1997 Decision of the Ecclesia Dei Commission : UPDATED

Above are shewn decisions of the Ecclesia Dei Commission, given in 1997 in response to dubia posed by an Australian bishop.  The name of this bishop is withheld.  They concern, of course, the celebration of Mass according to the 1962 Missale Romanum.  The letter of the Commission makes it quite clear that permissions extended to Benedictine Communities in France (namely Fontgombault and Le Barroux) by the same Commission, may be enjoyed by other Extraordinary Form Communities.  This letter was written ten years before the motu proprio Summorum Pontificum.

As far as this writer is concerned, the permissions of the Ecclesia Dei Commission in this 1997 letter have not been revoked.  Note well that they are permissions and not obligations.

The permissions of the Commission, shewn in the letter, may be summarised as follows:

1. At a Low Mass, the celebrant may read an approved translation into the vernacular of the Epistle and Gospel.

2(a) At a Solemn Mass, the celebrant and ministers may join with the schola in singing a plainchant Gloria and Credo, without the requirement of reading them together beforehand.

2(b) At any sung Mass, the entire congregation may join with the Celebrant in singing the Pater noster.

3. The additional prefaces, which were included in an appendix of the 1965 Missale Romanum and some editions of the 1962 Missale Romanum (often referred to as The Gallican Prefaces) may be used at any celebration of Mass according to the 1962 Missal.  Furthermore, prefaces from the 1970 Missale Romanum may also be included.

In addition to these Decisions, the Commission attached to the letter its permissions regarding the form of the Conventual Mass which may be celebrated by the Traditionalist Benedictines of France.  By this was intended that the form of celebration described may be celebrated elsewhere ( a translation is given below ) :

1. If the celebration of the Divine Office precedes Mass, the Prayers at the Foot of the altar may be omitted.

2. The rites accompanying the readings from scripture may be celebrated at the sedilia.

3. The readings may be proclaimed facing the people, whether in Latin or the vernacular and the celebrant is not required to read them or the Gradual chants separately.

4. Bidding Prayers may be offered after the Oremus, immediately preceding the Offertory.

5. The "Secret" prayer may be sung aloud.

6. The celebrant may sing the entire doxology Per ipsum, whilst elevating the Host over the chalice.

7. The Pater noster may be sung by all with the celebrant.

Please click on the images for an enlarged view.

Recent Enquiries

Out of necessity, work at the Studio has been in a period of Recess.  This has had the greatest impact on our timely response to a large number of e-mail enquiries.

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

Your Christian patience is greatly appreciated.

Saint Giles chasuble : reposted

The Saint Bede Studio recently completed this chasuble according to our Saint Giles design.  This simple and elegant chasuble, made from a cream coloured silk blend jacquard, is extremely lightweight and flows beautifully.

These vestments were donated to the National Shrine of Saint Jude in Chicago (USA) in thanksgiving for an important favour granted to the Saint Bede Studio through the intercession of Saint Jude Thaddeus.

The chasuble is ornamented with a braid of the Studio's design, in colours of red, burgundy and gold.  This design is directly based upon a Belgian early-20th century chasuble which appears on page 92 of Dom Roulin's well-known study Vestments and Vesture (1931). The image from Dom Roulin's book is reproduced below.

Saint Jude, Apostle of Hope, pray for us.

Please click on the images for an enlarged view.

Enquiries : stbede62@gmail.com

Rose Low Mass set

Recently, the Saint Bede Studio commissioned this set of Rose vestments for a Latin Mass Community in the Archdiocese of Sydney (Australia).

Rose-coloured vestments were never commonplace and they still are not. Many different colours have been deemed by the Church as acceptable as liturgical rose.  Some of these are a salmon shade; some a silvery-pink, some close to what we would call Bishop's purple or fuchsia; and some red with overtones of gold.

This particular set of vestments (see adjacent image), in the Studio's  Saint Giles style - is made from a quite different shade of rose. It is a colour between crimson and purple and made from dupion silk.  Unfortunately, photography fails to capture the subtle accents of this beautiful silk. To accentuate the colour of the vestment, the lining is made from a much lighter rose taffeta. The orphrey of this chasuble is formed from one of the Studio's Puginesque braids in colours of burgundy, red and ash-grey.

Click on the image for an enlarged view.

Enquiries: stbede62@gmail.com

Ordinands for 2018

Commissions for the first half of 2018 are now being accepted.
  
Will you be ordained in 2018?

Please do not delay in making an enquiry.  

Places in our schedule are limited. NOW is the time to be in contact with the Studio.  

Enquiries : stbede62@gmail.com

A Night Prayer

Lighten our darkness, we beseech thee, O Lord; 
and by thy great mercy defend us 
from all perils and dangers of this night; 
for the love of thy only Son, our Saviour Jesus Christ. Amen.

This brief but lovely prayer is found in the 1559 version of The Book of Common Prayer, and had its antecedent in pre-Reformation English Catholic use, being the last prayer of the Office of Compline in the Sarum Use.

The redoubtable Father Hunwicke has an exposition of this prayer for us, which is most interesting.

Whatever the intention of the ancient author of this oration, we can now look at Cranmer's choice of the translation "lighten" in two ways :

"Shed your light upon our darkness"   or

"Lift the burden of our darkness".

In such an understanding, Darkness may refer to our sinfulness, or to our spiritual or intellectual blindness. It is certainly a prayer for those who wish to be at rights with God before sleep descends.

For the Season "Per Annum" 2017 : 5

This is a chasuble in the Studio's Saint Martin style, being a contemporary interpretation of the mediaeval chasuble. It is a very ample vestment made from a simple silk in a darker shade of green. It is ornamented in the Roman style with a braid of the Studio's own design, but based on the work of AWN Pugin. It is fully lined in red taffeta.

Click on the adjacent image for an enlarged view.

Enquiries: stbede62@gmail.com

The Season "Per Annum" 2017 : 4

The Studio has completed this set of vestments in our Saint Giles style, being a more flowing and slightly more ample chasuble in the Gothic style.

These vestments are made from a beautiful brocade in two shades of green, one being very dark, the other an Emerald green. Their combination is very rich and distinctive. Ornamenting the vestments is the earliest of the Studio's Puginesque braids, a design of alternating quatrefoils in gold upon a red base. The lining is a brighter red.

The chasuble is shewn being worn with an apparelled amice.

Click on the image for an enlarged view.

Enquiries : stbede62@gmail.com

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.

Orphrey Braids of the Saint Bede Studio

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

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

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

Enquiries : stbede62@gmail.com


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