Ascensiontide : 3

 

This post features a set of vestments in the Studio's re-creation of the most ancient form of chasuble, often referred to as the conical chasuble.  Most readers of this post will never have seen such a chasuble, which was the only form of chasuble in the West from primitive times until the Middle Ages.  

The conical chasuble is like a flattened bell in its shape, with very long shoulders seams.  When it is put on, it completely envelops the wearer and must be drawn up into the small of the arms for convenience.  It is in drawing-up the chasuble in this way that caused it to form the distinctive folds which are so commonly seen in Mediaeval images of the celebration of Mass.  These folds are shewn in the image.

This set of vestments was made from an ivory-coloured dupion silk and lined with a lemon-coloured cloth.  It was ornamented with one of the Studio's unique braids, forming a TAU in the front and a column at the back.  This braid, being a replica of  a mediaeval ornament, is in colours of red, white and straw-gold upon a deep blue background.  It is called Saint Raymund.

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

The Season Per Annum 2025 : 2

In this post, we are pleased to present a distinctive set of vestments in the primitive style sometimes referred to as conical. If any chasuble of the Roman Rite is rightfully to be referred to as "Traditional" then the ancientness of this form earns that designation, since it was used for the Eucharistic celebration from the first centuries of the Church and for fully a thousand years thereafter. The ancient form of the chasuble was common in the East and the West, but the cut of the chasuble diverged at some point.

The primitive style of chasuble is shaped like a bell and when the arms of the wearer are by his side, it envelops the body from the neck to the shins.  But when the arms of the wearer are extended, the conical chasuble folds up from the bottom, as the image above clearly shews.

A conical chasuble, however, may be worn in quite different ways and in the manner illustrated in the adjacent photograph, it is obvious how the Byzantine chasuble or phelonion is related to the ancient chasuble, common to East and West.

These vestments were made from a rustic silk, with a linen-like weave and in a  vibrant shade of green.  The ornament of this chasuble is very simple.  The chasuble is unlined, but because of the weight of the silk, the vestment has good drapery and is not in the least flimsy. 

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

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

A conical chasuble

In this post, we are pleased to present a distinctive set of vestments in the primitive style sometimes referred to as conical.  If any chasuble of the Roman Rite is rightfully to be referred to as "Traditional" then the ancientness of this form earns that designation, since it was used for the Eucharistic celebration from the first centuries of the Church and for fully a thousand years thereafter.  The ancient form of the chasuble was common in the East and the West, but the cut of the chasuble diverged at some point.

The primitive style of chasuble is shaped like a bell and when the arms of the wearer are by the side, it envelops the body from the neck to the chins.  But when the arms of the wearer are extended, the conical chasuble folds up from the bottom, as the image above clearly shews.

These vestments were made from a rustic silk, with a linen-like weave and in a "natural" colour.  The ornament of the front of the chasuble is very simple, but more elaborate on the back, as shewn in the image below.  These vestments were made for a Byzantine parish in a tropical climate.  The chasuble is unlined, but because of the weight of the silk, the vestment has good drapery and is not in the least flimsy. 

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

The Throw-away Culture

 

The throw-away society we live in, where the value of anything is measured in short-term satisfaction, is consumerist and ungodly.  The Church is not immune from such a mentality, unfortunately.  Vestments can be purchased ONLINE quite readily and affordably and the merit of this is all measured by convenience.

The Saint Bede Studio wishes to offer an alternative to this culture.  Our vestments are made to last decades (if well cared-for).  They are the product of artistic and careful design, not mass-production (no pun intended).

One such is shewn in this post - a glimpse of a set of green vestments in the mediaeval style.  The vestments were made from a lovely shade of English ecclesiastical brocade and lined in taffeta of a deep red colour.  

The ornament was formed from a lovely braid in colours of red and ivory, upon black.  These vestments are simple in their ornamentation, but striking.  The maniple is finished with solid fringing in colours of green and ivory.  There is no need here for fine embroideries, but the effect is created with strong colours and contrasts.

