One of the architects at SVPA Architects , an architectural firm based in West Des Moines, lowa, recently reached out to LAJ to inform us of a recently completed a renovation at St. Cecilia's Catholic Church in Ames, lowa -- a church that was only rededicated this past J…
Before and After: St. Cecilia's Catholic Church in Ames, Iowa
One of the architects at SVPA Architects , an architectural firm based in West Des Moines, lowa, recently reached out to LAJ to inform us of a recently completed a renovation at St. Cecilia's Catholic Church in Ames, lowa -- a church that was only rededicated this past J…
The Byzantine Era Monastery of Kaisariani in Attica
Dedicated to the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Monastery of Kaisariani is located in Attica, near Athens, Greece. The monastic church -- or "katholikon" -- follows a typical Byzantine cross-in-square plan, though additions were made in later centuri…
Rome's Borghese Chapel: Salus Populi Romani Icon
One of the most cherished sites in Rome through the centuries is the Patriarchal Basilica of St. Mary Major, also known as the Liberian Basilica. Here art and faith find a perfect union. This historic church is built atop Rome's highest hill, the Esquiline. A distingui…
The Guild of St. Stephen for Altar Servers (Sancti Stephani Archisodalitas)
The Archconfraternity of St. Stephen is the only official international guild of altar servers. It exists for their formation and organization. It promotes a high standard of serving at the altar by which the server can sanctify his soul and obtain salvation. He can also ed…
The Christmas Preface: Praefatio de Nativitate Domini
The Preface prayers are some of the most solemn written pieces of prayer in the history of Western civilization. Authorship is unknown. We can only imagine these prayers were written by priests in Rome. It is impossible to know how old they are, but we can assume they are o…
A Precious Neopolitan Monstrance Gifted to the Holy Land in the Mid-Eighteenth Century
The Terra Sancta Museum is host to numerous liturgical treasures that are of inestimable value, and while these objects value may well also be 'material' in nature, it is actually their cultural, liturgical and spiritual value which is their greatest and most import…
Ss. Peter and Paul by Eric Armusik
E ric Armusik is a classical figurative artist based out of Pennsylvania whose work we have featured before, but it is specifically his depiction of Ss. Peter and Paul that I wished to draw your specific attention to today. This particular work was commissioned from the arti…
The Benedictine Abbey of Monte Oliveto Maggiore
The Abbey of Monte Oliveto Maggiore is one of the most well-known territorial abbeys in the Benedictine world. It is located in Tuscany, near Siena and is also quite close to Assisi. The beautiful red brick buildings stand out against the blue sky and sandy countryside. As …
The Roman Basilica of Saints Celso and Giuliano
For fans of Pope Pius XII, the Roman Basilica of Santi Celso e Giuliano (Saints Celso and Giuliano) is one of the most important sites in the city. It was here the future pope was baptized by his uncle Don Giuseppe Pacelli with the name 'Eugenio' when he was only tw…
The Spanish Church and Altarpieces of San Juan de Recesende
The church of San Juan de Recesende is located in the small town of Recesende, Spain. Originally the church was of Romanesque era origins, and while some of these origins still remain visible down to this day, the church has gone through various modifications over the centu…
The Twelfth Century Wilten Chalice, Paten and Fistulae
The collection of the Kunsthistoriches Museum in Vienna , Austria, contains a rather interesting and unique bit of medieval metalwork: the twelfth century Wilten Chalice and Paten (the name of which is derived from the fact that it originally came from Wilten Abbey in Tyrol,…
Velvet and Gold: A Cardinalatial Antependium from the High Renaissance
We're on the cusp of the feast and octave of the Nativity, so it is an apropros time to share a bit of festal gold, this time coming in the form of an antependium dated to circa 1517-1526, a design which is attributed to two painters of the Florentine school, Andrea del…
The Church of Saint-Roch in Paris
Paris is a city of churches with over 200 stunning Catholic churches / chapels / oratories, each with a unique design and character of its own. One of our favorites is Saint-Roch , a magnificent temple that brings to mind the insistence of St. Thomas Aquinas on three propert…
Cardinal Burke's Titular Church in Rome: Sant'Agata dei Goti
The recently restored Sant'Agata of the Goths is a hidden gem in Rome, tucked in behind the Angelicum, on the downward slope of the Quirinale Hill. It is dedicated to St. Agatha of Sicily, the renowned martyr of Catania, one of seven women commemorated in the Roman Cano…
An Example of a Leather Antependium from Old Quebec City (1675-1725)
In the past we have featured some historical leather veatments as well as some of the leather antependia that can still be procured from contempoary atelier's such as Lutson , a firm located in Gascony, France. In the course of some other, unrelated research, I happened…
Advent in the Roman Missal: The Rorate Mass
The first time I attended the Votive Mass "Rorate" in honor of the Most Holy Virgin Mary, I was living in the Sandy Hill neighborhood of Ottawa, Canada. In the pre-dawn hour I recall walking in the dark, frigid cold to the nearby FSSP parish. Upon entering the war…
A Monastic Inspired Marian Chasuble from Talleres de Arte Granda
It has been a little while since we've had the opportunity to feature some new vestment work, and with the Feast of Immaculate Conception being just yesterday, it seemed an opportune time to feature a bespoke commission that Talleres de Arte Granda recently completed fo…
Five Marian Chasubles for the Feast of the Immaculate Conception
With it being the feast of the Immaculate Conception, we wanted to share a few antique Marian chasubles that feature the Immaculate Conception (or at very least Marian imagery). In the past we've done this by showing some of the famed and ever popular Cerulean blue chas…
Icons and Illuminations by Ioanna Belcea
In previous articles we have featured the compelling liturgical art of the studio of Ioana Belcea and today we are going to continue our consideration of her work, this time not of her mosaics and frescoes, but rather her iconography and illuminations . The beauty of such pi…
Before and After: The Restoration of Belmont Chapel in Newport, Rhode Island
The Belmont Memorial Chapel is a small church that is located on the grounds of Island Cemetery in Newport, Rhode Island. While that goes slightly outside our usually rather tight sphere of focus here at LAJ, I believe our readers will be very interested in this particular …
Silver Elegance: An Eighteenth Century Italian Thurible in White Silver
Silver, like gold, does not have a singular expression. Rather, silver comes in a range of different shades. Some silvers are very cool and greyish in their hue while others have other underlying secondary colours such as pink/red. However one of those beautiful shades, in…
The Sagrestia Vecchia (Old Sacristy) of the Church of San Lorenzo in Florence
Sacristies are generally places you do not want to miss when you're touring an older European church. Generally speaking, while you may not get a look at the sacred vestments, these are still places of great interest, being more akin to chapels than mere dressing rooms,…
The Cathedral of Our Lady of Amiens (Cathédrale Notre-Dame d'Amiens)
The truly stupendous Amiens Cathedral at once takes hold of the soul -- it is one of the finest churches raised to the Glory of God. Constructed from 1220-1270, a short period for a Gothic cathedral, this lovely church is renowned for its unusual unity of style. Like other …
