During Troubled Times for the Church

Almighty, Eternal God, by ever giving strength to our weakness, you enable the Church to flourish even amidst its trials, so that when it appears to men to be utterly cast down, then rather does it gloriously prevails. Whilst then, it accepts affliction as a proving of its faith, let it persevere, by your grace, in triumphant loyalty. Amen.

A Collect from the Missal of Robert of Jumieges, 11th century.

This image of The Protection of the Mother of God is an exhibit in the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

The Most Precious Blood

In the Roman Calendar of the usus antiquior, today is the Feast of the Most Precious Blood.  In the revised Roman Calendar, today is the Feast of the holy Irish martyr-bishop Saint Oliver Plunket.

In this post, the Saint Bede Studio is pleased to present images of a set of red vestments.  

The set was made from ecclesiastical brocade in a fiery combination of red and straw-gold and lined in a matching shade of red.  The vestments were ornamented in the Roman style, with a TAU at the front and a column at the back, formed from an outlining galloon. 

The vestments of the Saint Bede Studio are beautiful in design, sound in construction and distinctive in appearance.

  

The chasuble is in the Studio's Saint Philip Neri style, which is the product of years of research into historical vestments and refinement of dimensions for comfortable use.  The Studio revived this more ample 16th century style of the Roman chasuble in 2007 and since then we have made many of them.  Beware of poorly-designed imitations!

The work of the Saint Bede Studio is distinctive for its artistic qualities and the pains taken with every detail, such as the alignment of ornaments.  Even a restrained set of vestments like this is striking for its combination of colours and fine workmanship.

Click on the images for an enlarged view.

The Saint Bede Studio : vestments made by Catholics for Catholics.

Enquiries : stbede62@gmail.com

Information on placing an order.

Please note that posts on this blog are set-up for optimal viewing via a web-browser, not via a mobile phone.

AMDG

On the Solemnity of Saints Peter and Paul

On this great Feastday, the Saint Bede Studio is pleased to present this set of vestments in a deep shade of red.  

This dignified set of vestments is in the Roman style, a particular variant we call Saint Martin, being a more ample cut of chasuble.

The vestments were made from ecclesiastical brocade in a darker shade of red.  The ornament - in the Roman style - consists of a TAU at the front and a column at the back.  This ornament is formed from an ecclesiastical brocade in the colours of burgundy and old gold.  The effect is very solemn.  

The Saint Bede Studio : vestments made by Catholics for Catholics.

 Click on the image for an enlarged view.

The vestments of the Saint Bede Studio are beautiful in design, sound in construction and distinctive in appearance.

Enquiries.

Information on placing an order.

Please note that posts on this blog are set-up for viewing via a web-browser, not via a mobile phone.

AMDG  

Our Ladye of Perpetual Succour

One of the many lovely Feasts of the Blessed Virgin Mary is under the title Nostra Mater De Perpetuo Succursu.  In the English-speaking world, succursu had always been translated as "succour".  More recently translated as "perpetual help", this does not fully convey the meaning of the Latin word subcurro : to run to the assistance of.  Perhaps "of perpetual assistance" would be better than "help" but both lack the vigour of the Latin.  

Our Mother who unceasingly hastens to our assistance.  What a comforting thought.  Her very name inspires confidence.

Pictured in this post is one of the Studio's range of vestments in honour of the Blessed Virgin.  It is called Salve Regina.

The Saint Bede Studio : vestments made by Catholics for Catholics.

Enquiries : stbede62@gmail.com

Information on placing an order.

Please note that posts on this blog are set-up for optimal viewing via a web-browser, not via a mobile phone.

AMDG

Saint John the Baptist : 2

On this Festal day, we are pleased to present a set of vestments in the style described as Saint Philip Neri.  

This set is a modern interpretation of the chasubles illustrated in various depictions of Saint Philip.  Although ornamented in the Roman manner, this is an earlier and more traditional form of "the Roman chasuble" being both wider and longer.  As made by the Saint Bede Studio, this style of vestment is very comfortable to wear.

This particular set was made from an ecclesiastical brocade in a shade of ivory, it was lined in a golden taffeta and ornamented simply with an outlining golden galloon.

Please click on the image for an enlarged view.

