C onrad Schmitt Studios recently announced that they were awarded the 2022 Acanthus Award for Interior Design for their work at St. Bernadette Catholic Church in Scottsdale, Arizona, and it is a project that I've been planning on sharing with our readers for some time.
Before and After: St. Bernadette Catholic Church in Scottsdale, Arizona
C onrad Schmitt Studios recently announced that they were awarded the 2022 Acanthus Award for Interior Design for their work at St. Bernadette Catholic Church in Scottsdale, Arizona, and it is a project that I've been planning on sharing with our readers for some time.
New Shrine Dedicated to Blessed Karl by Canning Liturgical Arts
There is always good news coming from the church of Saint Agnes in St. Paul, Minnesota. The parish has long been a beacon of liturgical arts and devotion, spirituality and piety. On Sunday, October 20th, the parish unveiled a new shrine to Blessed Karl (1887-1922), designe…
Grandeur and Devotion: St. Josaphat Basilica in Milwaukee
Only a handful of churches in the United States, eighty or so, enjoy the privilege of being designated a basilica. Basilica status is granted by a papal brief. It bestows and affirms preeminence among churches and is considered a special honor. Ideally, in addition to their…
New Design Unveiled for the French Abbey of Saint-Marie de la Garde
The Abbey of St. Mary de la Garde is one of the most peaceful and beautiful places to visit in the French countryside, imbued with the beauty and rural colors of the surrounding farms. LAJ has written about La Garde before here . I have been privileged to visit the monastery…
The Custom of Passiontide Veiling
Catholics should be attentive to what attracts outsiders to the Faith. The little traditions - many of which have been lost - teach and inspire others to enter more fully into the mysteries of faith. Thankfully the beloved custom of veiling statues for Passiontide (the fina…
Before and After: St. Matthew's in Shullsburg, Wisconsin
C onrad Schmitt Studios recently announced a new project they will be undertaking at St. Matthews Church in Shullsburg, Wisconsin. Now this is a bit of a different "before and after" because it has not actually been completed yet, however, many companies today are …
Motifs in Renaissance Vestments: The Cammino Motif
The Cammino motif was a design that came out of the fifteenth century and was characterized by a meandering, horizontal motif ("cammino" translates loosely as journey or path) which is comprised by shapes akin to the petals of a flower which were set into a repeat…
Corallium Rubrum: Italian "Red Gold" in Liturgical Art
C orallium rubrum , or red coral, is the name given to a variety of coral found in the Mediterranean which comes in an orangey-reddish shade from whence we derive the name of the colour called "coral rose" -- a particularly popular variant for rose vestments in the …
The Art of Photographing Catholic Liturgies and Liturgical Rites
In this current age of social media and instant news, the crucial role of Catholic photographers devoted to the sacred liturgy is forever being highlighted. They help deepen the knowledge of those who see their photos, creating their own new kind of mainstream Christian ico…
Solemn Versus Ordinary Ornaments: A Comparison of Two Chasubles
The two vestments shown here both belonged to the same prelate and as such present us with a good opportunity to make an "apples to apples" comparison in the differentiation that typically is made between regular, day to day liturgical ornaments versus those which…
The Tradition of the Rosa d'Oro (Golden Rose) of Laetare Sunday
The tradition of the golden rose, or rosa d'oro , is one that many may not be familiar with. It is, precisely as the name suggests, a rose fashioned in gold which, for centuries, popes would confer as a gift upon royals and nobles, even cities, that had demonstrated a pa…
More Examples of Lenten Veils -- the "Velum Quadrigesimale"
In the past, we have spoken of the Lenten veil before -- the "velum quadrigesimale." To summarize in brief, it is a kind of visual or aesthetic form of fasting. Just as one might opt for more sober vestments during Lent (not necessarily of course, but it was an o…
Six Altar Crosses from the Sixteenth Century
Liturgical metalwork frequently takes a back seat in popular interest to items such as sacred vestments, but alongside vestments, the ornaments of the altar such as candlesticks, cross, thurible can be amongst some of the most significant in setting the 'tone' of th…
Lessons in Liturgical Arts History As Seen Through Liturgical Advertisements
If you are ever browsing through copies of Liturgical Arts Quarterly (LAQ), especially those dating from prior to the 1950's, one of the areas of the periodical that you might be tempted to skip past are the glossy pages found at the back of each issue which was a secti…
St. Charles Borromeo's Instructions on the Vesting of the Altar (Antependia and Altar Linens)
Continuing on with our considerations of St. Charles Borromeo's lesser discussed instructions around the liturgical arts, we turn today to one of my own favourite topics, the antependium (or altar frontal). In addition to this, while we are on the subject of the vesting…
St. Charles Borromeo's Instructions on the Form of the Tabernacle, Altar Cross and Candlesticks
St. Charles Borromeo was the Cardinal Archibishop of Milan, home of the Ambrosian rite, and there is always plenty of interest in St. Charles' liturgical instructions. It should be noted these liturgical instructions were issued by him for those under his jurisdiction a…
Romanitas: The Traditional Use of Fragrant Greenery for Processions
If you stumble around Rome enough, you'll eventually run into some old Roman customs that have, fortunately, been hung onto despite the turbulence of the past half century. In the Handbook of Christian and Ecclesiastical Rome by M.A.R. Tuker and Hope Malleson they menti…
A Brief Survey of Neoclassicial Vestments from 1760-1850
Neoclassicism was a movement which rose between the period of approximately 1760-1850. The movement was one which finds its originations in Rome, popularized by the writer Johann Joachim Winckelmann, following the rediscovering of the ancient Roman cities of Pompeii and the…
The Sacred Liturgy as Art: A Benedictine Monk Writes in 1936
[The following essay is taken from Liturgical Arts Quarterly , 1936, volume 5, no. 2. Contextually it should be noted that the context in which Dom Hammendstede writes was that of the classical Roman liturgy -- or what we today refer to more commonly as the "usus antiq…
Romanesque Revival in Rome: Santa Maria Addolorata a piazza Buenos Aires
If one wishes to see how to make a new building look and feel antique, then one need look no further than the Roman church of Santa Maria Addolorata a piazza Buenos Aires (and if one is in Rome, one must make certain to specify "a piazza Buenos Aires" as there is…
Motifs in Renaissance Vestments: The Pomegranate Pattern
One of the most popular renaissance motifs, perhaps the most popular, was called the Pomegranate pattern. It should be noted that while the design is specifically referred to in relation to the pomegranate fruit, the design also included elements such as pine cones (pigna),…
Bertram Goodhue and the Church of St. Vincent Ferrer in New York City
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If you want to see gothic revival at some of its very best in North America, one need only look to the beautiful Dominican church of St. Vincent Ferrer, located in Manhattan (New York City) to see an example of the genre at its height. In the British sphere, we are accustom…
Some Examples of Historical Processional Lanterns
Processional lanterns are an item that were once commonly used within the Latin rite but is one of those elements that has become less noticeable since the post-conciliar period -- although there is no such necessity let it be noted; it is merely symptomatic of a continuati…
