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The Basilica of Santa Francesa Romana is not a Roman basilica one typically hears of and yet it sits in one of the most prominent and well-visited tourist attractions in all of Rome: the Roman Forum. Originally, in the eighth century, another oratory had been established on…
The Roman Basilica of Santa Francesca Romana (Santa Maria Nova)
The Basilica of Santa Francesa Romana is not a Roman basilica one typically hears of and yet it sits in one of the most prominent and well-visited tourist attractions in all of Rome: the Roman Forum. Originally, in the eighth century, another oratory had been established on…
The “San Filippo Neri” Chasuble by Sacra Domus Aurea
S acra Domus Aurea has made a name for itself as a first-rate designer and tailor of bespoke liturgical vestments. The owner is Anamaria who has grown her business over the years and now her unique vestment creations can be seen everywhere. In these images we can see an examp…
National Shrine of Our Lady of Victory (Diocese of Buffalo, New York)
Throughout the world, wherever the cross of Christ has been planted, the wellspring of beautiful churches follows. This has been seen in virtually every corner of the world, giving rise to other-worldly beauty that nourishes the roots of faith and serves to give glory to Go…
Anatomy of a Maltese Altar
Malta is a small island nation located in the Mediterranean just south of Sicily, but what it lacks in goegraphic size, it more than makes up for in the magnanimity of its liturgical art -- specifically baroque liturgical art. Malta has seen many of the traditions of the Ch…
The Cartegloria of S. Ignazio from the Altar of St. Ignatius in the Gesu, Rome
The Gesu (or more properly the Church of the Holy Name of Jesus) in Rome is well enough known to many of our readers. It is the mother church of the Jesuits in Rome and one of the foremost examples of a baroque church in the Eternal City. One of the most famous altars found…
Historical Re-Creation of a Jesuit Chapel in the Czech Republic
Petr Hofman, a reader based in the former Czechoslovakia, sent LAJ some news about the historical re-creation of the altar of an old Jesuit chapel that has been created as part of an event that takes place in the Czech Republic that celebrates the rich ecclesiastical histor…
Book Review: Sacred Music and Liturgy After Vatican II: Significant Works of Monsignor Richard J. Schuler
Our kind friends at Arouca Press have published a wonderful new book that highlights the writings of Monsignor Schuler, penned over the span forty years and originally written for one of our favorite publications, Sacred Music, of which he was once the editor. This new vol…
English Gothic Revivalism: Joseph Aloysius Pippet and the Church of the Sacred Heart, Caterham, England
The Church of the Sacred Heart of Jesus located in Caterham, Surrey, England was built in the year 1881 and follows a classic gothic revival pattern, typical to the tastes of the time and place in which it was built, taking in many regards the template of a medieval parish …
A Seventeenth Century Festal Chasuble from St. Stephen's Cathedral in Vienna, Austria
There is a chasuble that is found in the treasury of St. Stephen's Cathedral in Vienna, Austria that for a long while I have sought to feature, but regrettably very little information is available about it, beyond the fact of where it is located. Some date the chasuble …
National Shrine of St. Alphonsus Liguori in Baltimore
The National Shrine of St. Alphonsus Liguori looks with pardonable pride upon the city of Baltimore. Its majestic spire rears aloft within a block of the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Assumption, the first cathedral in the nation. The shrine is known as “Baltimore’…
A Festal Easter Chasuble from Early Eighteenth Century Quebec
Continuing on with some of our considerations of vestments appropriate to the Easter Season, as well as our considerations of the exquisite vestment and embroidery work of Mother Marie Lemaire des Anges and the Ursulines of Québec, here today we take a quick look at what is…
The Sacred Art of Raúl Berzosa
My favorite living oil on canvas painter is Raúl Berzosa, a Spanish-born artist from Málaga, Spain. His works are many and prolific, seen in various churches and chapels round the world, including Spain, Portugal, Italy, Guatemala, Colombia, Argentina, England, and the Unit…
Borromeo Style Chasuble by Altarworthy
Altarworthy has created a luminous hand-tailored brocatelle (silk-linen) in antiquated look with an incredible medieval Italian motif in the Borromeo style. The trim is in blue with a golden floral pattern. In the pattern of the rich fabric two animals emerge: a lion and a …
A Solemn Easter Chasuble Produced by the Ursulines of Quebec in the Early 1700's
In previous articles we have shared the incredible embroidery work of Mother Marie Lemaire des Anges of the Ursuline Convent of Quebec and had noted that she had passed this tradition down to her younger sisters whom she apprenticed in this art. In that vein, and to continu…
A Nineteenth Century French or Belgian Easter Chasuble
While I regrettably do not have any historical information on this particular set of vestments, given that it comes in a style we have not frequently shown here it seems worthwhile to look at it all the same. What I can say, just by virtue of looking at the style, materials…
The Potentialities of Classic Italian Romanesque
One of the most pleasing styles of Christian architecture, to my mind, is neither gothic (with apologies to Pugin) nor baroque (with apologies to Bernini) but rather Italianate Romanesque, strongly rooted as it is in the classic Roman models that have come to characterize t…
Three Hearts Pilgrimage in Oklahoma
Each year in October the Three Hearts Pilgrimage takes place in the foothills of Oklahoma, a 2-day 35 mile penitential walk in the medieval footprint. The final destination is the Traditional Benedictine monastery of Our Lady of Clear Creek Abbey in Hulbert, where a joyous …
Cardinal Stickler's Memorable Pontifical Mass at St. Patrick's Cathedral (1996)
On May 12, 1996 - Mother's Day - a watershed moment happened for the renewal of sacred liturgy. That day the Austrian-born Alfonse Cardinal Stickler, age 85, sang Pontifical Mass at St. Patrick's Cathedral in New York City. The day marked the first time a senior pre…
A Festal Altar Frontal from the Workshop of the Ursulines of Quebec
Returning to our considerations of the exquisite embroidery work of the Ursulines of New France (i.e. modern day Quebec, Canada), while we have already shown you two quite impressive frontals form this atelier, perhaps none is more impressive than this particular offering w…
A Selection of Nineteenth Century French Cloth of Gold Vestments
If there are any two times of the liturgical year that would especially seem to warrant the use of the colour gold, it is on the high feasts of Christmas and Easter. When it comes to gold vestments, few have perhaps embraced this so much as the French did in the nineteenth …
The Hand-Illuminated Liturgical Books of the Twentieth Century English Artist Edward Bulley
We don't often get an opportunity to feature contemporary liturgical books that have been hand-illuminated, so when we do we can hardly let such a rare opportunity slip us by. For that reason we are particularly pleased to present a set of liturgical books that were cal…
Rise of the Phoenix: A Unique Sicilian Easter Vestment Set
A lot of the vestments we feature here, and a lot of vestments out there in general, contain similar themes where figurative or symbolic imagery are concerned and it is for that reason that I thought I would share with our readers this interesting chasuble coming from 18th …