The vestments of the Saint Bede Studio are beautiful in design, sound in construction and distinctive in appearance.

Enquiries.

Information on placing an order.

Please note that posts on this blog are set-up for viewing via a web-browser, not via a mobile phone.

AMDG

Saint John the Baptist : 1

On this Vigil of the Baptist's Nativity, the Saint Bede Studio is pleased to present this set of penitential vestments.  

This dignified set of vestments is in the Gothic style, a particular variant we call Saint Benet.

The vestments were made from ecclesiastical brocade in a brighter shade of purple.  Lined in a shade of crimson-red taffeta, the vestments were ornamented with one of the Studio's unique braids.  This geometric orphrey braid and accompanying galloon, named Saint Austin, we have used with great success in all the liturgical colours.  It is directly based on a design by AWN Pugin.

The Saint Bede Studio : vestments made by Catholics for Catholics.

 Click on the image for an enlarged view.

The vestments of the Saint Bede Studio are beautiful in design, sound in construction and distinctive in appearance.

Enquiries.

Information on placing an order.

Please note that posts on this blog are set-up for viewing via a web-browser, not via a mobile phone.

AMDG  

The Season Per Annum 2026 : 7

In this Season  Per Annum  the Saint Bede Studio is pleased to present another set of green vestments.  This is a Gothic Revival chasuble (itself a 19th century interpretation of the mediaeval form of sacerdotal vestment).  The chasuble is not wide but falls below the knees at the front and to the calves at the back.

The Studio has made many such chasubles, which have been found to be very beautiful and easy to wear by our priestly customers.

This set is made from an English ecclesiastical brocade, lined in a lovely shade of crimson-red taffeta.  The ornament is formed from one of the Studio's unique orphrey braids, called English Rose, in colours of crimson, green and white on a dark background.  This braid and the perimeter of the chasuble are outlined with a quatrefoil galloon in the colours of crimson and platinum.

The Saint Bede Studio : vestments made by Catholics for Catholics. 

At the Saint Bede Studio, we strive to avoid the idea that the designation Ordinary Time is a reason to make green vestments which are non-descript, or lacking in inspiration.  In the case of this set, it might be noted that the colour gold is absent from the ornamental scheme.  This makes this set distinctive; its colours are intended to be based on the colours of nature.  On the other hand, there is nothing about the ornamentation of the set which is in opposition to Liturgical tradition.  In a church where the walls are plain or even largely white in colour, such a vestment would stand out dramatically.

Please click on the image for an enlarged view.

Enquiries.

Information on placing an order.

The vestments of the Saint Bede Studio are beautiful in design, sound in construction and distinctive in appearance.

Please note that posts on this blog are set-up for viewing via a web-browser, not via a mobile phone.

AMDG 

The Season Per Annum 2026 : 6

This set of vestments is in a very different shade of green. It is a brocade which has brighter green ornament woven into a black background. A set of vestments in such a deep shade of green is best used in churches where there is abundant light, otherwise it will look too penitential in its aspect.

Fully-lined in taffeta, this dalmatic is ornamented with one of the Studio's unique braids called ChiRho.  It was designed especially for use with green vestments. This dalmatic is also ornamented with an apparel, rust-red in colour, which has been placed on the front and the back.

Dalmatics made by the Saint Bede Studio all have sleeves which are sewn together from under the arm unto the wrist, as was the case with the dalmatic and tunic from ancient times until the excesses of the Baroque caused them to be stiffened and shortened to look more like a suit of armour.

Click on the image for an enlarged view.

The Saint Bede Studio : vestments made by Catholics for Catholics.

Enquiries : stbede62@gmail.com

Information on placing an order.

Please note that posts on this blog are set-up for optimal viewing via a web-browser, not via a mobile phone.

AMDG

Festal vestments

The Saint Bede Studio is pleased to present this set of recently-completed Festal vestments.

The Saint Bede Studio : vestments made by Catholics for Catholics. 

This set of vestments is in the style we call Saint Philip Neri.  It is a modern interpretation of the chasubles illustrated in various depictions of Saint Philip and other bishops and saints of the 16th century.  Although ornamented in the Roman manner, this is an earlier and more traditional form of "the Roman chasuble" being both wider and longer.  As made by the Saint Bede Studio, this style of vestment is very comfortable to wear.