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 : 9

 

This post features a set of vestments in the Studio's re-creation of the most ancient form of chasuble, often referred to as the conical chasuble.  Most readers of this post will never have seen such a chasuble, which was the only form of chasuble in the West from primitive times until the Middle Ages.  

The conical chasuble is like a flattened bell in its shape, with very long shoulders seams.  When it is put on, it completely envelops the wearer and must be drawn up into the small of the arms for convenience.  It is in drawing-up the chasuble in this way that caused it to form the distinctive folds which are so commonly seen in Mediaeval images of the celebration of Mass.  These folds are shewn in the image.

This set of vestments was made from an ivory-coloured dupion silk and lined with a lemon-coloured cloth.  It was ornamented with one of the Studio's unique braids, forming a TAU in the front and a column at the back.  This braid, being a replica of  a mediaeval ornament, is in colours of red, white and straw-gold upon a deep blue background.  It is called Saint Raymund.

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

During the Month of the Holy Souls : 1

During this, the Month of the Holy Souls, the Saint Bede Studio is pleased to present sets of black vestments recently completed for our customers.  The first is a Solemn Mass set and in this post we discuss its chasuble.

The chasuble was made according to the most ancient form of the chasuble, sometimes called the conical form.  It is quite different from the Gothic Revival chasuble in that its shoulder seams are steeply sloped and very long indeed.  It resembles the shape of a cope, but not open at the front.

These vestments were ornamented very simply and in a colour scheme of silver and black.  The chasuble's orphrey was formed from a narrow galloon in silver and grey, whilst the chasuble's lining was formed from a silvery-grey taffeta.

The image above illustrates how a conical chasuble falls around on all sides when the arms of the celebrant are by his side.

A further post will illustrate the different ways in which the conical chasuble can be worn.

Click on the images for an enlarged view. 

Enquiries

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 Season "Per Annum" : 6

In this Season  Per Annum  the Saint Bede Studio is pleased to present another set of green vestments, recently completed for a returning customer from the United Kingdom.

This set is in the style common in the mediaeval period, being quite different in shape from the modern chasuble.  With the arms by the sides, mediaeval chasuble is almost the shape of a bell and often referred to as such, or as the conical chasuble.  

The distinctive thing about this form of chasuble - quite different from the modern chasuble - is its drapery.  When the arms of the wearer are raised, the chasuble gathers into folds from the bottom upward, not from the centre outward (as with the modern "Gothic" chasuble). 

The Studio has made many such chasubles, based upon careful study of illustrations of mediaeval chasubles and examination of modern reproductions.  Through trial and error, the Studio has developed a form of conical chasuble which is comfortable to wear, although the wearer certainly benefits from the assistance of a minister to adjust the chasuble.

This set is made from an English ecclesiastical brocade, lined in a lovely shade of crimson-red taffeta.  The ornament is formed from a reproduction of a mediaeval braid, in colours of crimson and white upon a dark background.  The perimeter of the chasuble is outlined with a quatrefoil galloon in the colours of crimson and platinum.

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.  

Click on the images for an enlarged view. 

Enquiries.

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

AMDG 

Festal Vestments : 2

In this Paschal Season, we are pleased to present some vestments made for Festal days, but which would also be suitable throughout the Eastertide.

This set of vestments is in the ancient form of chasuble, being cut in the shape of a bell.  It is usually referred to as a conical chasuble.  As made by the Saint Bede Studio, this style of vestment is lightweight and comfortable to wear.

This particular set was made from dupion silk in a shade of ivory, it was lined in a golden taffeta and ornamented simply with a galloon in blue, red, gold and white, (one of the Studio's stable of ornamental braids).

Please click on the image for an enlarged view.

Enquiries.

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

AMDG

Conical vestments

The Saint Bede Studio recently completed this set of red vestments for a returning customer from Texas (USA).  This is in the semi-conical form, the style of which pre-dates the mediaeval period.

The chasuble was made from a deep red shade of dupion silk and lined in a bronze-coloured taffeta.  Its ornament is based on the well-known chasuble of Saint Thomas Becket housed in the French Cathedral of Sens.

Please click on the images for an enlarged view.

