With tomorrow being the Feast of Ss. Peter and Paul, we cannot miss an opportunity to feature some liturgical art related to this important feast day within the Roman church. The following antependium, dated to sometime around the year 1300, features a series of embroideri…
A Fourteenth Century (Possibly Papal) Antependium of Ss. Peter and Paul
With tomorrow being the Feast of Ss. Peter and Paul, we cannot miss an opportunity to feature some liturgical art related to this important feast day within the Roman church. The following antependium, dated to sometime around the year 1300, features a series of embroideri…
Spanish Custom of the Santo Niño in Sacerdotal Vestments
The Spanish custom of the Santo Niño vested as a high priest in Spanish vestments is a tradition sometimes seen in Spain, Naples, the Philippines, and South America. The symbolism is poignant and speaks to the heart. Every priest receives his vocation to the priesthood at b…
The Chasuble of Christ the King and the Great Commission
In various articles over the years we have commented on the decline of vestment design in the late nineteenth and twentieth century as standardized, very 'conservative' (as in, relatively plain so as to reach the tastes of the broadest possible audience) 'catalo…
Before and After: Monterey Latin Mass Community Restores Their High Altar
By way of King Richard's Liturgical Design & Contracting , we came across this interesting project: The Monterey Latin Mass Community approached King Richard’s to replicate its lost high altar. Relying on historic photos of the original altar, King Richard’s was prepa…
The "Universal Call to Holiness" Bas Relief by Rugo Stone
Stonework frequently doesn't get the attention it deserves and yet quality stonework frequently can 'make or break' a church project. In point of fact, when we consider the churches of old, their beautiful marble revetments are frequently points of particular no…
The Art of Mending Vestments: Guild of St Clare
It is universally true that vestments should be well maintained. Many thanks to the Guild of St. Clare in London for their important work, helping to repair vestments --a necessary service to help enhance the worthy celebration of the rites. This delicate art has traditiona…
Baltimore Basilica's Adoration Chapel Tabernacle by Granda
On a recent visit to the historic Baltimore Basilica I found myself pleasantly surprised when I stumbled into what has been transformed into a perpetual adoration chapel in the basement crypt or undercroft of the Basilica. In fact, the experience was deeply moving as my hea…
The Elements of the Altar or Holy Table in the Byzantine Tradition
While we have covered off considerations of the altar in the Latin rite, we have yet to ever provide any description of the adornment of the altar -- or "holy table" -- in the Byzantine East. Many of you have no doubt seen images of such altars at some point and …
Introducing A&M Ornamentos Vestments in Spain
As readers know, we are witnessing a veritable renaissance of vestment making all over the world. I would like to call readers' attention to A & M Ornamentos, a family-owned vestment operation located in Spain. Their custom-made chasubles are beautiful, of select fa…
Antique Vestments of the Byzantine Tradition
When considering vestments, we spend most of our time here on LAJ focusing on the vestments of the Latin rite -- and there is certainly plenty to focus on. But it crossed my mind of late how rarely we see antique vestments of the Eastern tradition -- specifically the Byzant…
A Cimabue Inspired Crucifix from Hape Sculpture in Italy
H ape Sculpture located in Val Gardena in the north of Italy, is one of the many traditional woodcarvers located in that region, specializing in traditionally, hand-crafted sculptural works, including beautiful crucifixes in the Italian tradition, such as the work which I wi…
Basilica of St. Lawrence is a Gustavino Masterpiece
One of my favorite churches in the American South is the Basilica of St. Lawrence, located in the mountain town of Asheville in North Carolina. The basilica is a beacon of beauty and immense creativity, one of the most visited places in Asheville.
A Sicilian Missal Cover from the 1500's
What you are seeing is a beautiful specimen of a silver missal cover dated to the 1500's that was created in the workshops of Sicily. The design of this cover includes beautifully etched floriated designs, done in a kind of latticework that allows the underlying coloure…
The Lost Church of the Holy Apostles in Constantinople
One of the most noteworthy of the lost churches of Constantinople is the Church of the Holy Apostles. In this particular instance, the fate of the Holy Apostles had less to do with the Ottoman conquest of the city, and instead suffered a similar fate to that of the old Con…
The Nuestra Señora de la Cristiandad Pilgrimage in Argentina (Peregrinación a Luján)
Liturgical arts are flourishing everywhere and Argentina, a Catholic land, is no exception. Some readers have expressed interest in the annual Nuestra Señora de la Cristiandad (Our Lady of Christendom) pilgrimage in South America. This is the largest annual event of Traditi…
The New Altar of the Sacred Heart at the Oxford Oratory
The following submission was kindly sent in to LAJ by the good fathers of the Oxford Oratory, detailing some of the ongoing architectural restorations and beautifications that are taking place there. In this particular instance, they detail their new altar, done in an Italo…
A Rare Account of Mass in the Sistine Chapel
Below is an article taken from a radio broadcast by Helen Coghill S. Haskin, an American radio lecturer in the 1930s best remembered for her soft, contralto voice. I believe she was a member of the Episcopal Church. The account is taken from The Crusader's Almanac , prin…
The Fifteenth Century Mitre made by Indigenous Mexicans and Gifted to the Pope and St. Charles Borromeo
We have a tendency to think about European art being brought in the direction of the New World -- and it certainly was -- but we don't a often consider that sometimes it also came back from the New World to the Old. That is certainly the case with the "Mitra di Col…
A Little Light from the East: St. Volodymyr's in Kiev
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Continuing on with some of our considerations of some Eastern churches that can help in illuminating the common inheritance that is to be found between the Christian East and West, we turn our attention today to St. Volodymyr's Cathedral located in Kyiv, Ukraine -- the …
Pentecost Vestments for Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone
Altarworthy, a vestment maker based out of the United States, recently published news on social media about a set of vestments made for Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone, the archbishop of San Francisco, for the occasion of the solemnity of Pentecost on May 19, 2024 in the Ca…