This particular set was made from a beautiful silk damask in a shade of ivory, it was lined in a a deep rose shade of taffeta and ornamented in the Roman manner : a silk damask outlined with a golden galloon.

Please click on the image for an enlarged view.

Enquiries.

Information on placing an order.

The vestments of the Saint Bede Studio are beautiful in design, sound in construction and distinctive in appearance.

Please note that posts on this blog are set-up for viewing via a web-browser, not via a mobile phone.

AMDG 

Vestments for the Sacred Heart of Jesus

On this Feast of the Sacred Heart, we are pleased to present this set of vestments in colours of the Feast.  

The vestments of the Saint Bede Studio are beautiful in design, sound in construction and distinctive in appearance.

Tasteful contemporary vestments are made by certain studios in Italy, France and Germany, but we also make them here in Australia at the Saint Bede Studio.  This set has a simple dignity and is made from high quality fabrics.

The chasuble (which is unlined) and stole are made from a sturdy cream-coloured moiré taffeta.  A column ornaments the back and front of the chasuble, formed from one of the Studio's unique braids called Saint Edmund, and based on the designs of AWN Pugin.  It features the monogram IHS.

These vestments are exceedingly comfortable to wear and not in the least flimsy.

Click on the images for an enlarged view.

The Saint Bede Studio : vestments made by Catholics for Catholics.

Enquiries : stbede62@gmail.com

Please note that posts on this blog are set-up for optimal viewing via a web-browser, not via a mobile phone.

AMDG

On the Feast of 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.

    V.  May we stand within the fire

 Of your Sacred Heart, and raise

 To our God in joyful choir

 All creation's song of praise.  

    V.  In our hearts from roots of pride

Deadly growths of evil flower;

But from Jesus' wounded side

Streams the sacramental power. 

  

    V. To the depths within your heart

Draw us with divine desire,

Hide us, heal us, and impart

Your own love's transforming fire.

Whitsuntide 2026 : 2

In this joyous Octave of Pentecost and also remembering the Feast of S' Philip Neri, we are pleased to present further images of a set of red vestments.  

The set was made from ecclesiastical brocade in a fiery combination of red and straw-gold and lined in a matching shade of red.  The vestments were ornamented in the Roman style, with a TAU at the front and a column at the back, formed from an outlining galloon.  

The chasuble is in the Studio's Saint Philip Neri style, which is the product of years of research into historical vestments and refinement of dimensions for comfortable use.  The Studio revived this more ample 16th century style of the Roman chasuble in 2007 and since then we have made many of them.  Beware of poorly-designed imitations!

The work of the Saint Bede Studio is distinctive for its artistic qualities and the pains taken with every detail, such as the alignment of ornaments.  Even a restrained set of vestments like this is striking for its combination of colours and fine workmanship.

Click on the images for an enlarged view.

The Saint Bede Studio : vestments made by Catholics for Catholics.

Enquiries : stbede62@gmail.com

Information on placing an order.

Please note that posts on this blog are set-up for optimal viewing via a web-browser, not via a mobile phone.

AMDG

Whitsuntide 2026 : 1

During Whitsuntide, the Saint Bede Studio is pleased to present a set of vestments made in the Borromeon form. The vestments were made from a red brocade and fully-lined in copper-coloured taffeta.

The vestments are ornamented with the TAU at the front and a column at the back, these being formed by a brocade in colours of flame-red and gold, outlined with a narrow galloon.

Click on the images for an enlarged view.

The Saint Bede Studio : vestments made by Catholics for Catholics.

Enquiries : stbede62@gmail.com

Information on placing an order.

Please note that posts on this blog are set-up for optimal viewing via a web-browser, not via a mobile phone.

AMDG

In Ascensiontide

In this Ascensiontide,  the Saint Bede Studio is pleased to present this set of festal vestments. 

The vestments are made from a beautiful silk damask in a very muted gold, with golden highlights. They are fully-lined in crimson-red taffeta.

This Borromeon chasuble is ornamented in the well-known Roman style, being the TAU at the front and a column at the back, formed by a damask in colours of burgundy and gold and an outlining gold galloon.

The vestments of the Saint Bede Studio are beautiful in design, sound in construction and distinctive in appearance.