Enquiries : Visit this page

Mediaeval Pontificals : Saint Peter Damian

15th century painting of S' Peter Damian.

When looking at mediaeval depictions of bishops or popes vested for Mass, we find certain things in common with the Pontifical vestments of a 21st century Catholic bishop, but some significant differences. The most striking difference is the usual lack of an Episcopal dalmatic amongst the vestments of a modern bishop. Even when a dalmatic is worn, it is usually an affair so non-descript as to be hardly noticeable.

Before Pope S' Paul VI entered Saint Peter's Basilica to celebrate Mass solemnly in 1965, bishops or popes had - since the earliest centuries of the Church (certainly since the Constantinian period) - worn a dalmatic underneath the chasuble. *   Paul VI was the first to break this tradition, when he appeared in a flowing chasuble, with no dalmatic beneath. As a matter of fact, until the end of his Pontificate in 1978, typically he left aside the use of the dalmatic. His successors, John Paul I, S. John Paul II and Francis all likewise have left aside the dalmatic. Benedict XVI was an happy exception to this, adopting quite early on in his Pontificate the use of the dalmatic beneath the chasuble on all solemn occasions.

The pity of this is that the dalmatic worn with the chasuble symbolised the fullness of Holy Orders enjoyed by a bishop. A bishop is incompletely vested if he lacks the dalmatic. The claim that it is too burdensome to wear a dalmatic beneath the chasuble is, to say the least, pitiful.

In this post, we look at a painting which once formed part of altarpiece from Faenza in Italy of the early 15th century, which depicts Saint Peter Damian. The artist Peruccino - who was known as the Master of Saint Peter Damian - prepared this likeness from the effigy on the sarcophagus of the saint.

The saint is depicted wearing a style of vestments commonly known in 14th and 15th century Italy; namely : a flowing linen albe which is unadorned with either apparels or embroidery; a red semi-conical chasuble whose Tau ornament is formed from embroidered cameos of the saints and upon his head a precious mitre of white silk ornamented and embroidered with goldwork and precious stones.

We also see the Episcopal dalmatic (the tunic can also just be seen). It is immediately noticeable how elaborate the dalmatic is : not a plain affair of simple silk. It is made from a rich damask of deep green ornamented with gold embroidery and outlined with gold braid. One could be forgiven for observing that the dalmatic has a richer appearance than the chasuble itself. But certainly the dalmatic enriches the appearance of the wearer and is not intended to be invisible.

Imagine how dignified a modern bishop would look if he were to wear a dalmatic of such nobility beneath his chasuble? One can but hope.

* In addition, a bishop would also wear a tunic, being the vestment of the subdeacon, but this requirement for the celebration of the Ordinary Form of the Roman Rite lapsed when the subdiaconate was abolished as a Major Order in 1973. 

Vestments in the Mediaeval style

We are pleased to feature this set of semi-conical vestments, recently completed by the Saint Bede Studio for a returning customer from Canada.

The vestments were made from a beautiful English silk damask, in a shade of cream, with a lining of red silk.  The ornament is in the form of the Y orphrey, enriched with a chevron of red and gold brocade.

Click on the images for an enlarged view.

Enquiries : Visit this page

Priestly Ordinations 2018 : 4

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 Joseph Lustig of the Diocese of Boise (USA).  Father Lustig was ordained to the Sacred Priesthood in the Cathedral of Saint John the Evangelist on 7th June by the Bishop of Boise, the Most Rev'd Peter Christensen.

Father Lustig commissioned a set of festal vestments from the Studio in the semi-conical style for his First Holy Mass. 

The vestments were made from an ecclesiastical brocade in a shade of ivory and ornamented with Puginesque braids in colours of red, blue and gold.  The vestments were lined in a red-coloured taffeta.

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

Enquiries : stbede62@gmail.com

Please click on the images for an enlarged view.

Mediaeval Pontificals : 2

The above painting of Saint Nicholas of Myra was painted by the Florentine artist Pacino di Bonaguida, who worked at the beginning of the Fourteenth century (1302 to before 1340).

