The Abbey of Ephesus was completed in October 2018 and is the home of the Benedictines of Mary, Queen of Apostles in northwest Missouri. (The sisters are well-known for their vestment making.)
Designed by William Heyer Architect of Columbus, Ohio and constructed by Straub …
New Abbey Church of the Benedictines of Mary, Queen of the Apostles
The Abbey of Ephesus was completed in October 2018 and is the home of the Benedictines of Mary, Queen of Apostles in northwest Missouri. (The sisters are well-known for their vestment making.)
Designed by William Heyer Architect of Columbus, Ohio and constructed by Straub …
New Green Gothic Revival Chasuble from AltarWorthy
Today I wanted to share another chasuble coming out of AltarWorthy , a company based out of the United States. This particular chasuble is a gothic revival cut of course, utilizing a fairly standard orphrey pattern.
What struck me about this piece, however, was the green te…
Restoring Halloween to the Domestic Church
Halloween always seems to bring out strong and often starkly opposing positions among my fellow traditional Catholics. Some avoid the holiday like the plague, while others attempt to restore some Christian meaning to it. Everyone, however, is agreed that its demonic excesse…
Customs of Martinmas
Continuing on with our consideration of some of the customs associated with this time of the liturgical year, one which is coming upon us soon is the feast of St. Martin of Tours, the fourth century Roman soldier who was to become a bishop, celebrated on November 11th. His…
Advent Customs: St. Barbara's Branches (Barbarazweige)
Continuing on with our preparations for Advent, let us now turn to an Advent custom which is particularly rooted within the Germanic tradition -- where so many Advent and Christmas traditions seem to originate -- Barbarazweige or St. Barbara's branches. While Germanic i…
Preparing for Advent: The Custom of the Advent Wreath
With November fast approaching, Advent will soon be upon us. While we are not there quite yet of course, if people and families are to be prepared or it, they need time to think about how they might observe it. In view of that, I wanted to begin to make a few suggestions …
Modern Polish Chasuble (Mid-Twentieth Century)
This fascinating "modern" chasuble caught my eye on display in one of the many interesting museum rooms at the Jasna Góra Monastery at the Our Lady of Częstochowa Shrine in Poland. It is definitely worth sharing on account of its great beauty and historic import -…
Papal Humiliations III: The Cock of the Lateran
In previous posts on the flax burning and sedia stercoraria , we have seen how the ancient ceremony of papal coronation evinced a continual concern with reminding the new pontiff, at the very moment of his elevation to the loftiest office in Christendom, that he remained a m…
Before and After: St. Stanislaus Oratory, Milwaukee
Today I wished to present a before and after that is slightly different. Instead of our usual view of an entire church or sanctuary going from something more modern to traditional, we are today going to mainly consider the altar -- though I will provide some broader views …
1600: An Ambrosian Gift to the Holy Land
Some of you may have seen this posting by Zachary Thomas on the LAJ Facebook page coming from the holdings of the Terra Sancta Museum . but I wanted to share them here on the site proper as well. (These are also being cross-posted at the same time over on NLM incidentally s…
Meditations on the Judica Me (Psalm 42) of the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite
Pictured below is photo I took on a recent Autumn pilgrimage through the south of France. We had Mass on the French Riviera in Nice at Saint-Jacques-le-Majeur (aka the Église du Gesù) , under the care of the priests of the Institute of Christ the King Sovereign Priest. Thr…
Manuel Farrugia: Ecstasy of St. Teresa
Some of our readers may already be acquainted with Manuel Farrugia. Farrugia, who hails from Malta, is just 29 years old but despite his young age he has already put together an impressive portfolio of sacred works. One of his major works was featured in The Catholic Heral…
Papal Humiliations II: The Papal Sedia Stercoraria
In a previous article we discussed flax burning during the papal coronation rite . Today we consider a related ceremony, the Possession , i.e. when the pope takes formal possession of the Lateran cathedral and palace. Just as in the coronation rite, here too the ancient cerem…
Some Liturgical Effects of Blessed John Henry Newman
The feast day of Blessed John Henry Newman was celebrated this week (October 9th to be precise) and before the week passes us by I didn't want to miss an opportunity to resurrect some photos of a liturgical arts nature tied to Newman and the Birmingham Oratory.
Of part…
Sacristy Tips: Instructions for Cleaning and Polishing Thuribles of Different Metals
Recently LAJ published a very brief and simple tutorial on shining tarnished brass items like thuribles, candlesticks, etc. using super fine steel wool. We put out the word that we are always on the look out for new submissions to our "Sacristy Tips" series and …
Christ the King Chapel at Christendom College in Virginia
LAJ was pleased to receive an update on the new chapel of Christ the King planned for Christendom College, the Catholic classical liberal arts college located in Front Royal, Virginia founded by Warren H. Carroll. The following images are from O'Brien and Keane Archite…
Some Noble Gothic Revival Vestments
The following photo-post is intended to simply provide readers with a few examples of some of the very fine gothic revival vestment work that is found in Britain, and especially from St Dominic's Church - The Shrine of Our Lady of the Rosary where all of these photos we…
Late Medieval English Vestments
Norwich Castle Museum in Norfolk, has a small but significant collection of late medieval English embroidery and among the collection are a number of items for church use: two funerary palls and the remains of two copes. I had the privilege of being able to view and photo…
Before and After: St. Mary's Church, Norwalk, Connecticut
We are pleased to share another 'before and after' today, this time coming from the firm of Duncan G. Stroik Architect and St. Mary's Church in Norwalk, CT. Here is what Stroik's firm says about the project:
"The renovation of the sanctuary of Saint …
Synergy in the Liturgical Arts
Very often when it comes to church furnishing and art, while there is a harmony amongst the component pieces, there is not necessarily a purposeful and studied integration between them. What do I mean? What I mean is that you may have an altar and an altar piece, as an ex…
A 17th Century Defense of Rood Screens
The following is a chapter taken from Fr. Jean-Baptiste Thiers' Dissertation on Rood Screens , a 17th-century essay defending the importance of rood screens in French churches. In this chapter, the author explains the principle of tradition from the point of view of the …
Paraments of the Order of the Golden Fleece
Today I wanted to to show readers another set of vestments coming from the Imperial Treasury of Vienna , this time a set that was made for the Austrian branch of the Order of the Golden Fleece -- one of the most elite orders of chivalry in Europe, comprised almost exclusive…
New (Traditional) Altars and Altar Rails by Duncan G. Stroik, Architect
If you think substantial altars and altar rails are now a thing of the distant past, capable of only seeing much simpler or more mediocre manifestations today, then think again. Here is just a small sampling of some of the new work that is taking place today, and these co…
