The Lord’s Prayer.
In Aramaic (Abun d’Beschmayo).
The Mother Tongue Of Jesus.
Available on YouTube
24 October, 2026
Prayers And Devotions For Allhallowtide.
ANCILLA PRESS CATHOLIC BOOKS
All Hallows’ Eve Prayers and Devotions.
Available from ANCILLA PRESS
All Hallows’ Eve Prayers and Devotions.
Traditional Catholic Devotions for Halloween ?
Yes, you read that right !!!
As neo-pagans try to co-opt this Vigil Day for themselves, we’re taking All Hallows’ Eve back for Holy Mother Church with this fantastic collection.
As neo-pagans try to co-opt this Vigil Day for themselves, we’re taking All Hallows’ Eve back for Holy Mother Church with this fantastic collection.
It features Liturgical Propers of The Mass
and The Divine Office for All Hallows’ Eve, including the full version of “Black Vespers”, an old Breton Tradition for the afternoon of Halloween.
Combat the occult worship of the secular holiday with three powerful Prayers against evil spirits, witchcraft, and spells. And transform your children’s Halloween, or All Saints’ “Trick-or-Treating”, from mere indulgence to a Spiritual Work of Mercy with the venerable practice of “Souling” — Praying for The Dear Departed.
Combining Celtic, English, and Latin Traditions, this unique booklet provides adults and children with an unashamedly Catholic, and historically authentic, way to celebrate the beginning of Hallowtide.
~ 26 pages ~ booklet ~ 5.5 inches x 4 inches ~
Features:
* Traditional Mass Propers for All Hallows’ Eve;
* Black Vespers (Vespers of The Dead);
* Little Vespers of All Saints’ Day;
* Saint Patrick’s Breastplate;
* Long form of The Saint Michael Prayer by Pope Leo XIII;
* A Deliverance Prayer;
* Prayer for those for whom we are bound to Pray;
* Prayer for those who repose in a Cemetery;
* Chaplet for The Souls in Purgatory,
adapted for Halloween;
Souling;
* Traditional Soul-Cake Recipe;
* Cheshire Souling Song (music and lyrics);
* Another Souling Song (lyrics).
All Hallows’ Eve Prayers and Devotions.
Available from ANCILLA PRESS
Saint Raphael The Archangel. Whose Feast Day Is, Today, 24 October. White Vestments.
Archangel Raphael with Bishop Domonte.
Artist: Bartolomé Esteban Murillo (1617–1682).
Current location: Pushkin Museum, Moscow, Russia.
Source/Photographer: http://www.allposters.com/-sp/
Transferred from en.wikipedia 2007-11-26
(original upload date).
Original uploader was Commment at en.wikipedia.
(Wikimedia Commons)
Text from Wikipedia - the free encyclopædia,
unless stated otherwise.
Raphæl (Standard Hebrew רָפָאֵל, Rāfāʾēl, “It Is God Who Heals”, “God Heals”, “God, Please Heal”) is an Archangel of Judaism and Christianity, who, in the Judeo-Christian Tradition, performs all manner of healing.
In Islam, Raphæl is the same as Israfil. Raphæl is mentioned in the Book of Tobit, which is accepted as Canonical by Catholics, Orthodox, and some Anglo-Catholics, and as useful for public teaching by Lutherans and Anglicans.
The Angels, mentioned in the Torah, the older Books of the Hebrew Bible, are without names. Rabbi Shimon ben Lakish of Tiberias (230 A.D. – 270 A.D.), asserted that all the specific names for the Angels were brought back by the Jews from Babylon, and modern commentators would tend to agree.
Raphael is named in several Jewish Apocryphal Books (see below).
The Archangel Raphael bound Azazel under a desert, which was called Dudael, according to Enoch 10:4–6:
And again The Lord said to Raphael: “Bind Azazel hand and foot, and cast him into the darkness; and make an opening in the desert, which is in Dudael, and cast him therein. And place upon him rough and jagged rocks, and cover him with darkness, and let him abide there for ever, and cover his face that he may not see light. And, on the day of The Great Judgement, he shall be cast into The Fire”.