The website of the J Paul Getty Museum (Los Angeles) tells us that twentieth-century scholars reconstructed Pacino da Bonaguida's career, based upon his only known signed painting: an altarpiece in the Accademia Gallery in Florence. Pacino spent his entire career in Florence, where, in addition to altarpieces, he painted miniatures and decorations for illuminated manuscripts. He is considered the inventor of miniaturism, a style distinguished by a clear organisation of the painting surface into multiple small-scale scenes.

This work, which is painted in an iconographic style, depicts Saint Nicholas as a bishop of the the early Fourteenth century. Visible in the painting are the bishop's chasuble, amice apparel, a liturgical book, gloves, ring, crosier and mitre.

The condition of the above reproduction of Pacino's painting being what it is, it is not possible to determine precisely the colour of the chasuble. Certainly its lining is black, so we are inclined to think this semi-conical chasuble is of black damask, figured with gold quatrefoils. The fabric may, however, be a very dark green. The ornament of the chasuble is quite interesting, since it is a very early example of a woven braid, or at least is depicted as such. We can tell this since at the intersection point of the TAU piece (which rests upon the chest) the designs can be seen quite clearly to be disappearing beneath the horizontal ornament. Were the entire orphrey embroidered, such an arrangement would be avoided. The woven braid itself consists of geometrical patterns, rather than religious figures, and these designs are presented in colours of red, black and gold on a neutral background.

This early example of the TAU ornament is interesting also since it is really in the shape of a Cross " t " rather than " T ". Unlike the presentation of the TAU in later centuries, this decoration has a very short horizontal band. Sitting around the neckline is an amice apparel which, although of a different design, is woven in similar colours to the chasuble orphrey.

The white Episcopal gloves being worn by Saint Nicholas appear to be embroidered with a coat of arms. In his right hand, the Saint is depicted holding a liturgical book, whether it be an Evangelarium or a Sacramentary is unable to be determined.

Upon his head, Saint Nicholas is shewn to be wearing a precious mitre in the early mediaeval style. It is of white linen or silk and is ornamented in the usual style with the circulus and titulus bands.  These are of embroidered geometric designs upon a gold background.

Click on the image for an enlarged view.

Conical vestments

We are pleased to offer this post featuring vestments made by the Saint Bede Studio for a returning customer from Germany.

These vestments were made from dupion silk of a deeper shade of crimson-red and in the semi-conical form.  The ornament of these vestments, formed from a bronze-coloured galloon, is simple but distinctive. It consists of the well-known TAU form enriched with two adjacent diagonal strips of galloon. The vestments are fully-lined in taffeta of a bronze colour.

Enquiries : stbede62@gmail.com

Beuron School of Liturgical Art

Adjacent is a beautiful liturgical drawing from 1910  in the Beuronese style  Messe mit Wandlungskerze auf dem Altar. It was found at the Wikimedia Commons. Go here to read a little about the Beuron School of liturgical art.

This stylised depiction of a priest celebrating Low Mass is rich with the aesthetic ideals of the Liturgical Movement. The celebrant wears a flowing albe, ornamented with continuous decoration around its hem. Over this he is vested in a conical chasuble, decorated very simply. Not least of interest is the manner in which the altar cloth is decorated, with geometric embroideries and tassles of silk. 

One curiosity is the almost sleeveless surplice being worn by the altar server. Note the restrained gesture with which he lifts the celebrant's chasuble for the Elevation.

Would that this dignified aesthetic were more fully adopted for the celebration of Mass according to both usages of the Roman Rite.

Click on the image for an enlarged view.

Mediaeval Pontificals : 2

The above painting of Saint Nicholas of Myra was painted by the Florentine artist Pacino di Bonaguida, who worked at the beginning of the Fourteenth century (1302 to before 1340).

The website of the J Paul Getty Museum (Los Angeles) tells us that twentieth-century scholars reconstructed Pacino da Bonaguida's career, based upon his only known signed painting: an altarpiece in the Accademia Gallery in Florence. Pacino spent his entire career in Florence, where, in addition to altarpieces, he painted miniatures and decorations for illuminated manuscripts. He is considered the inventor of miniaturism, a style distinguished by a clear organisation of the painting surface into multiple small-scale scenes.

