Orphrey Braids of the Saint Bede Studio

Each year, the Saint Bede Studio adds to its stable of orphrey braids.  Most of our braids are derived from precedents, either Gothic Revival or Mediaeval. They are never merely copies, but always have original touches to enhance the diversity of their use.

These unique braids are designed by the Studio and only used in conjunction with our vestments. They are not commercially available, nor available to any other vestment makers and are reserved under international copyright.

The braids shewn in the adjacent image are used for orphreys in both the Gothic and Roman * styles of vestments designed and made by the Studio.

Enquiries : stbede62@gmail.com


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* The Studio's interpretation of the Roman style is represented by the Borromeon, Saint Martin and Saint Philip Neri chasubles.

Studio Newsletter

The Studio's Newsletter for June 2018 has now been published.

Enquiries : stbede62@gmail.com

The Studio Blog

Each day, the Saint Bede Studio receives enquiries from those seeking vestments from many parts of the world and often the first response is to direct the enquirer to the Studio Blog.  The Blog has been designed to be as comprehensive as possible, within its limits.  It has been set up for viewing via a computer screen, tablet (or equivalent), but is not best navigated via a smartphone.

Frequently we are asked if the Studio has a catalogue.  The answer is here .

In the right-hand column (or sidebar) of each page of the Blog are helpful links for visitors.  Some of these are links to important pages detailing Studio policies, how to place an order &c.

Below that are links with images to pages describing the styles of vestments which are frequently enquired about.

After that is a list of links; mostly these refer to posts about vestments in the various liturgical colours and our styles.  These are a good guide to the range of materials and ornaments we use for our vestments and the best substitute for a catalogue we can offer.

The Studio quite deliberately does not have an online store because it is our policy to supply our vestments only to those in Communion (broadly speaking) with the See of Peter.  We cannot ensure this if purchases are made online.  Although this does limit our business, we feel that this is the best approach to our work.

Enquiries : stbede62@gmail.com

To the Sacred Heart

A beautiful hymn, written in Australia in the late 1950s by Professor James McAuley, to music by Richard Connolly.  It became part of the Living Parish Hymnbook, first published in 1961.  A recording of this lovely hymn may be heard at this YouTube post. 

Antiphon : 
Jesus, in your heart we find
Love of the Father and mankind;
These two loves to us impart
Divine love in a human heart.

May we stand within the fire
Of your Sacred Heart, and raise
To our God in joyful choir
All creation's song of praise.  

In our hearts from roots of pride
Deadly growths of evil flower;
But from Jesus' wounded side
Streams the sacramental power. 

To the depths within your heart
Draw us with divine desire,
Hide us, heal us, and impart
Your own love's transforming fire.

Fortescue on the Eighteenth Century

Father Adrian Fortescue

"In the eighteenth century a desolating wave of bad taste passed over Europe.  It gave us Baroc churches, tawdry gilding, vulgarities of gaudy ornament instead of fine construction.  It passed over clothes and gave us our mean, tight modern garments.  And it passed, alas! over vestments too, and gave us skimped, flat vestments of bad colour, outlined in that most impossible material, gold braid, instead of the ample, stately forms which had lasted until then....For these curtailed shapes are not the historic ones which came down hardly modified for so many centuries. They are a quite modern example of Baroc taste...Skimped chasubles, gold braid and lace are not Roman; they are eighteenth century bad taste."

So wrote one of the most illustrious ecclesiastical scholars of the early twentieth century, the Rev'd Dr Adrian Fortescue. This is an extract from a lecture which he gave to the Altar Society of Westminster Cathedral in 1912. Dr Fortescue's name is, unfortunately, better known for the ceremonial manual which he prepared in order to raise money for the building of his Parish church : The Ceremonies of the Roman Rite Described, which has run into many editions, over almost one century.

Dr Fortescue made these counter-cultural comments a century ago, but each new generation of Catholics has to be reminded of them.

A good Catholic maxim

Hilaire Belloc with GB Shaw (left) and GK Chesterton.

Wherever the Catholic sun doth shine, 

There’s always laughter and good red wine.

At least, I’ve always found it so;

Benedicamus Domino.

Hilaire Belloc (1870 - 1953).