Of seven Archangels in the Angelology of Post-Exilic Judaism, only Michæl, mentioned as Archangel (Daniel 12:1; Jude, verse 9), and Gabriel, are mentioned by name in the Scriptures that came to be accepted as Canonical by all Christians.
The name of the Angel Raphael, appears only in the Deuterocanonical Book of Tobit. The Book of Tobit is considered Canonical by Catholics, Orthodox, and some Anglicans. Raphael first appears disguised in human form as the travelling companion of Tobit’s son, Tobiah (Greek: Τωβίας/Tobias), calling himself “Azarias, the son of the great Ananias”.
In the New Testament, only the Archangels Gabriel and Michael are mentioned by name (Luke 1:9-26; Jude 1:9). Later manuscripts of John 5:1-4 refer to the Pool at Bethesda, where the multitude of the infirm lay, awaiting the moving of the water, for “an Angel of The Lord descended at certain times into the pond; and the water was moved. And he that went down first into the pond, after the motion of the water, was made whole of whatsoever infirmity he lay under”. Because of the healing role assigned to Raphael, this particular Angel is generally associated with the Archangel.
Raphael is sometimes shown as standing atop a large fish, or holding a caught fish at the end of a line. This is a reference to the Book of Tobit (Tobias), where he told Tobias to catch a fish, and then uses the gall-bladder to heal Tobit’s eyes, and to drive away Asmodeus by burning the heart and liver.
Due to his actions in the Book of Tobit and the Gospel of John, Saint Raphael is accounted Patron of travellers, the Blind, happy meetings, nurses, physicians, medical workers, matchmakers, Christian marriage, and Catholic studies.
As a particular enemy of the devil, he was revered in Catholic Europe as a special protector of Catholic sailors. On a corner of Venice’s famous Doge’s Palace, there is a Relief, depicting Raphael holding a scroll, on which is written: “Efficia fretum quietum” (“Keep the Gulf quiet”).
On 8 July 1497, when Vasco Da Gama set forth from Lisbon, Portugal, with his four-ship fleet to sail to India, the flagship was named, at the King of Portugal’s insistence, Saint Raphael.
The following Text is from The Saint Andrew Daily Missal.
Saint Raphael The Archangel.
Feast Day 24 October.
Double.
White Vestments.
Saint Raphael is one of The Seven Spirits who always stand before The Lord (Antiphon at The Magnificat) and offer Him the Incense of their Adoration and that of men (Offertory).
"While thou didst Pray with tears," he declared to Tobias, "and didst bury the dead, and didst leave thy dinner to conceal the dead in thy house by day, and by night didst bury them, I presented thy Prayer unto The Lord. And because thy wast agreeable to The Lord, it was necessary that temptation should try thee" (Second Lesson at Matins).
Tobias became blind. "The loss of his eye-sight," says Saint Augustine, "was the occasion for the old man to receive an Angelical physician" (Fourth Lesson at Matins).
Saint Raphael, a name meaning "God Heals", was sent by God to cure Tobias, as He sent the Angel who moved the water in the pool called Probatica (Gospel). He told the younger Tobias what remedy he was to use to restore his father's sight, accompanied and protected the young man on his journey, helped him to find a wife, and warded off the wiles of the devil.
"We praise with sentiments of Veneration," The Church sings, "all The Princes of The Heavenly Court, but in a special manner The Archangel Raphael, healer and faithful companion, who chained down the devil under his power.
"O, Christ, King of all goodness, by giving us such a guardian, make it impossible for the enemy to do us harm" (Hymn).
“May the Angel Raphael, physician of our Salvation, help us from the Heights of Heaven, heal all diseases and guide our faltering steps towards the True Life” (Hymn at Lauds).
Pope Benedict XV extended Saint Raphael the Archangel’s Feast Day to the Universal Church in 1921.
Mass: Benedícite Dóminum.
Creed.