The chasuble is in the Studio's Borromeon style, which is the product of years of research into historical vestments and refinement of dimensions for comfortable use.  The Studio revived this more ample 16th century style of the Roman chasuble in 2007 and since then we have made many of them.  Beware of poorly-made imitations!

Click on the image for an enlarged view.

The Saint Bede Studio : vestments made by Catholics for Catholics.

Enquiries : stbede62@gmail.com

Information on placing an order.

Please note that posts on this blog are set-up for optimal viewing via a web-browser, not via a mobile phone.

AMDG

Fatima

On this lovely feast Our Lady of Fatima we are pleased to describe this Marian chasuble being in the Gothic Revival style.

The decorative focus of this vestment is an orphrey braid which is based on the work of AWN Pugin.  This braid, which we call Salve Regina, is produced in two shades of blue (lighter and darker) with figured ornament in gold and white.

These vestments were made from an ecclesiastical damask in the shade of ivory and lined in blue taffeta.

The vestments of the Saint Bede Studio are beautiful in design, sound in construction and distinctive in appearance.

Enquiries.

Information on placing an order.

The Saint Bede Studio : vestments made by Catholics for Catholics. 

 

Click on the images for an enlarged view. 

Please note that posts on this blog are set-up for viewing via a web-browser, not via a mobile phone.

AMDG 

Paschaltide 2026 : 8

The vestments in this post were made from a splendid ivory-coloured English brocade and were fully-lined in a muted-gold taffeta.  The Saint Bede Studio has made similar vestments on many occasions now and the combination of colours has been found very attractive by our customers.

The vestments of the Saint Bede Studio are beautiful in design, sound in construction and distinctive in appearance.

The vestments are ornamented with one of the Studio's unique braids; it is called Saint Giles.  Notice how this braid is arranged : the greatest care is taken with all our vestments to ensure that braids are precisely and harmoniously aligned, not obscuring design elements.  

In the attached images, you can see how the braid features burgundy medallions or roundels which enclose a stylised Gothic Cross.  But the background colour of the braid is red.  The colours are vibrant and typically mediaeval.

Click on the images for an enlarged view.

The Saint Bede Studio : vestments made by Catholics for Catholics.

Enquiries : stbede62@gmail.com

Information on placing an order.

Please note that posts on this blog are set-up for optimal viewing via a web-browser, not via a mobile phone.

AMDG

On the Feast of S' Pius V

On this Feast of the great Pope of the post-mediaeval period, Saint Pius V, the Saint Bede Studio is pleased to present a style of vestments with which Pius V would have been familiar.

This set of vestments is in the style we call Saint Philip Neri.  It is a modern interpretation of the chasubles illustrated in various depictions of Saint Philip and other bishops and saints of the 16th century.  Although ornamented in the Roman manner, this is an earlier and more traditional form of "the Roman chasuble" being both wider and longer.  As made by the Saint Bede Studio, this style of vestment is very comfortable to wear.

This particular set was made from a beautiful silk damask in a shade of ivory, it was lined in a muted golden taffeta and ornamented with a repeating Cross-design brocade, outlined with a golden galloon.

Please click on the image for an enlarged view.

The Saint Bede Studio : vestments made by Catholics for Catholics. 

Enquiries.

Information on placing an order.

The vestments of the Saint Bede Studio are beautiful in design, sound in construction and distinctive in appearance.

Please note that posts on this blog are set-up for viewing via a web-browser, not via a mobile phone.

AMDG 

The Bidding Prayers

The Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy of the Second Vatican Council Sacrosanctum Concilium laid down the desire of the Fathers for the restoration of intercessions during the celebration of Mass :

53. The “common prayer” or “prayer of the faithful” is to be restored after the gospel and homily, especially on Sundays and holidays of obligation. By this prayer - in which the people are to take part - intercession will be made for holy Church, for the civil authorities, for those oppressed by various needs, for all mankind, and for the salvation of the entire world.

This paragraph made reference to Saint Paul’s admonition at 1 Tim. 2:1-2. This paragraph is found – with only slight alterations – in the General Instructions on the Roman Missal.

