd like to share today a new ornamental crown that has been designed for the same by the Maltese artist, Gabriel Farrugia. First, some background about the artist.
The Clementine Chapel of the Vatican Basilica (La Clementina)
One of my favorite places to visit in the Christian world is the Clementine Chapel of the Vatican Basilica. Here visitors are immersed in the gilded Baroque splendor of the basement crypt of St. Peter's Basilica, where the Blessed Apostle Peter is buried. This chapel is…
The Papal Court: Prince Assistants to the Papal Throne (Principe Assistente al Soglio Pontificio)
The man in the impressive uniform here is Principe Aspreno II Colonna (1916-1987), Prince of Paliano (a town east of Rome) and First Prince Assistant to the Papal Throne. He was the last of two Princes who held the hereditary role of "Prince Assistant to the Papal Thro…
The Reredos of St Joseph's Church, Stanley, Durham
Few things can be more beautiful than a well crafted, carved wooden reredos, especially in the gothic style and the reredos of St. Joseph's Catholic Church in Stanley in the United Kingdom is certainly no exception to this. While the rest of the church is fairly typica…
The Sixteenth Century Marian Cope of Joan de Terès, Archbishop of Tarragona, Spain
The month of May is the month of Mary, and what better time to share this splendid cope, dated to the period of 1587-1603. We know that dating in part because we know for whom it was commissioned: Joan de Terès, Archbishop of Tarragona, Spain. The overall shape of the cope …
Santa Maria Reina de la Familia by Estudio Urbano (Cayalá, Guatemala)
In 2022 this beautiful new church of Santa María Reina de la Familia (Holy Mary Queen of the Family) was dedicated in Ciudad Cayalá, a new urban quarter of Guatemala. It was 14 years in the making from the first sketch in 2008 to the final completion. Needless to say, the d…
Apparelled Amice from Solemnis in Poland
Apparel on an amice or alb is a rare sight in most parts of the world. It brings to mind the vestments of the Middle-Ages, still seen today in some places such as England, Spain or Australia. For many Catholics it is most commonly seen in the Anglican Ordinariate, with infl…
The Corporal of the Rite of Lyon
The Archdiocese of Lyon, the Prima Sedes Galliarum , has a very ancient particular liturgy, the Rite of Lyon ( Rite Lyonnais ). This immemorial rite, a variant of the Roman Rite, dates from around the Carolingian period (8th-9th century). It comes in direct line from Rome. Thi…
The Remains of the Basilica of Santa Maria Antiqua in the Roman Forum
Since we spent some time showing you the old basilica of "Snnta Maria Nova" (now known as Santa Francesca Romana), we may as well show you the other side of that coin (so to speak): Santa Maria Antiqua -- or "Old St. Mary's" as we would tend to say i…