The Angels, mentioned in the Torah, the older Books of the Hebrew Bible, are without names. Rabbi Shimon ben Lakish of Tiberias (230 A.D. – 270 A.D.), asserted that all the specific names for the Angels were brought back by the Jews from Babylon, and modern commentators would tend to agree.
Raphael is named in several Jewish Apocryphal Books (see below).
The Archangel Raphael bound Azazel under a desert, which was called Dudael, according to Enoch 10:4–6:
And again The Lord said to Raphael: “Bind Azazel hand and foot, and cast him into the darkness; and make an opening in the desert, which is in Dudael, and cast him therein. And place upon him rough and jagged rocks, and cover him with darkness, and let him abide there for ever, and cover his face that he may not see light. And, on the day of The Great Judgement, he shall be cast into The Fire”.
Pope Benedict XV, in 1915.
[Editor: Pope Benedict XV extended
the Feast Day of Saint Raphael
to the whole of The Catholic Church in 1921.]
Photo de Benoît XV prise vers 1915.
Source: Library of Congress.
Author: Unknown.
(Wikimedia Commons)
Of seven Archangels in the Angelology of Post-Exilic Judaism, only Michæl, mentioned as Archangel (Daniel 12:1; Jude, verse 9), and Gabriel, are mentioned by name in the Scriptures that came to be accepted as Canonical by all Christians.
The name of the Angel Raphael, appears only in the Deuterocanonical Book of Tobit. The Book of Tobit is considered Canonical by Catholics, Orthodox, and some Anglicans. Raphael first appears disguised in human form as the travelling companion of Tobit’s son, Tobiah (Greek: Τωβίας/Tobias), calling himself “Azarias, the son of the great Ananias”.
During the course of the journey, the Archangel’s protective influence is shown in many ways, including the binding of a demon in the desert of Upper Egypt. After returning, and healing the blind Tobit, Azarias makes himself known as “the Angel Raphael, one of the seven who stand before The Lord” (Tobit 12:15). He is often Venerated and Patronised as Saint Raphael the Archangel.
Regarding the healing powers attributed to Raphael, we have his declaration to Tobit (Tobit, 12) that he was sent by The Lord to heal him of his blindness and to deliver Sarah, his future daughter-in-law, from the demon Asmodeus, who kills every man she marries, on their wedding night, before the marriage can be consummated.
Regarding the healing powers attributed to Raphael, we have his declaration to Tobit (Tobit, 12) that he was sent by The Lord to heal him of his blindness and to deliver Sarah, his future daughter-in-law, from the demon Asmodeus, who kills every man she marries, on their wedding night, before the marriage can be consummated.
English: Tobias and the Angel
(Tob. 6:1-18).
Русский: Товия и ангел
(Тов. 6:1-18).
Date: 1866.
Source: Doré’s English Bible.
Author: Gustave Doré (1832–1883).
(Wikimedia Commons)
Raphael is sometimes shown as standing atop a large fish, or holding a caught fish at the end of a line. This is a reference to the Book of Tobit (Tobias), where he told Tobias to catch a fish, and then uses the gall-bladder to heal Tobit’s eyes, and to drive away Asmodeus by burning the heart and liver.
Due to his actions in the Book of Tobit and the Gospel of John, Saint Raphael is accounted Patron of travellers, the Blind, happy meetings, nurses, physicians, medical workers, matchmakers, Christian marriage, and Catholic studies.
Saint Raphael’s Roman Catholic Church,
Cowra, New South Wales, Australia.
Photo: 26 November 2008.
Source: Own work.
Author: Mattinbgn
(Wikimedia Commons)
On 8 July 1497, when Vasco Da Gama set forth from Lisbon, Portugal, with his four-ship fleet to sail to India, the flagship was named, at the King of Portugal’s insistence, Saint Raphael.
When the flotilla reached the Cape of Good Hope on 22 October 1497, the sailors disembarked and erected a Column in the Archangel’s honour. The little statue of Saint Raphael, that accompanied Da Gama on the voyage, is now in the Naval Museum in Lisbon, Portugal.
