NEW YEAR 2021

 THE SOLEMNITY OF MARY, MOTHER OF GOD.

This lovely drawing by the English artist Eric Gill depicts an Angel visiting the Child Jesus and his Mother, Mary.  Mary is sitting knitting.  Around the perimeter is written (in Latin) "Let all things praise God, who created (them)."

The ingenious part of this drawing is that by enclosing the figures within a circle, Gill also depicts the planet Earth, with its masses of land and oceans.  The Mother and Child are in the world, yet all things are under their care.  The angels watch over us.

May the Christ-child and his Blessed Mother bring peace and health in mind and body to our troubled world.

The Saint Bede Studio wishes all its customers and readers every Blessing in 2021.

In Christmastide : 3

In this post, we exhibit one of our " economy " vestments made earlier this year for one of customers in the United States.  This style is called Saint Anselm.  

The chasuble is made from moiré taffeta and is unlined, but well-faced around the neckline to make it sit well.  The ornament, in the manner of a column, front and back, is formed from one of the Studio's unique braids Saint Edmund, based on the work of AWN Pugin.

Click on the image for an enlarged view.

Enquiries : This page.

In Christmastide : 2

May the birth of the Holy Child of Bethlehem place into perspective all the sorrows, disappointments and angst of our Earthly life in the year 2020 and remind us that here we have no enduring city, but await His second coming in Glory.

In this Holy Season 2020

To all friends, customers and readers of this Blog, sincere wishes for a Blessed Christmas.

Every valley shall be exalted, and every mountain and hill be made low; the crooked shall be made straight and the rough places, plain; and the Glory of the Lord shall be revealed and all flesh shall see it together, for the mouth of the Lord has spoken it.
Isaiah 40:4-5.

Michael Sternbeck
The Saint Bede Studio
December 2020

Antiphons

O come, thou Daystar seen on high.

With healing for our hearts draw nigh;

Do thou the mists of night dispel,

And death's foreboding darkness, quell.

Rejoice!  Rejoice!

Emmanuel shall come to thee, O Israel.

Priestly Ordinations 2019 : 10

For a young American priest, who was ordained in 2019, the Saint Bede Studio completed this set of violet vestments in the Gothic Revival style.

The vestments were made from a beautiful ecclesiastical brocade, woven in the United Kingdom.  Lined in a beautiful shade of crimson taffeta, the vestments were ornamented with one of the Studio's unique braids.  This braid Saint George is derived from  design elements of the opus of AWN Pugin.

Click on the images for an enlarged view.

Enquiries : This page.

Gaudete Sunday 2020

The Studio recently provided this simple set of Rose vestments to a young priest from the Archdiocese of Sydney (Australia).

This vestment is made from a dusty shade of rose fabric and is ornamented with a column, front and back.  The ornament is formed from silver dupion silk and one of the Studio's unique braids Saint Edmund (based on a design of AWN Pugin).

The chasuble is unlined, but is faced at the neckline, helping it to sit well and not crumple.   The chasuble is lightweight, has a slight sheen, has good drapery and is comfortable to wear.


This chasuble is part of a range of economy vestments, which we call our Saint Anselm style.

A similar set of vestments in violet for purchase is advertised at this page.

Enquiries : stbede62@gmail.com

Click on the images for an enlarged view.

Advent at the Church of S' Birinus (UK)

The beautiful Church of S' Birinus in Oxfordshire was one of the early works of the Gothic Revival architect William Wardell, whose later career in Australia produce such masterpieces as the Cathedral of Saint Mary, Help of Christians in Sydney and the Cathedral of Saint Patrick in Melbourne.

S' Birinus, however, is a church on a very small scale, but with its every detail faithful to Mediaeval architectural and decorative styles.  Its chancel is exquisitely decorated with polychrome work and gilding.

The Parish has a YouTube site and Holy Mass is regularly videocast from the church, assisted by a small but splendid choir. 

This link is to Mass offered on the First Sunday of Advent.  The celebrant is wearing a semi-conical chasuble in Sarum blue made some years ago by the Saint Bede Studio.

A screen capture from a video of Holy Mass 
celebrated at the Church of S' Birinus, Oxfordshire UK.

AMDG.

The Season "Per Annum" 2020 : 4

Recently, the Studio completed a set of vestments in the style of Saint Philip Neri for the Oratory-in-formation of Saint Philip Neri in the Archdiocese of Brisbane (Australia).  