Penitential dalmatic

The Studio has recently completed a dalmatic for a young priest of the Diocese of Steubenville (Ohio), USA, a returning customer.

The vestments were made from a purple ecclesiastical brocade and lined in a deep red shade of taffeta. They are ornamented with a narrow braid in colours of Royal Blue, red, gold and white of the Studio's own design.

This dalmatic was made to match a chasuble set previously made for our customer.

Click on the image for an enlarged view.

Enquiries: stbede62@gmail.com

To the Most Holy Trinity

It is truly fitting and just, right and profitable for our salvation, always and everywhere to give thanks to you, Lord, holy Father, almighty, eternal God. With your only-begotten Son and the Holy Spirit, you are one God, one Lord, not in the singleness of one Person, but in a Trinity of one substance. For, whatever we believe through your revelation about your glory, the same also we believe about your Son and about the Holy Spirit, without distinction or difference. So that in acknowledging the true and eternal Godhead, we adore each individual person and, at the same time, their one substance and their equal majesty: which the Angels, the Archangels, the Cherubim and the Seraphim all praise, never ceasing to cry out with one voice:

Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God of mighty hosts! The heavens and earth are full of your glory. Hosanna in the highest. Bless'd is he who comes in the Lord's name. Hosanna in the highest.

This is the translation of the Preface of the Most Holy Trinity prepared by the Saint Bede Studio for the Order of Mass published by Ignatius Press.

The translation and illustration may not be reproduced without prior approval.

Priestly Ordinations 2018 : 1

Figure 1.
Father Moon pictured with seminarians
and ministers after the celebration of his
First Holy Mass.

Each year, the Saint Bede Studio has the privilege of preparing sacred vestments for priestly Ordinands.  Happily, 2018 is no exception.

In this post, we are pleased to draw attention to the ordination of Father Maurice Moon of the Diocese of Fort Worth, Texas (USA).  Father Moon was ordained to the Sacred Priesthood in the Cathedral of Saint Patrick on 19th May by the Bishop of Fort Worth, the Most Rev'd Michael Olson.

Father Moon commissioned a set of festal vestments from the Studio in the Gothic Revival style for his First Holy Mass. 

The vestments were made from an English ecclesiastical brocade in a shade of red and ornamented with a braid in colours of red, burgundy and straw-gold of the Studio's own design. The vestments were lined in muted yellow taffeta.

Figure 2.
Vestments made for Father Moon.

Father Moon's First Holy Mass was celebrated in the beautiful parish Church of Saint Peter in Lindsay (Texas) on Pentecost Sunday.  Father Moon kindly sent us an image taken after the First Mass (above).  We are pleased to include below two other images of this church's interior and refer readers to this interesting article about this hidden gem, built at the end of the 19th century by the town's German Catholic community.

Please pray for Father Moon and for all newly-ordained priests.

Enquiries : stbede62@gmail.com

Please click on the images for an enlarged view.

Figure 3.
Saint Peter's church Lindsay, TexasView looking east down the nave.

Figure 4.
Magnificent polychrome paint treatment of the walls
of Saint Peter's church, Lindsey, Texas.
This work is in the style of the 19th century
German Romanesque Revival.

Festal Dalmatic

Recently, the Saint Bede Studio completed a chasuble and dalmatic based on the style of the 16th century for a priest of the Diocese of Rockville Centre (New York state). In this post, we feature the dalmatic, which is made from ecclesiastical brocade and ornamented with a narrow galloon in the Roman style.

From the 16th century onward, the manner of decorating dalmatics changed from the earlier ornamental schemes. From earliest time until the present day, dalmatics have typically been decorated with two strips of ornament called clavus (plural clavi) running parallel to each other down the full length of the vestment.

From the 16th century, the clavi, which had been paired typically at a distance of approximately 30 cm (12 inches) or less, came to be separated much more widely. The apparels - being fabric ornaments which linked the two clavi together,  generally positioned below the neckline of the dalmatic - were also greatly enlarged in size; we might say disproportionately so. In subsequent centuries these ungainly apparels were abandoned and only their outlining galloons remained as the typical form of decoration of the Roman dalmatic.

This simple dalmatic has the widely-spaced clavi, with the apparel being indicated by an outlining braid.

Click on the image for an enlarged view.

Enquiries: stbede62@gmail.com