Such intercessions are, therefore, of Apostolic origin, and were everywhere known by the time of Saint Augustine. The Solemn Orations of the Good Friday afternoon Liturgy were the only survival of such intercessions in the Roman Missal for centuries. In the East, however, they were preserved in the unvarying Litanies, or Ektenia that are prayed throughout the celebration of the Divine Liturgy. From the East, such intercessions made their way during the first millennium into the various Rites in England and, centuries later, were incorporated into the Services of the Church of England, long after they had ceased being a usual feature of the Roman Rite.

Anciently, the intercessions formed part of non-Eucharistic prayer service (sometimes called a Synaxis). But when such services came to be usually celebrated immediately before the Eucharistic Liturgy, the intercessions gradually fell into disuse. This was because intercessions made during the Eucharistic Liturgy often repeated those found in the Synaxis. Such was the origin of the Roman Mass being described in two parts: the Mass of the Catechumens and the Mass of the Faithful.

What is found in almost all the ancient examples of these intercessions are common intentions, which were summarised and made explicit by the Fathers of the Second Vatican Council.

It was never envisaged by the Council - nor was it part of the ancient practice - that such intercessions vary on a daily basis, nor that there be any inclusion of extemporaneous prayer. It might easily be argued that the Council Fathers wished that these intercessions would become fixed in people’s consciousness, by being prayed week after week. Such is the practice with our Eastern brethren.

Upon this simple concept outlined by the Council Fathers, there have been many accretions over the last 50 years. Not uncommonly, we find intercessions anaemic in their theological content and not specifically Christian in their outlook. We commonly find the intercessions to be linked to the Propers of the Mass, and the lections of the Mass of the Day, as if “theme” were all-important. But this was never intended by the Council Fathers. Furthermore, a new and more noble translation of the Roman Missal for the English-speaking world has highlighted the often unsacral, even trite expression of these intercessions. But even the formulae found in the Roman Missal are so terse as easily to be described as bland.

AMDG

Paschaltide 2026 : 7

In this post, we are pleased to present a glimpse of another set of festal vestments, in the Gothic Revival style.

This set is constructed from ecclesiastical brocade and is lined in a shade of lemon taffeta. 

The ornament is formed from matching braids, one wider, one narrow, in colours of crimson and straw-gold upon a green background. This is one of the Studio's unique braids called Saint Edmund and is directly based on a design by AWN Pugin.  It features the sacred monogram " IHS ".

Although not elaborate, this is a beautiful and distinctive set of vestments.

In the photograph below, a matching apparel is attached to the amice, falling onto the neckline.

The Saint Bede Studio : vestments made by Catholics for Catholics. 

 

Click on the images for an enlarged view. 

The vestments of the Saint Bede Studio are beautiful in design, sound in construction and distinctive in appearance.

Enquiries.

Information on placing an order.

Please note that posts on this blog are set-up for viewing via a web-browser, not via a mobile phone.

AMDG 

Paschaltide 2026 : 6

In this post is depicted an elegant festal dalmatic made by the Studio for an Australian customer to match a set of Low Mass vestments. 

The dalmatic is made from ecclesiastical brocade and fully lined in a rich golden taffeta. In this instance, the choice was made to ornament the dalmatic with a Gothic Revival orphrey braid in colours of red and gold.  

The work of the Saint Bede Studio is distinctive for its artistic qualities and the pains taken with every detail, such as the alignment of ornaments.  Even a restrained set of vestments like this is striking for its combination of colours and fine workmanship.

 

Click on the images for an enlarged view.

The Saint Bede Studio : vestments made by Catholics for Catholics.

Enquiries : stbede62@gmail.com

Please note that posts on this blog are set-up for optimal viewing via a web-browser, not via a mobile phone.

AMDG

Paschaltide 2026 : 5

During this Paschal Season, we are pleased to continue our series of festal vestments.

For this post, we are pleased to present a very simple set of vestments, made in the traditional Roman style.  The vestments are made from a beautiful ivory brocade and fully-lined in a shade of gold silk.  The chasuble in this post is ornamented in the well-known Roman style, a TAU at the front and a column at the back, formed simply by an out-lining golden galloon. 

The chasuble is in the Studio's Saint Philip Neri style, which is the product of years of research into historical vestments and refinement of dimensions for comfortable use.  The Studio revived this more ample 16th century style of the Roman chasuble in 2007 and since then we have made many of them.  Beware of poorly-made imitations!