This work, which is painted in an iconographic style, depicts Saint Nicholas as a bishop of the the early Fourteenth century. Visible in the painting are the bishop's chasuble, amice apparel, a liturgical book, gloves, ring, crosier and mitre.

The condition of the above reproduction of Pacino's painting being what it is, it is not possible to determine precisely the colour of the chasuble. Certainly its lining is black, so we are inclined to think this semi-conical chasuble is of black damask, figured with gold quatrefoils. The fabric may, however, be a very dark green. The ornament of the chasuble is quite interesting, since it is a very early example of a woven braid, or at least is depicted as such. We can tell this since at the intersection point of the TAU piece (which rests upon the chest) the designs can be seen quite clearly to be disappearing beneath the horizontal ornament. Were the entire orphrey embroidered, such an arrangement would be avoided. The woven braid itself consists of geometrical patterns, rather than religious figures, and these designs are presented in colours of red, black and gold on a neutral background.

This early example of the TAU ornament is interesting also since it is really in the shape of a Cross " t " rather than " T ". Unlike the presentation of the TAU in later centuries, this decoration has a very short horizontal band. Sitting around the neckline is an amice apparel which, although of a different design, is woven in similar colours to the chasuble orphrey.

The white Episcopal gloves being worn by Saint Nicholas appear to be embroidered with a coat of arms. In his right hand, the Saint is depicted holding a liturgical book, whether it be an Evangelarium or a Sacramentary is unable to be determined.

Upon his head, Saint Nicholas is shewn to be wearing a precious mitre in the early mediaeval style. It is of white linen or silk and is ornamented in the usual style with the circulus and titulus bands.  These are of embroidered geometric designs upon a gold background.

Click on the image for an enlarged view.

Mediaeval Pontificals

15th century painting of S' Peter Damian.

When looking at mediaeval depictions of bishops or popes vested for Mass, we find certain things in common with the Pontifical vestments of a 21st century Catholic bishop, but some significant differences. The most striking difference is the usual lack of an Episcopal dalmatic amongst the vestments of a modern bishop. Even when a dalmatic is worn, it is usually an affair so non-descript as to be hardly noticeable.

Before Pope Paul VI entered Saint Peter's Basilica to celebrate Mass solemnly in 1965, bishops or popes had - since the earliest centuries of the Church (certainly since the Constantinian period) - worn a dalmatic underneath the chasuble. *   Paul VI was the first to break this tradition, when he appeared in a flowing chasuble, with no dalmatic beneath. As a matter of fact, until the end of his Pontificate in 1978, typically left aside the use of the dalmatic. His successors, John Paul I, John Paul II and Francis all likewise have left aside the dalmatic. Benedict XVI was a happy exception to this, adopting quite early on in his Pontificate the use of the dalmatic beneath the chasuble on all solemn occasions.

The pity of this is that the dalmatic worn with the chasuble symbolised the fullness of Holy Orders enjoyed by a bishop. A bishop is incompletely vested if he lacks the dalmatic. The claim that it is too burdensome to wear a dalmatic beneath the chasuble is, to say the least, pitiful.

In this post, we look at a painting which once formed part of altarpiece from Faenza in Italy of the early 15th century, which depicts Saint Peter Damian. The artist Peruccino - who was known as the Master of Saint Peter Damian - prepared this likeness from the effigy on the sarcophagus of the saint.

The saint is depicted wearing a style of vestments commonly known in 14th and 15th century Italy; namely : a flowing linen albe which is unadorned with either apparels or embroidery; a red semi-conical chasuble whose Tau ornament is formed from embroidered cameos of the saints and upon his head a precious mitre of white silk ornamented and embroidered with goldwork and precious stones.

We also see the Episcopal dalmatic (the tunic can also just be seen). It is immediately noticeable how elaborate the dalmatic is : not a plain affair of simple silk. It is made from a rich damask of deep green ornamented with gold embroidery and outlined with gold braid. One could be forgiven for observing that the dalmatic has a richer appearance than the chasuble itself. But certainly the dalmatic enriches the appearance of the wearer and is not intended to be invisible.

