Before we leave the great feast and Octave of Pentecost for yet another year, I wanted to share the following vestment that recently came out of the atelier of Sacra Domus Aurea , an atelier based out of Italy that specializes in vestments of various cuts and styles, all of …
Beauty and Catechetical Symbolism: Sacra Domus Aurea's New Pentecost Set
Before we leave the great feast and Octave of Pentecost for yet another year, I wanted to share the following vestment that recently came out of the atelier of Sacra Domus Aurea , an atelier based out of Italy that specializes in vestments of various cuts and styles, all of …
Pentecost Vestments from Nineteenth Century France
For our final Pentecost consideration during what remains of the traditional observance of the Octave of Pentecost, I thought we would take a brief look at some nineteenth century, French vestments. The vestments in question are absolutely indicative of the French style and…
Croci Dipinte: Hand-Painted Italian Crucifixes by the Dal Molin Stefano
Medieval Italian crucifixes are something both distinctive and appealing. The most famous medieval, Italianate crucifix is, without a doubt, the famed San Damiano crucifix associated with St. Francis of Assisi, though there are of course others. Crucifixes such as these are…
Antependia for Pentecost
As we continue our Pentecost considerations this week, I wished to turn our readers attention to various antependia -- that is to say, altar frontals -- which would have been specifically intended for use on Pentecost Sunday, as well as the entire octave of Pentecost as wel…
The Chartres Pilgrimage (Pèlerinage de Chartres)
The Chartres Pilgrimage, also known as the Le Pèlerinage de Chartres, is a walking pilgrimage organized each year in France in conjunction with the liturgical feast known as the Solemnity of Pentecost (Whitsunday). It draws roughly 20,000+ participants from 22 countries, ma…
The Local and Universal Church: A Unique Quebecois Themed Vestment for Pentecost
Over the years we have presented a variety of Pentecost themed vestments. Most of these vestments include the usual elements of the Pentecost dove, while some have included symbols of Pentecost fire, but today we are going to feature something a little bit different. It is …
Antonello Gagini's Exquisite 'Madonna di Trapani' in Palermo
Earlier in the month, we did an article on a beautiful, classical like statue of the Madonna of Trapani found in the Basilica santuario di Maria Santissima Annunziata in Trapani, Sicily and today we are pleased to be able to present another "Madonna of Trapani," t…
Rugo Stone and McCrery Architects Team Up at Holy Spirit Church in Annandale, Virginia
R ugo Stone and McCrery Architects combined their respective talents at Holy Spirit Catholic Church in Annandale, Virginia in the year 2021 for a project that involved the installation of new and beautiful stone altars, sanctuary pavement, mosaic works and two pieces of cust…
Sicilian Vestment Works of the Eighteenth Century: Working with Pastels
Springtime, with the blooming of spring flowers and the perfumed scents of greenery once again permeating the air, along with May being the month of Mary in addition, often brings to the fore for me, beautiful floriated vestment designs, especially the sort that are made up…
Christ's Eternal Sacrifice Mural by New Jerusalem Studios at St. Gabriel's Church in Cave Creek, Arizona
N ew Jerusalem Studios , a firm based out of Phoenix, Arizona, specializes in the production of large scale sacred art murals and one of their relatively recent projects (2021) can be found at St. Gabriel the Archangel Catholic Church which is located in Cave Creek, Arizona. I…
Before and After: John Paul II Newman Center at the UIC (University of Illinois Chicago)
Continuing on with our consider of before and after projects, we are pleased to turn to a project completed in 2022 by Studio io in collaboration with Murals by Jericho . The project in question comes from the University of Illinois Chicago (UIC)'s John Paul II Newman Ce…
Sicilian Baroque: The Cappella dell'Immacolata in the Church of San Francesco d'Assisi in Palermo
Located within the thirteenth century church of San Francesco d'Assisi in Palermo is an even more impressive chapel, the Cappella dell'Immacolata (Chapel of the Immaculate) -- sometimes also referred to as the Cappella Senatoria . This particular chapel is characteri…
Before and After Update: Further Decorative Works Now Installed at Our Lady, Star of the Sea Chapel
In a previous article of Sept. 2024, we covered a project executed by Studio io that involved the conversion of a dining hall into a chapel; the chapel in question is Our Lady, Star of the Sea, located in the "Our Lady Healing Center" in Seadrift, Texas. Well, in …
The May Crowning Ceremony
The annual May Crowning ceremony is a cherished Catholic devotion generally held in early May—the month dedicated to Our Lady—when a statue of Our Blessed Mother is ceremonially crowned with flowers to honor her as the Mother of God and the Queen of Heaven. A Lost Tradition…
Watts & Co's New 'Sainte-Chapelle' Inspired Line of Vestments
Anyone who has followed the history and tenure of Watts & Co. of London will know that they are known for two things in particular: their passion for bold, medievally inspired designs and medievally inspired vestments generally. They are, of course, experienced at other…
The Classical Beauty of the Statue of the Madonna di Trapani in Sicily
In this Marian month of May, we turn our attention to one of the most elegant and beautiful statues of the Virgin and Child you may ever come across -- at least in this writer's estimation -- the Madonna di Trapani located in the Basilica santuario di Maria Santissima A…
Before and After: Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Custer, Wisconsin
Recently, Conrad Schmitt Studios share the following with us, about a recently completion renovation at Sacred Heart Catholic Church located in Custer, Wisconsin. We are excited to share the newly completed liturgical decoration at Sacred Heart, an artistic renewal that hon…
Examples of the Solemn and Common Form of the Formale with the Image of the Holy Spirit
The Formale is a medieval ornament and something we covered previously in a 2022 article on this topic, but by way of brief overview, it is a decorative metallic clasp, used by senior prelates, when wearing a cope, covering the place where the cope joins at the front breast…
New Church Architecture: St. John Catholic Church in Stillwater, Oklahoma
C ram and Ferguson Architects are, of course, a storied architectural firm with deep roots in ecclesiastical architecture. While the firm is most often associated with gothic revivalist approaches, you can also find them approaching other styles and such is the case of St. J…
Some Examples of Processional Insignia
One of the things we like to do here at LAJ is present traditions and customs of older Catholic cultures; cultures where Catholic piety became deeply engrained in not only private life, but also "public" life. An example of that is the tradition of outdoor process…
The Chapel of Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal in Paris
With it being May, the month dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary, what better time to share a little something about the Chapel of Notre Dame de la Medaille Miraculeuse in Paris, France. The Chapel of Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal was originally a smaller, private conv…
