The beautiful Saint Agnes Convent in St. Paul, Minnesota was built under the pastorship of Fr. John Gruden from 1951-1953. Fr. Gruden was an author and educator who put great faith in Catholic education and the immense contribution of resident teaching sisters in a parish …
St. Agnes Convent Chapel Renovation by Noble Interiors, Inc.
The beautiful Saint Agnes Convent in St. Paul, Minnesota was built under the pastorship of Fr. John Gruden from 1951-1953. Fr. Gruden was an author and educator who put great faith in Catholic education and the immense contribution of resident teaching sisters in a parish …
Varieties of Violacea Found in the Sixteenth Century
With advent now upon us, it seemed like a good time to pick up on our "varieties of violacea" series, this time focusing on the 16th century. As we have noted in previous articles, the liturgical colour purple has seen various variations throughout its history. S…
Four Altar Candlesticks from the Sixteenth Century
One of the features of any traditionally oriented church that has the power to inspire both awe and attention are the candlesticks found upon the high altar. They are one of the manifestations of the liturgical arts which, while not gaining as much attention as some others,…
An Antependium for Good Friday
Awhile back I came across this interesting antependium from the Corpus Christi, Maiden Lane (located in London, England). As you will see, it is not of the textile variety, being instead comprised (so far as I can see at any rate) of painted details, likely set upon wood. …
Development in Vestment Design: An Example
Following upon our recent consideration of symbols in vestment designs, lest one think I am calling for immobilism in "the informal canon" of design, I thought I would show our readers an example of a vestment that has attempted to develop from the established des…
The American Transformation of the Advent Wreath
Two years ago, Shawn wrote an excellent article on Variations in Form of the Advent Wreath . To briefly summarize, the Advent wreath was native to Germany, where it seems to have begun life as a Lutheran devotion before being cautiously adopted by Catholics. By the time it a…
Symbols in Vestment Design: Some Design Considerations
In the medieval and renaissance period it was common to see embroidered panel scenes within the orphreys of the highest end vestments. Of course not all medieval and renaissance vestments would have had such images for, then as now, not everyone would have been able to affo…
What's in a Painting? A Small Window into the Liturgical and Catechetical Priorities of the Spanish Missions
Recently I came across the following painting which is located in the parish of San Pablo de Catcha, located in Cuzco, Peru. The painting depicts a Solemn Requiem Mass being offered for the Holy Souls -- the priest, deacon and subdeacon vested in black Spanish cut vestments…
The History and Forms of the Christian Altar: The Paleochristian and Early Medieval Forms
Altars are (or ought to be at least), architecturally and liturgically, the central focal point of the interior of our churches. Given their evident importance, it is no surprise that there can be much in the way of disagreement as to what the ideal form of the altar is. De…
Some Historic Churches of Québec
We spend a great deal of time here on LAJ focusing on the old churches of Europe so today I thought I would turn our readers' attention to some of the older churches of the New World -- specifically some of those found in the province of Québec in Canada. Québec is home…
Vestments of Cardinal Prospero Lorenzo Lambertini (Pope Benedict XIV)
Continuing on with our considerations of some of the liturgical articles of historical cardinals, we turn today to Cardinal Prospero Lambertini (1675-1758) who would go on to become Pope Benedict XIV. As a poper, Lambertini became, as Fr. George Rutler would say, A Faithful…
The "Parato Ciceri" - Paraments of Cardinal Carlo Stefano Anastasio Ciceri (1618 - 1694)
The seventeenth century Milanese born Cardinal, Carlo Ciceri, has left us an impressive series of paraments known as the "parato Ciceri" which is a full solemn Mass set in white, inclusive of a matching antependium. The cardinal in question was elevated to that r…
Private Chapel and Vestments of Cardinal Gianfrancesco Gambara (1533-1587)
Today we consider some of the art and vestments coming from Cardinal Gianfrancesco Gambara (1533-1587), a sixteenth century Italian cardinal who was a cleric in the court of Pope Julius III and ultimately made a Cardinal Deacon by Pope Pius IV in 1561. In his role as a card…
A Chasuble for Martinmas (St. Martin's Day)
A few years ago we spoke about the Customs of Martinmas -- the name given to the Feast of St. Martin of Tours which we observe today. St. Martin was a Roman soldier who would become a bishop and as such he is frequently portrayed as a soldier on horseback, giving up his ha…
Balthasar Permoser's Triumph of the Cross
Balthasar Permoser was an important Baroque sculptor known for dynamic dramatic compositions and exquisite carving skills. Born near Salzburg in 1651, he first studied art in Vienna and later in Northern Italy – mostly, Florence. Permoser’s style fuses Germanic and Italiana…
Prelatial Dress of the Religious Orders: The Sylvestrines
Continuing on with our consideration of the traditional prelatial dress of the religious orders , we turn our attention today to the Sylvestrine Congregation of the Benedictines. To refresh our readers memories, traditionally prelates belonging to religious orders had a form…
The Traditional Vestments of the Supreme Pontiff as Used in the Solemn Papal Mass
We live in a very visual, image-based culture and, what's more, there is always lots of curiosity around the matter of traditional papal liturgy, so I thought it might be of interest to some of our readers to visually go through the main items of traditional vesture and…
Tradition and Invention: Lorenzo Lotto’s Christ Of the Vine
Predictions of an impending ecological disaster and an alarming increase of Protestant sympathies in northern Italy had prompted members of the Suardi family, in the early years of the 16th century, to build a chapel on their estate. A simple ecclesial edifice was erected a…
Book Notice: Tresors Inconnus du Vatican: Ceremonial et Liturgie (New, Updated 2021 Edition)
Those interested in ceremonial and liturgical rites attached to the papacy and papal court will be very pleased to know that a new edition of Bernard Berthod's and Pierre Blanchard's, Tresors Inconnus du Vatican: Ceremonial et Liturgie has recently been released thi…
American Indian Requiem Masses
As we continue to pray for our departed under the last of the stunning autumn foliage, there’s no more perfect time to look at some uniquely North American Requiem Masses. These Masses come from the Tsiatak Nihonon8entsiake , or Book of Seven Nations , published in Montreal in…
Reclaiming the Catholic Sense and Use of Memento Mori
M emento mori are remembrances of our mortality. If one takes a stroll through the papal basilicas or various churches of Rome, Europe or parts of the colonial Catholic new world, one will find constant references to such things, whether on funerary monuments showing the ang…
Liturgical and Archeological Notes on the Feast of All Saints
The Feast of All Saints is, many not be aware, very closed tied up with the Pantheon in Rome (S. Maria ad Martyres), which church was the first place the feast in question was manifest with the former pagan temple being consecrated to St. Mary and all the martyrs by Pope Bo…