This set of green vestments was made from a beautiful English brocade and ornamented in teal green dupion silk, outlined with one of the Studio's narrow galloons.  The back of the chasuble was ornamented with a Cross, whose intersection was enhanced with a vesica in colours of black and gold.

Please click on the images for an enlarged view.

Enquiries : This page.

Contrasts : 6

(Above) The Ladye Chapel of Downside Abbey (UK).

Image : https://www.flickr.com/photos/41621108@N00/

(Below) The High Altar Ottobeuren Abbey (Bavaria).

Image : The New Liturgical Movement.

Click on the images for an enlarged view.

Re-posted

Priestly Ordinations 2020 : 1

Notwithstanding the many difficulties faced by our customers in 2020, the Saint Bede Studio has completed a number of vestments for Ordinands in this tumultuous year.  In September, we completed a commission for a newly-ordained priest of the Pontifical North American College, Rome.  Our customer chose to have a set of festal vestments made.

The vestments were made from cotton damask in a bright white and fully lined in a wine-red taffeta.  The vestments were ornamented with one of the Studio's unique offerings, called Saint George.  The braid is in colours of platinum and burgundy upon a crimson background.

This set of vestments is in one of the Studio's Gothic Revival styles called Saint Benet.

Click on the images for an enlarged view. 

Enquiries : This page.

Urgent Request for Prayers

Bishop Peter Elliott
Image : Tom Kwok

Your prayers are requested for the Most Reverend Peter Elliott, retired bishop-auxiliary of the Archdiocese of Melbourne and renowned liturgical scholar.

On Friday, the Bishop suffered several cardiac episodes and is in a grave condition in a Melbourne hospital.

Please entrust his recovery to the intercession of our Blessed Lady.

 

The Season "Per Annum" 2020 : 3

For a returning customer, the Saint Bede Studio was pleased to complete this set of green vestments in the Gothic Revival style.  The vestments were made from a beautiful shade of green ecclesiastical brocade and were lined in a lightweight taffeta in a subdued shade of gold.  

The ornamentation was formed from one of the Studio's unique braids Saint Edmund, being used in a wider and a narrower form.

The shape of the chasuble is directly based on measurements taken of an original chasuble of AWN Pugin.

Click on the images for an enlarged view.

Enquiries : This page.

Contrasts : 5

Images from the website of the Benedictine Archabbey of Saint Martin, Beuron in the Danube Valley. Above, the Abbey Church and below the Chapel of Grace attached to principal Church. Read more about the two churches of this monastery here and here.

Election Day

A GREETING to all our readers from the United States on Election day.

God bless America.

Contrasts : 4

Images found at the blog The New Liturgical Movement.

Re-posted

Click on the images for an enlarged view.

Contrasts : 3 (re-posted)

Solemn Mass in the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite :
A European Parish Church.

Solemn Mass in the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite :
Conventual Mass at the Abbey of Le Barroux, France.

On Raising the Chasuble at the Elevations (re-posted)

In the celebration of the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite, the minister (deacon or altar server) is directed to raise the chasuble slightly in his left hand as the celebrant elevates the Sacred Host and then the Chalice. This direction is given in the Ritus Servandus VIII, 8; the Caeremoniale Episcoporum II, viii and a decision of the Congregation of Sacred Rites no. 3535.

What is the origin of this practice? It dates from that period when chasubles - conical in form - were voluminous and constrained the celebrant from raising his arms above his shoulders. Lifting the lower right hand corner of the chasuble actually enabled the celebrant a greater movement of the arms. Thus, the origin of this ceremonial action is purely practical. Much has been written about mystic and symbolic meanings as being the origin of this action, which assertions have no basis in fact.

The ceremonial books direct that the raising of the chasuble be a very subtle action. It was never intended that the chasuble be raised half-way up the celebrant's back or - worse still - be held up by both hands of the minister, making the chasuble seem like some fantastical ecclesiastical sail. Most assuredly such exaggerated movements are distracting both to the celebrant and to the congregation.

If the chasuble is not very ample at all, there is even more reason for its raising at the Elevation to be a very modest action: just a couple of inches at most. Furthermore, this gesture only accompanies the actual Elevations, and not the celebrant's accompanying genuflections.

Attached is a beautiful photograph of a Low Mass celebrated at Prinknash Abbey (UK) in 1940, illustrating perfectly how it should be done.