The Feast Day of Raphael was included for the first time in the General Roman Calendar in the year 1921, for Celebration on 24 October [Editor: Pope Benedict XV extended the Feast of Saint Raphael to the whole Catholic Church in 1921].
The Feast Day of Raphael was included for the first time in the General Roman Calendar in the year 1921, for Celebration on 24 October [Editor: Pope Benedict XV extended the Feast of Saint Raphael to the whole Catholic Church in 1921].
With the reform of the Roman Catholic Calendar of Saints
in 1969, this Feast was Transferred to 29 September, for Celebration together with Saints Michael and Gabriel (both Archangels). Due to Pope Benedict XVI’s Summorum Pontificum, the Roman Catholic Church still permits use of the 1962 Calendar, allowing both Feast Days.
The Archangel Raphæl is said to have appeared in Cordoba, Spain, during the 16th-Century; in response to the City’s appeal, Pope Innocent X allowed the local Celebration of a Feast in the Archangel’s honour on 7 May, the date of the principal Apparition.
Saint John of God, Founder of the Hospital Order that bears his name, is also said to have received Visitations from Saint Raphæl, who encouraged and instructed him.
Church of Saint Raphael The Archangel,
Montreal, Canada.
Église Saint-Raphael-Archange,
Montreal, Canada.
Photo: 30 July 2011.
Source: Own work.
Author: Jeangagnon
(Wikimedia Commons)
Saint John of God, Founder of the Hospital Order that bears his name, is also said to have received Visitations from Saint Raphæl, who encouraged and instructed him.
In tribute to this, many of the Brothers Hospitallers of Saint John of God’s facilities are called “Raphæl Centres”, to this day. The 18th-Century Neapolitan Nun, Saint Maria Francesca of The Five Wounds, is also said to have seen an Apparition of Raphæl.
Raphael is honoured in Islam as one of the great Archangels and is known more commonly as “Israfil” or “Israfel” in Islamic history.
According to “the Hadith”, he is the Angel responsible for signalling the coming of Judgement Day by blowing the trumpet (namely Sûr). According to tradition, the trumpet will be blown three times.
The first blow of the trumpet will signal the beginning of the Last Day and the second blow will signal the death of all living things, and the third blow will signal the time when all the Souls from all ages will be gathered for the Last Judgement. According to the Quran, an unnamed Trumpet-Angel, assumed to be Israfel, has been holding his breath, waiting for Allah’s order to blow the Sûr.
The Angel Raphael, along with many other prominent Angels, appears in John Milton’s Paradise Lost, in which he is assigned by God to re-warn Adam concerning the sin of eating of the Tree of The Knowledge of Good and Evil. He also expounds to Adam, the War in Heaven, in which Lucifer and the demons fell, and the creation of the Earth.
Raphael is honoured in Islam as one of the great Archangels and is known more commonly as “Israfil” or “Israfel” in Islamic history.
English:
Church of The Holy Archangels Raphael and Michael,
Aleksandrów Łódzki, Poland,
Deutsch: Aleksandrów Łódzki, römisch-katholische
Kirche der Hl. Erzengel Rafael und Michael.
Italiano: Aleksandrów Łódzki, Chiesa romana-cattolica
dei SS. Arcangeli Raffaele e Michele.
Русский: Александрув-Лодзинский, костёл Св.
Архангелов Рафаила и Михаила.
Photo: 26 May 2007.
Source: Own work.
Author: KKK2352
(Wikimedia Commons)
The first blow of the trumpet will signal the beginning of the Last Day and the second blow will signal the death of all living things, and the third blow will signal the time when all the Souls from all ages will be gathered for the Last Judgement. According to the Quran, an unnamed Trumpet-Angel, assumed to be Israfel, has been holding his breath, waiting for Allah’s order to blow the Sûr.
The Angel Raphael, along with many other prominent Angels, appears in John Milton’s Paradise Lost, in which he is assigned by God to re-warn Adam concerning the sin of eating of the Tree of The Knowledge of Good and Evil. He also expounds to Adam, the War in Heaven, in which Lucifer and the demons fell, and the creation of the Earth.
