Wednesday 30 May 2012

"Maria Regina" Solemn Mass set

The Saint Bede Studio was commissioned by Saint Mary's, Help of Christians Parish, Aiken (Diocese of Charleston, South Carolina), to prepare a Solemn Mass set of vestments based upon the Maria Regina design.

The vestments are made from an English ecclesiastical brocade.

The Studio regularly receives enquiries for the Maria Regina chasuble, which is derived from a design of AWN Pugin.

Pictured adjacent are the cope and a dalmatic from the set.



Click on the photographs for an enlarged view.

Enquiries: stbede62@gmail.com

Sunday 27 May 2012

What is the "Borromeon" Form?

Frequently I am asked about chasubles in the Borromeon Form.  The Borromeon form is not defined by any particular decorative style, but by its size.  Saint Charles set down measurements which he regarded as necessary for a chasuble to conform with Tradition.

In a pointed remark in the comment box of a well-known Blog, it was suggested that the term Borromeon has been invented by the Saint Bede Studio as a marketing strategy.  Whilst I concede that it has become more commonly used in recent years, it is certainly a legitimate adjective used to describe a vestment according to S' Charles' stipulations.  My earliest discovery of the use of this adjective dates from the year 1926, being the authoritative English monograph of Raymond James The Origin and Development of Roman Liturgical Vestments.

In this post, I wish to discuss a famous statue of Saint Philip Neri in the sacristy of the church of Santa Maria in Vallicella, Rome. This marvellous 3-metre tall statue was completed in 1638 by the famed Italian sculptor Alessandro Algardi.

Attached is a digitally-enhanced photograph of the statue. I emphasise that this enhancement is NOT intended to depict actual colours or decoration. It is intended to show more clearly the form and decoration of the chasuble that Algardi sculpted.

This is a chasuble in the Roman tradition. It is very long at the back, reaching almost the full length of the alb; at the front it is slightly shorter.   It has a curved shape, rather than being squared-off at the bottom. Note that the chasuble falls gracefully over the body, indicating that it is not interlined to stiffen it, as chasubles were of the later Baroque period. It largely corresponds to dimensions set down by Saint Charles Borromeo (whilst Archbishop of Milan 1560-1584), but it is slightly narrower, since as sculpted it falls only slightly beyond the elbow, rather than approaching the wrist (which was recommended by Saint Charles).

Very prominent on the chasuble is the massive tau, with adjoining panels supporting the neckline. Almost certainly, the rear of the chasuble would have been ornamented with a single column. These ornaments are formed from a floral scrollwork damask, outlined with a galloon (probably 3cm wide).

In terms of studying the history of the development of the chasuble, this statue is most significant. It is important to note that the statue was sculpted within the living memory of Saint Philip (he died in 1595). And yet, it reflects a style of chasuble found in the first quarter of the 17th century.

Painting of a Solemn Mass, shewing the celebrant in a very ample Borromeon chasuble.
Several paintings exist of Saint Philip, and his contemporary Saint Ignatius Loyola, shewing them in sacred vestments. Many of these artworks, however, were painted long after the deaths of Neri and Loyola, even a century later. As such, it cannot be asserted that the chasubles depicted in these later paintings necessarily reveal the style of chasuble of the late 16th and early 17th centuries. They depict vestments of the late 17th and early 18th centuries, by which time it was common that the width of the chasuble was less ample and it had begun to be interlined to stiffen it.

And yet, let us also remember this. Saint Charles set down dimensions for the chasuble out of a desire to prevent its form being cut back in a manner he considered inconsistent with Sacred Tradition.  His intention was not to specify a form of vestment which was the most comfortable to wear or which was aesthetically the most attractive, for these are very subjective matters.  TRADITION was the cornerstone of Saint Charles' regulations.

It would be foolish of us to imagine, however, that his instructions were adhered to strictly, or even widely known. As a result, in this period of the history of the chasuble (say, the century between 1550 and 1650), several different styles of chasuble would have been extant, some longer and wider than others. The width of the woven fabrics would also have determined, to some extent, the width of the chasuble, to say nothing of the personal taste and preferences of priests, bishops and the vestment-makers themselves.

To illustrate, I also attach one of the two famous painting of Saint Ignatius by Rubens. Even though it was painted at much the same time as the Algardi statue was sculpted, it depicts a completely different style of chasuble. It is much narrower and stiffened with interlining to support the lavish embroidery: most assuredly not a “Borromeon” chasuble.

A word on the albs in the two pictures. Both a very ample, falling to the ground in graceful folds. The sleeves are extremely long but, since the cuffs fit the wrist so snugly, the sleeves do not fall over the hands. The close-fitting sleeve is most appropriate to these styles of chasuble. The alb in the statue of S’ Philip is trimmed with a small amount of lace.

One of the chasubles frequently worn by Pope Benedict  is almost identical in shape and dimensions with the famous statue of Saint Philip Neri shewn above.  The green Papal chasuble shewn in the  photographs below conforms closely with the dimensions set down by Saint Charles.  It also happens to be decorated with a very narrow form of the TAU.




Click on each of the images below for an enlarged view.


Friday 25 May 2012

Mitre in the style of the 16th century

The Saint Bede Studio recently completed this mitre, shewn in the adjacent photograph.

This mitre is derived from the Roman style of the 16th century.  In this period, the Roman mitre was still in transition from the smaller mediaeval form and the exaggerated proportions of the High Baroque.  Our mitre is 30cm (12 inches) tall and is decorated with the traditional ornamental bandings (circulus and titulus).

For comparison, we present a photograph of a magnificently embroidered precious mitre of Pope Leo X (1513 - 1521), which is of similar proportions.



Click on the images for an enlarged view.

Enquiries: stbede62@gmail.com

Thursday 24 May 2012

The First Mass of a Newly-Ordained

Doing the rounds on various Blogs today are some photographs taken at the First Mass of Father Patric D'Arcy, newly ordained for the Archdiocese of New York.  Father D'Arcy chose to celebrate this Mass in the Extraordinary Form.  Please pray for Father D'Arcy and for all those preparing for Ordination this year.

A Solemn Mass set of vestments made by the Saint Bede Studio for another New York priest-customer was used for this Mass.  The chasuble and cope are in the Borromeon form.  A further description of the vestments can be read here.

Some lovely photographs, reproduced from the Blog of the Society of Saint Hugh of Cluny.  Click on the images for an enlarged view.

Entrance Procession: Fr D'Arcy with Fr Markontonis.

The Asperges.

Prayers at the Foot of the Altar.

Blessing the subdeacon after the Epistle.

Blessing the deacon before the Gospel.

Dominus vobiscum.

The Blessing.

Tuesday 22 May 2012

Looking through this Blog

Frequently, enquirers ask me for a catalogue of vestments produced by the Studio, but since our work is custom-made, a catalogue generally cannot be supplied.  Instead, I usually direct enquirers to look through the Blog to find photographs of vestments they might find appealing.

Realising, however, that this is time-consuming, I have updated this Blog by adding LABELS to most posts (retrospectively).  Scroll down the page and look in the right-hand column.  There you will find the LABELS listing.

Clicking on a particular label title will cause to be displayed all the posts that relate to a particular style or colour of vestment.

This will allow visitors readily to search for vestments that have been featured here, which I hope will be useful.