Click on the image for an enlarged view.

The Saint Bede Studio : vestments made by Catholics for Catholics.

Enquiries : stbede62@gmail.com

Please note that posts on this blog are set-up for optimal viewing via a web-browser, not via a mobile phone.

AMDG

Paschaltide 2026 : 4

We are pleased to continue our Paschaltide posts with this set of festal vestments made for a customer in New Zealand. The vestments are made from a familiar tapestry fabric and fully-lined in crimson-red cloth. This chasuble is ornamented in the well-known Roman style, a variation of the TAU at the front and a column at the back, formed by a stripes of crimson-red brocade and an outlining burgundy and gold galloon.

The vestments are sumptuous, but yet gold metallic yarns are nowhere to be found in it.

The vestments of the Saint Bede Studio are beautiful in design, sound in construction and distinctive in appearance.

The chasuble is in the Studio's Saint Philip Neri style, which is the product of years of research into historical vestments and refinement of dimensions for comfortable use.  The Studio revived this more ample 16th century style of the Roman chasuble in 2007 and since then we have made many of them.  Beware of poorly-made imitations!

Click on the images for an enlarged view.

The Saint Bede Studio : vestments made by Catholics for Catholics.

Enquiries : stbede62@gmail.com

Information on placing an order.

Please note that posts on this blog are set-up for optimal viewing via a web-browser, not via a mobile phone.

AMDG

Paschaltide 2026 : 3

In this Easter Season, the Saint Bede Studio is pleased to present a set of festal vestments made in the Gothic Revival style.  The vestments were made from a brocade of bright white and fully-lined in a taffeta muted-gold in colour.

This chasuble is ornamented in the well-known Gothic style,  formed by an orphrey braid based on the work of A.W.N. Pugin.  The colours of this braid are red and gold, with an outlining galloon in the same thread. 

 

The vestments of the Saint Bede Studio are beautiful in design, sound in construction and distinctive in appearance.

Click on the images for an enlarged view.

The Saint Bede Studio : vestments made by Catholics for Catholics.

Enquiries : stbede62@gmail.com

Information on placing an order.

Please note that posts on this blog are set-up for optimal viewing via a web-browser, not via a mobile phone.

AMDG

Paschaltide 2026 : 2

We are pleased to conclude the Octave of Easter with this post featuring a set of festal vestments, made in the Borromeon style. The vestments are made from a distinctive tapestry fabric in a very muted gold, with golden highlights.  They are fully-lined in golden taffeta. 

This chasuble is ornamented in the well-known Roman style, being the TAU at the front and a column at the back, formed by one of the Studio's unique braids Saint Columba and an outlining gold galloon.

The first image depicts the back of the chasuble; the second image depicts the lower edge of the chasuble front. 

The vestments of the Saint Bede Studio are beautiful in design, sound in construction and distinctive in appearance.

The chasuble is in the Studio's Borromeon style, which is the product of years of research into historical vestments and refinement of dimensions for comfortable use.  The Studio revived this more ample 16th century style of the Roman chasuble in 2007 and since then we have made many of them.  Beware of poorly-made imitations!

Click on the images for an enlarged view.

The Saint Bede Studio : vestments made by Catholics for Catholics.

Enquiries : stbede62@gmail.com

Information on placing an order.

Please note that posts on this blog are set-up for optimal viewing via a web-browser, not via a mobile phone.

AMDG

Paschaltide 2026 : 1

In this Paschal Octave, the Studio is pleased to present this beautiful set of Festal vestments.  These vestments were made from a silk damask with a gold figured design on an ivory background. 

Fully-lined in a shade of dark red taffeta, the chasuble is ornamented with a unique braid of the Studio, Saint Columba.  A galloon of straw-gold outlines the TAU ornament at the front of the chasuble and the column at the back.

The chasuble is in the Studio's Borromeon style, which is the product of years of research into historical vestments and refinement of dimensions for comfortable use.  

The vestments of the Saint Bede Studio are beautiful in design, sound in construction and distinctive in appearance.

Click on the images for an enlarged view.

The Saint Bede Studio : vestments made by Catholics for Catholics.