Saint Michael’s Church, Ballinasloe, County Galway, Ireland. East Window, by Frederick Settle Barff (1823–1886), depicting the Assumption (top Light), the Archangels Michael, Gabriel, Raphael, and an Angel blowing the Last Trumpet (upper row), and Saints Patrick, Bridget, Dymphna, and Brendan (lower row). The Tracery matches that of the East Window of Kilconnell Friary (see small picture, below).
Photo: 15 September 2010.
Source: Own work.
Author: Andreas F. Borchert
Reference: 2010/9614.
(Wikimedia Commons)
Kilconnell Friary, Ireland.
(see Note, above).
The following Text is from The Saint Andrew Daily Missal.
Saint Raphael The Archangel.
Feast Day 24 October.
Double.
White Vestments.
Saint Raphael is one of The Seven Spirits who always stand before The Lord (Antiphon at The Magnificat) and offer Him the Incense of their Adoration and that of men (Offertory).
"While thou didst Pray with tears," he declared to Tobias, "and didst bury the dead, and didst leave thy dinner to conceal the dead in thy house by day, and by night didst bury them, I presented thy Prayer unto The Lord. And because thy wast agreeable to The Lord, it was necessary that temptation should try thee" (Second Lesson at Matins).
Tobias became blind. "The loss of his eye-sight," says Saint Augustine, "was the occasion for the old man to receive an Angelical physician" (Fourth Lesson at Matins).
English: The Archangel Raphael with Tobias.
The Church of Saint Michael, Lutzingen, Germany.
Deutsch: Katholische Pfarrkirche St. Michael in Lutzingen, einer Gemeinde im Landkreis Dillingen an der Donau (Bayern), zentrales Chorfenster mit der Darstellung des Erzengels Raphael, der Tobias begleitet.
Photo: 2 December 2010.
Source: Own work.
Author: GFreihalter
(Wikimedia Commons)
Saint Raphael, a name meaning "God Heals", was sent by God to cure Tobias, as He sent the Angel who moved the water in the pool called Probatica (Gospel). He told the younger Tobias what remedy he was to use to restore his father's sight, accompanied and protected the young man on his journey, helped him to find a wife, and warded off the wiles of the devil.
"We praise with sentiments of Veneration," The Church sings, "all The Princes of The Heavenly Court, but in a special manner The Archangel Raphael, healer and faithful companion, who chained down the devil under his power.
English: The Church of Saint Michael in Lutzingen, Germany.
Saint Raphael is depicted in one of the Stained-Glass Windows.
Deutsch: Katholische Pfarrkirche St. Michael in Lutzingen, einer Gemeinde im Landkreis Dillingen an der Donau (Bayern), Innenraum mit Blick zum Chor.
Photo: 2 December 2010.
Source: Own work.
Author: GFreihalter
(Wikimedia Commons)
"O, Christ, King of all goodness, by giving us such a guardian, make it impossible for the enemy to do us harm" (Hymn).
“May the Angel Raphael, physician of our Salvation, help us from the Heights of Heaven, heal all diseases and guide our faltering steps towards the True Life” (Hymn at Lauds).
Pope Benedict XV extended Saint Raphael the Archangel’s Feast Day to the Universal Church in 1921.
Mass: Benedícite Dóminum.
Creed.
23 October, 2026
Rediscovering The Beauty Of Rogation Days.
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Illustration: LITURGICAL ARTS JOURNAL
This Article is taken from, and can be read in full at, LITURGICAL ARTS JOURNAL. By John Paul Sonnen.
The LITURGICAL ARTS JOURNAL Web-Site can be found HERE
The Catholic Church has always been a culturally creative force. It teaches that, throughout the ages of life and the seasons, mankind is being leavened and permeated by a transcendent principle.
And every part of nature is capable of being influenced and sanctified by this Divine Influence.
Illustration: LITURGICAL ARTS JOURNAL
The Resurgence Of Rogation Days.
