ALMIGHTY God, whose kingdom is everlasting and power infinite; Have mercy upon this whole land; and so rule the hearts of thy servants The President of the United Sates, The Governor of New York, and all others in authority, that they, knowing whose ministers they are, may above all things seek thy honour and glory; and that we and all the People, duly considering whose authority they bear, may faithfully and obediently honour them, according to thy blessed Word and ordinance; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who with thee and the Holy Ghost liveth and reigneth ever, one God, world without end. Amen.

Boy did we have a blast last night! Bishop Rifan of Campos swung by Edinburgh on his tour of the United Kingdom (organised by Una Voce Scotland and the British Friends of Campos), and I was among a number of St Andreans lucky enough to make his aquaintance and receive the episcopal blessing.

It began with a Pontifical Low Mass at the Church of St Andrew in Ravelston, Edinburgh. The church is a wooden structure that would not look out of place in the Catskills or Adirondacks. In fact, it somewhat reminded me of the Chapel at Camp Jeanne d’Arc, where my sister spent her summers growing up. Such a setting in addition to the Mass being in the old rite slightly assuaged my permanent yearning for New York. (more…)

Today we bring you the story of a man known as both Brother Louis of the Trinity, OCD, and Admiral Georges Thierry d’Argenlieu.

D’Argenlieu graduated from the Ecole Navale in Brest and was awarded the Legion d’Honneur for his actions in the Great War. After the war, he became a Carmelite friar, taking the name of Louis de la Trinité. As the Second World War commenced, he once again put on the uniform and partook in the defence of France from the pagan Nazis. Once France was vanquished, he escaped to London where he allied himself with General de Gaulle and the Free French Forces, eventually becoming the commander of the Free French Naval Forces. At the Liberation of the Paris, he strode down the Champs Elysée with de Gaulle and Leclerc and attended the Te Deum at Notre-Dame.

Incidentally, he was also the one who suggested the adoption of the Croix de Lorraine as the symbol to differentiate the Free French Forces from those of Vichy France.

In 1947 however, while Governor-General of Indochina, his request to leave the Armed Forces was granted, and he returned to life as a Carmelite, dying at the Priory of Avon in 1964.

More about Admiral d’Argenlieu/Father Louis here, here, and here.

Today after Rosary, Maria was claiming that Bernadette of Lourdes was more beautiful than Thérèse of Lisieux, and I protested. I think Thérèse is more beautiful and I hope readers will agree. Nonetheless, a facetious and superficial discussion.

At the drinks party for bejants at Canmore the other night, my mind got wandering to whether there are any basilicas in the United Kingdom.

Rob mentioned the Basilica of Corpus Christi in Manchester, and we thought Westminster Cathedral might be a basilica, but it appears not.

Downside Abbey, however, is the Basilica of Saint Gregory the Great. Above can be seen Dom Antony Sutch, the former head of Downside, who had some very cogent criticisms of Labour education policy.

A splendid triptych from this site.

Splendid photo of an old rite mass courtesy of the Latin Mass Society of England and Wales.

An early view, only partially executed to this plan.

If anyone knows of other British basilicas, do inform us.

Links:
Catholic Encyclopedia article
Official Abbey website

UPDATE: St. Chad’s Cathedral in Birmingham — a work of Pugin — is also a basilica.

The Shrine of the Blessed Sacrament in Hanceville, Alabama (completed 1999).

How often do you get two of your favourite people (saints?) together in the same photograph? Here we have Blessed Pius XII and the Servant of God Fulton Sheen.

Listen to some of Fulton Sheen’s brilliant talks, which you can find here, here, and here.

I think my favourite is God in Search of Man, which mentions Thompson’s the Hound of Heaven.

It is said that Newman was not a fan of the gothic revival. When he had this church built for his Catholic University of Ireland in Dublin (since then merged into the Royal University of Ireland which became the National University of Ireland, University College Dublin), he certainly made sure it was über-byzantine. Though beautiful on the inside, it has possibly the least imposing facade of any church I’ve ever seen. Perhaps that adds to its charm.

When you have a chance, why not take a gander at the official website of the oldest and largest Christian church in our northernmost state?