Enquiries : stbede62@gmail.com

Information on placing an order.

Please note that posts on this blog are set-up for optimal viewing via a web-browser, not via a mobile phone.

AMDG

Easter Day 2026

To all readers of this blog and to customers and friends of the Saint Bede Studio, may many Graces be yours on the sacred Day of our Lord's Resurrection.

On Easter Day 2026, the Shadow of the Cross looms large across a world still stricken with confusion, hatred and war.  But in these fearful moments, we look again to the optimistic Christian message that God has overcome Death - and all the awfulness, frailties, discord and disappointments of this earthly life - and loves each and every poor sinner. 

Christ is Risen !

The Mandatum

A 19th century engraving depicting the Pope, surrounded
by the Papal Court washing the feet of thirteen
poor men of Rome.
This rite took place in the Sistine Chapel on the
morning of Maundy Thursday.

The return to a more traditional liturgical praxis of Holy Week in the happy reign of Leo XIV brings a refreshment to those troubled by the developments of his predecessor. 

In this post, we wish to give an outline of the history of the Mandatum in order to present reasons why the significance of the Rite is open to different interpretations and philosophies.

The Catholic Encyclopædia (1907-1914) has an article on the history of the Mandatum, written by Herbert Thurston SJ, of which the following is an extract.  Father Thurston had written previously about the Mandatum in his monograph Lent and Holy Week (1904):

This tradition, we may believe, has never been interrupted, though the evidence in the early centuries is scattered and fitful. For example the Council of Elvira (A.D. 300) in Canon 48 directs that the feet of those about to be baptised are not to be washed by priests but presumably by clerics or at least lay persons. This practice of washing the feet at baptism was long maintained in Gaul, Milan, and Ireland, but it was not apparently known in Rome or in the East. In Africa the nexus between this ceremony and baptism became so close that there seemed danger of its being mistaken for an integral part of the rite of baptism itself (Augustine, Ep. LV, Ad Jan., n. 33). Hence the washing of the feet was in many places assigned to another day than that on which the baptism took place. In the religious orders the ceremony found favour as a practice of charity and humility. The Rule of St. Benedict directs that it should be performed every Saturday for all the community by him who exercised the office of cook for the week; while it was also enjoined that the abbot and the brethren were to wash the feet of those who were received as guests. The act was a religious one and was to be accompanied by prayers and psalmody, "for in our guests Christ Himself is honoured and received". The liturgical washing of feet (if we can trust the negative evidence of our early records) seems only to have established itself in East and West at a comparatively late date. In 694 the Seventeenth Synod of Toledo commanded all bishops and priests in a position of superiority under pain of excommunication to wash the feet of those subject to them. The matter is also discussed by Amalarius and other liturgists of the ninth century. Whether the custom of holding this Maundy (from Mandatum novum do vobis, the first words of the initial Antiphon) on Maundy Thursday, developed out of the baptismal practice originally attached to that day does not seem quite clear, but it soon became a universal custom in cathedral and collegiate churches. In the latter half of the twelfth century the pope washed the feet of twelve sub-deacons after his Mass and of thirteen poor men after his dinner. The Caeremoniale Episcoporum (1600) directs that the bishop is to wash the feet either of thirteen poor men or of thirteen of his canons. The bishop and his assistants are vested and the Gospel Ante diem festum paschae is ceremonially sung with incense and lights at the beginning of the function. Most of the sovereigns of Europe used also formerly to perform the Maundy. The custom is still retained at the Austrian and Spanish courts.

A number of points may be made here.  Although the origin of the Mandatum is a Divine Precept, which the Church has since earliest times considered binding, its expression and its symbolism are by no means clear in liturgical history. On the one hand, it is associated with the Catechumenate, on the other hand with the poor; yet again, a demonstration of the attitude of service which a bishop or religious superior ought to have towards his community.

The question of the Mandatum being linked to Ordination to the ministerial priesthood is somewhat less clear, although it is often spoken about.

What is quite clear, amongst various uncertainties, is that throughout its history, the Mandatum had no relationship with ordinary parish life: it was a rite which pertained to the Diocesan Cathedral or Church of a Religious Community.  Only since 1955, with the revisions of the Holy Week Liturgy approved by Pope Pius XII, has the Mandatum been included in the ceremonies of the Evening Mass of the Lord's Supper on Maundy Thursday and consequently, celebrated ordinarily in parishes. Perhaps this revision was not as laudable as was thought at the time.