Festal Dalmatic

In recent months, the Saint Bede Studio completed this dalmatic - one of a pair - as part of a Solemn Mass set for a returning customer in the Diocese of Charleston (USA).

The dalmatic was made from a simple brocade of cotton and rayon, ornamented with a narrow galloon and an apparel in colours of burgundy and gold.  The lining was formed from a taffeta in a brassy shade of gold.

Click on the image for an enlarged view.

Enquiries : Visit this page

In the month of the Blessed Virgin

We are pleased to present in this post another of the Studio's well-known sets in honour of the Blessed Virgin Ave Maris Stella. This particular set was made from a brocade in a very muted shade of gold,with the usual lining in Royal Blue taffeta.

These vestments are ornamented with the Studio's own unique braid Stella, based on the work of AWN Pugin.

Click on the images for an enlarged view.

Enquiries : This page.

Our Work in a time of Pandemic

Greetings to all our customers and readers of this Blog.

The work of the Saint Bede Studio being carried out in a relative isolation, we have been able to continue sewing vestments during these six months in which the coronavirus has raged around the world. We consider ourselves very blessed to be able to continue our work, when others have been badly affected. Without too much difficulty, we have managed to keep to our schedule of commissions, but we have been affected - as so many others have been - by unpredictable international delivery times.

Your Christian patience is greatly appreciated.

One of our aspirations for 2020, however, has evaporated because of the restrictions in place over “socially distant” working conditions. This was our project to make “economy” vestments readily available for enquirers seeking simpler vestments. Unfortunately, this has been deferred for 2020, but we hope for improved circumstances next year.

Each day, the Studio receives a significant number of e-mail enquiries about vestments and related matters. It is not possible for these messages to receive immediate attention.

In this age, we are accustomed to instantaneous responses to e-mails, tweets, Facebook posts etc. Perhaps unsurprisingly, this ethos is not entirely embraced by The Saint Bede Studio.

We try to answer messages within 7 - 10 days.

Please note : Messages sent to the e-mail address saintbedestudio@hotmail.com should automatically be re-directed to our principal e-mail address (see below). It is better, however, that all enquiries are directed to the address below, which is advertised on the Studio Blog and website : 

Enquiries : stbede62@gmail.com

Priestly Ordinations 2019 : 9

For a young American priest, who was ordained in 2019, the Saint Bede Studio completed this set of vestments in the Gothic Revival style.

The vestments were made from a magnificent silk damask, woven in the United Kingdom.  Lined in a beautiful shade of blue taffeta, the vestments were ornamented with one of the Studio's unique braids.  This braid Saint Chad is derived from the ornament of a chasuble designed by AWN Pugin.

Click on the images for an enlarged view.

Enquiries : This page.

Vestments in honour of BVM

Not infrequently, the Saint Bede Studio produces sets of vestments to honour the Blessed Virgin.  On this occasion, we depict the dalmatic which accompanied our familiar Ave Maris Stella chasuble set.  The vestments were made from an English ecclesiastical brocade, lined in Royal Blue taffeta.  The ornament is the Studio's unique braid Stella, based on a design by AWN Pugin.

The vestments were made for a customer in the United States.

Click on the images for an enlarged view.

Enquiries : This page.

Vestments for Masses of the Holy Spirit

A returning customer from Connecticut (USA) asked the Studio to design a set of vestments for use in Masses of the Holy Spirit and, in particular, for the celebration of the Sacrament of Confirmation.  We made this set in the style of Saint Philip Neri.

The ground fabric was a beautiful English brocade with a large design in the colours of red and gold. The ornamentation, in the Roman style, was a scarlet red shade of dupion silk, outlined with a silk braid in colours of yellow and deep red.  The vestments were lined in red taffeta.

From a distance, these vestments have a wonderful "flame" colour, partly red, partly gold, partly orange.  They are vibrant and distinctive.

Please click on the images for an enlarged view. 

Enquiries : Visit this page

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

The Season "Per Annum" 2020 : 2

In this post, we are pleased to illustrate a set of green vestments made for an ordinand from the United States.

This set, in the Saint Philip Neri style, was made from a beautiful shade of olive green dupion silk and lined in a coppery-shade of taffeta. 

The vestments were ornamented in the Roman style with a rich brocade in colours of burgundy and gold, edged with one of the Studio's unique braids in the colours of black and gold.

Please click on the images for an enlarged view.

Enquiries : Visit this page