Imagine how dignified a modern bishop would look if he were to wear a dalmatic of such nobility beneath his chasuble? One can but hope.

* In addition, a bishop would also wear a tunic, being the vestment of the subdeacon, but this requirement for the celebration of the Ordinary Form of the Roman Rite lapsed when the subdiaconate was abolished as a Major Order in 1973. 

Priestly Ordinations 2016 : 1

Figure 1.

Father Landman speaking after the 

celebration of his First Holy Mass in the church of

Saint Mary in High Hill (Texas).

Photograph courtesy of Father Landman

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

In this, our first post for 2016, we are pleased to draw attention to the ordination of Father Max Landman of the Diocese of Victoria (Texas) USA. Father Landman was ordained to the Sacred Priesthood in the Cathedral of Our Lady of Victory, Victoria on 4th June by the Most Rev'd Brendan Cahill, along with a number of other candidates.

Father Landman commissioned two vestments from the Studio for the celebration of his First Holy Mass.

Figure 2. 

During the Offertory of Father Landman's First Holy Mass.

Chasuble and dalmatic seen in this photograph.

Photograph courtesy of Father Landman

A chasuble in the semi-conical form was made from a straw-gold shade of ecclesiastical brocade. The chasuble was ornamented in the Italian style of the 15th century, with a TAU formed from crimson silk dupion and trimmed with a galloon in red and gold. The galloon is of the Saint Bede Studio's exclusive suite of braids and galloons.

Complementing the chasuble was a dalmatic (see Figure 5, below) ornamented with the same decorative scheme, but with the emphasis being on the traditional clavi.  Both chasuble and dalmatic were lined in a crimson-red shade of taffeta.

Figure 3. 

Father Landman during the Anointing of hands at his Ordination

in the Cathedral of Our Lady of Victory.

JW Harrison Photography

NB These vestments were not made by the Saint Bede Studio.

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

Please click on the images for an enlarged view.

Enquiries: stbede62@gmail.com

Figure 4. 

Interior of the Cathedral of our Lady of Victory, Victoria, Texas.

Although in the more modern style of the 1950's and 1960's, 

it has references to Gothic church architecture. 

The pitched ceiling is enhanced by large trusses

which continue downward to form the columns separating 

the side aisles from the nave.

The sanctuary is enhanced by a lofty reredos in mosaic-work 

and a corona directly above the altar.

Figure 5. 

Accompanying dalmatic.

Purple Semi-conical Chasuble

For a returning customer in the Diocese of Sioux City (Iowa USA) the Saint Bede Studio has prepared a set of purple vestments in the semi-conical form.

These vestments were made from an English ecclesiastical brocade and lined in silver-coloured taffeta. The unusual decorative scheme is in silver and black. An orphrey of silver brocade is outlined with narrow galloons in black and silver.

Please click on the image for an enlarged view.

Enquiries : stbede62@gmail.com

Priestly Ordinations 2015 : 8

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

This post concerns Father Ryan Sliwa of the Diocese Springfield (USA), who was ordained to the Sacred Priesthood in the Cathedral Church of Saint Michael, Springfield (Massachusetts) on 6th June.

Father Sliwa commissioned vestments from the Studio inspired by Mediaeval exemplars. The vestments - a semi-conical chasuble and cope (shewn adjacent) - were sewn from a shade of ivory silk damask and were ornamented with a simple orphrey in colours of blue, red, ivory and gold.  The vestments were lined in a mediaeval blue taffeta.

Father Sliwa very kindly supplied us with photographs of his Ordination and First Holy Mass, which we are pleased to include.

Father Sliwa during the Offering of his First Holy Mass.

Father Sliwa flanked by a deacon and an assistant priest
during the celebration of his First Holy Mass.
Note the reliquaries upon the altar.

The Bishop of Springfield presenting the sacred vessels
to Father Sliwa during the Mass of Ordination.

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

Click on the images for an enlarged view.

Enquiries : stbede62@gmail.com