… not yet gone. Cardinal Egan and his abomination squad have begun demolishing the Church of St. Thomas the Apostle in Harlem. St. Thomas is one of New York’s architectural gems, especially known for its perpindicular gothic vaulted ceiling. It has been determined that the stained glass, the worth of which may reach into the millions, cannot be removed, and so will be lost with the rest of the church. The altar is already gone, although in honesty, it was the least attractive feature at St Thomas, a bit frilly.

Preservationist M.H. Adams: The church is “the most significant structure to be destroyed in the city since Penn Station.”

Anti-Abomination.com quips “At least the moneychangers didn’t try to sell the temple.”

Gabriel Meyer, the fourth generation at Mayer of Munich (the firm that made St. Thomas’s windows), told Cardinal Egan in a letter:

But it would seem that Egan’s bureaucracy will trump history, Christian charity, and appreciation for beauty. The property will not be sold, but will be replaced by apartments to bring revenue into the Archdiocesan treasury. Cardinal Egan has done much since he ascended to the episcopal throne of our great metropolis. By this, and many other actions, he has shown his allegiance, and it is not to Christ.

(Via Fr. Jim Tucker) The Telegraph reports on the new monastery at Novy Dvur.

I have to say I rather like it. My only issue is that it ought to have a giant, massive crucifix floating above the altar. I know the whole point is supposed to be minimalism and absence but it’s ridiculous for the central feature of a church to be the absence of anything. The central feature of both The Church and any church should be Christ. So put some Christ into it.

Or perhaps if the entirety of the church were to be covered wall to wall in great pulchritudinous and polychromatic murals except the sanctuary, which would remain completely blank and white, thus focusing on the other-ness of the Eucharistic sacrifice compared to our world.

More photos. (more…)

Every now and then, the Tablet has articles which are spot on. Read about the Blessed Antoni Gaudi in this week’s edition. Well worth a read.

On Friday, May 16 of 2003, the Carmelites offered a mass in York Minster to commemorate the 550th anniversary of the Papal bull ‘Cum Nulla’ allowing the Order to enroll nuns and the laity. York Minster used to be home to a Carmelite congregation, kicked out when the Minster – the largest Gothic cathedral in northern Europe – was appropriated by the government. It survives today as the cathedral for the Archdiocese and ecclesiastical province of York. The official website conveniently makes no mention of the great church being nicked from the Carmelites, but at least they let them offer the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass in their old home.

York Minster was in the news not too long ago, when Canon Professor Edward Norman – one of their clerics and supposedly one of Anglicanism’s leading intellectuals – decided to swim the Tiber (so to speak). (more…)

Relics of Saint Elizabeth Romanoff have been greeted enthusiastically by Muscovite crowds, according to Russia’s state-run ITAR-TASS news agency.

To discover the beautiful witness to Christ of Saint Elizabeth, read more about her at the Orthodox Christian Information Center and on the site of Fr. Demetrios Serfes. A statue of the holy Grand Duchess now graces the front of Westminster Abbey.

The ground has already been broken on the new Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe in the Diocese of La Cross, Wisconsin. La Crosse was formerly home to Archbishop Raymond Burke, one of the best bishops in our country. Burke has since been moved to the see of Saint Louis in Missouri. God willing, New York might get him some day, though Los Angeles could certainly use him more.

Blessed Virgin of Guadalupe, pray for the Americas, that we may become a beacon shining forth the light of Christ to all the nations.

Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee. Blessed art thou amongst women and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death. Amen.

Here are some photos from this years Pentecost Paris-Chartres Pilgrimage. (more…)

The debate continues:

TCR News

Read this interesting piece on George Orwell by none other than Malcolm Muggeridge.

Thanks to our Hollandic foundation, Saint Nicholas is the patron saint of New York. The Saint Nicholas Center has a great website telling you all about good Saint Nick, including this page with tips for celebrating the Saint from none other than the great Joanna Bogle.

Joanna is a brilliant woman who I had a great conversation with after her talk ‘Does the Catholic Church Oppress Women?’ at Canmore during Martinmas term. Mrs. Bogle (whose other half is Jamie Bogle, another UK activist who has visited St Andrews) is a no-nonsense public speaker as well as a brilliant journalist covering issues relating to ethics, conception-to-natural-death, the Church, and women, her most interesting work being on culture. I hope to purchase her Book of Feasts and Seasons sometime soon.

His feast, December 6, is also the birthday of Miss Sofie von Hauch, good friend and Scandinavian femme fatale of polyphony who will be forever remembered for bringing Latin back into our parish’s liturgy at university.

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