It is a sheer delight to see many young Catholics discovering the lost Tradition of Rogation Days.
This time-honoured Liturgical custom, Celebrated in the Late-Spring, is when the Faithful petition God for Blessings on agriculture and industry.
Prayers are offered with Penance and supplication, asking God for mercy and protection against disasters, while petitioning for Him to Bless the Earth.
Prayers are offered with Penance and supplication, asking God for mercy and protection against disasters, while petitioning for Him to Bless the Earth.
For The Mass and Procession, the Priest wears Violet, due to it being a Penitential observance.
The Introit (Psalm xvii, 7) for the Mass of Rogation on Rogation Monday (Saint Mary Major), Rogation Tuesday (Saint John Lateran), Rogation Wednesday (Saint Peter’s).
“He heard my voice from His Holy Temple, alleluia; and my cry before Him came into his ears, alleleuia, alleluia. I will love Thee, O Lord, my strength; the Lord is my firmament, my refuge and my deliverer”. Versicle: Glory be to The Father . . .
Illustration: LITURGICAL ARTS JOURNAL
“Ember Days”
and
“Rogation Days”.
Sermon By: Fr Ripperger.
Available on YouTube
Nevertheless, an all-encompassing part of Society is also agrarian, and we recognise the need to make supplication to Heaven for successful planting, a satisfactory crop, and a bountiful harvest.
Decent farmers through the ages have always made this their fervent Prayer.
Needless to say, it is not just rural families that depend on agriculture and farming. All of Society rests on the benefits that come from the land.
Needless to say, it is not just rural families that depend on agriculture and farming. All of Society rests on the benefits that come from the land.
The Ancient Custom of Blessing the Fields.
“Rogation Sunday”.
Hever, Kent, England.
Photo: 9 February 1967.
Source: From geograph.org.uk
Author: Ray Trevena
(Wikimedia Commons)
For this reason, The Church has always been eager to prioritise land ownership and farming interests.
Although Ascension Thursday is today downplayed in many Countries, with the Celebration transferred to the following Sunday (by order of the local Bishops’ Conference), the entire week has immense Liturgical import, with three of the Rogation Days [Editor: Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday] leading up to it in the same week.
Although Ascension Thursday is today downplayed in many Countries, with the Celebration transferred to the following Sunday (by order of the local Bishops’ Conference), the entire week has immense Liturgical import, with three of the Rogation Days [Editor: Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday] leading up to it in the same week.
Advert for a Sung Mass, 21 May 2017,
for Rogation Sunday, at Saint-Eugène-Sainte-Cécile, Paris.
Illustration: FACEBOOK, SAINT EUGENE-SAINTE-CECILE
In the week of Ascension-Tide, Catholics contemplate Christ Rising in Glory, while the Apostles and Our Lady watch in awe.
Though He returns to The Father, Christ remains ever-present in the Eucharist and in His Mystical Body, The Church.
This gives hope for our Prayers.
The rest of this Article may be read at LITURGICAL ARTS JOURNAL HERE
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A Magnificent, Beautiful, Stunning, Church In Paris: The Church Of Saint-Eugène-Sainte-Cécile.
The Divine Mass. Saint-Eugène - Sainte-Cécile, Paris.
Illustration: FACEBOOK, SAINT-EUGENE-SAINTE-CECILE
The following Text is taken from, and can be read in full at,
Catholics who visit Paris should know about this wonderful Church and visit - it is the home of the Vetus Ordo in The Archdiocese of Paris.
Liturgy is done very well here with great care and reverence in a stunningly beautiful Neo-Gothic Church. Also, the Choir is one of the best in France. Every year, I visit in conjunction with the Annual Chartres Pilgrimage and I encourage others to do the same.
Sunday Mass and Vespers is a must. Be sure to make time for the Sunday morning 11:00 a.m. Solemn High Mass - it is nothing short of extraordinary.
The Church is also commonly known as Saint-Eugène. This wonderful community is located in the 9th-Arrondissement of Paris in the historic neighbourhood that was once the traditional Jewish Quarter.