In the last two decades, we have witnessed the spectacle of all sorts of curious and frightful additions to the Mandatum, advocated by tinpot liturgists (we will refrain from describing any of these dismal accretions).  And so, the symbolism of this ancient rite has become obscured again.  An unfortunate by-product of this trajectory is that the real focus of the Evening Mass of Maundy Thursday - the Institution of the Blessed Eucharist and Ministerial Priesthood - becomes obscured.

Happily, we note that in both the Ordinary and Extraordinary forms of the Roman Rite, the Mandatum is OPTIONAL.  In the more ancient (pre-1955) rites of Maundy Thursday, as we noted, the Mandatum is reserved to the local Bishop's celebration of Holy Week.  Its being observed at a time other than during the Evening Mass of the Lord's Supper on Maundy Thursday is something which, we might suggest, could be given serious consideration. Were that to happen, perhaps it would be of lesser consequence if the feet of women or non-Christians were also washed. 

AMDG

Passiontide 2026 : 6

This post features a set of red vestments in the Studio's Saint Cuthbert style.  This chasuble is both long and wide and is especially designed to fold up beautifully when the arms of the celebrant are elevated. 

The vestments of the Saint Bede Studio are beautiful in design, sound in construction and distinctive in appearance.

The Saint Cuthbert chasuble is notable for a steeply-angled Y-orphrey, which is especially effective when the ornament is formed from a narrow galloon.  This ornament replicates certain mediaeval chasubles which have survived and others depicted in manuscript illuminations.

Tasteful contemporary vestments are made by certain studios in Italy, France and Germany, but we also make them here in Australia at the Saint Bede Studio.  This set has a simple dignity and is made from high quality fabrics.

Crimson-red dupion silk is lined with a copper-coloured taffeta and is ornamented with one of the Studio's braids called Saxony, being knotwork in three colours. 

  

Click on the images for an enlarged view.

The Saint Bede Studio : vestments made by Catholics for Catholics.

Enquiries : stbede62@gmail.com

Please note that posts on this blog are set-up for optimal viewing via a web-browser, not via a mobile phone.

AMDG

Passiontide 2026 : 5

At this time of year in the circles of liturgical commentators, there is frequently a discussion about why RED vestments are used on Palm Sunday, instead of purple; and likewise on Good Friday.  There are various theories about the intentions of the revisionists of the Holy Week liturgists in the 1950s and 1960s in making this change, including the one that goes " this was the colour used in an earlier period of the Roman Rite. "

Maybe that is true, but it is a claim that needs to be qualified.

We do know that the use of Roman purple is a very ancient one liturgically, but this colour in ancient times was not the fuchsia seen today in the robes of prelates of the Church; it was a much darker colour.  The reason for that is that the robes of Imperial Rome were double-dyed and resulted in a colour almost like clotted blood.

If we keep in mind this very deep colour it is easy to imagine that what was described as Roman Purple was not so very different from dark red or even black.  Consequently, it becomes easier to understand why what might be described or specified in very old liturgical texts as red, black or Roman purple might be describing much the same colour.

According to the Missale Romanum of 1970, Palm Sunday and Good Friday are observed with red vestments.  Although not stipulated in any of the liturgical books, the shade of red vestments used on Palm Sunday and Good Friday ought not be a fiery red.  Such a fiery red is more suitable for Masses of the Holy Spirit.

The set of vestments in this post is in a deep shade of red and accords with the theory outlined above about the ancient use of a dark penitential colour.  

It is simple, but dignified.  Made from dupion silk and fully lined, the chasuble is ornamented with a dominant TAU formed from a braid unique to the Studio, being a reproduction of a design by AWN Pugin.

The chasuble is in the Studio's Saint Martin  style, which is very ample and folds beautifully when the arms of the wearer are elevated.

Click on the image for an enlarged view.

The Saint Bede Studio : vestments made by Catholics for Catholics.

Enquiries : stbede62@gmail.com

Please note that posts on this blog are set-up for optimal viewing via a web-browser, not via a mobile phone.

AMDG