The Church is centrally located, with about a dozen hotels within walking distance. The Parish draws Parishioners from across Paris and beyond. It has also produced a handful of notable Vocations to the Priesthood and Religious Life.
The Church is packed on Sundays with young families with many children who are drawn by the Respect and Devotion shown.
Saint-Eugène Church was built during a time when The Church in France was undergoing a renewal after the Anti-Religious Revolutionary periods. Those years of persecution gave birth to a renewal of the local Church in the Mid-1800s that saw a boom in Catholic Life and Church construction.
The years of trial and persecution contributed to growth that saw the creation of new Religious Orders, new Vocations to the Seminary and Convent, the development of Marian Devotion (connected to the Lourdes Apparitions in 1858), and the successful creation of Catholic Social Movements.
The Church then began to build, everywhere. The Gothic Art, born in France during the Middle-Ages, was rediscovered and Neo-Gothic Churches were planned and constructed across the Land.
One of the biggest assets of the Parish is the excellent Choir, the Schola Sainte Cécile. This is one of the finest Church Choirs in the Catholic World. It is directed by the distinguished Mæstro, Henri Adam de Villers, a Graduate of The Sorbonne and an extremely competent Director of Music.
Henri keeps busy, conducting two Church Choirs. He is French and speaks perfect English, a native of the French Island of Réunion in The Indian Ocean. The Choir has an excellent YouTube Channel that I highly recommend for Readers to get a taste of the high-quality music that is made available to all in Paris.
My favourite Hymn sung by the Choir is Domine Salva Fac Galliam, which they sing on patriotic occasions such as the Feast Day of Saint Denis, Patron Saint of Paris and France. The beautiful Pipe Organ of the Church complements the Choir; built by the German Organ builder, Joseph Merklin, who lived in Paris. This same Organ was exhibited at the 1855 Universal Exhibition in Paris before it was installed in the Church. It has thirty-three Stops, three Keyboards of fifty-six Notes each, a Pedal Board of twenty-seven Notes, and 1,941 Pipes.
The Church is centrally located, with about a dozen hotels within walking distance. The Parish draws Parishioners from across Paris and beyond. It has also produced a handful of notable Vocations to the Priesthood and Religious Life.
The Church is packed on Sundays with young families with many children who are drawn by the Respect and Devotion shown.
Saint-Eugène Church was built during a time when The Church in France was undergoing a renewal after the Anti-Religious Revolutionary periods. Those years of persecution gave birth to a renewal of the local Church in the Mid-1800s that saw a boom in Catholic Life and Church construction.
On 8 December 2019, the Feast Day of The Immaculate Conception, a Procession of The Immaculate Conception
took place in the evening from Saint-Eugène - Sainte-Cécile
to the Church of Notre-Dame-des-Victoires.
Illustration: FACEBOOK, SAINT-EUGENE-SAINTE-CECILE
The Church then began to build, everywhere. The Gothic Art, born in France during the Middle-Ages, was rediscovered and Neo-Gothic Churches were planned and constructed across the Land.
As Architects and Artists looked to the Past for their inspiration, France entered into a period of Architectural pastiche, imitating previous styles, including the Gothic.
That period in the history of France is known as The Second Empire (1852-1870). And, like all regimes after the restoration, the Government and People favoured Religious Subjects in the Art that it sponsored.
Expansion of French industry brought with it economic prosperity and an influx of people to the big City. Paris grew from one-million inhabitants around 1850 to two-million by the end of the Century, with the number of Parishes growing from forty-six to sixty-nine.
New Church construction flourished as Paris turned into a vast building site. In fact, it can be said of that period of French history: “No period presents us with so many pieces of Religious Art executed simultaneously by such a large number of distinguished Artists" (Gazette des Beaux-Arts, 1861).
The Church of Saint-Eugène was constructed between 1854-1855 by the Architects Louis-Auguste Boileau and Louis-Adrien Lusson. It was the first Church in France to use an entirely iron-framed structure for construction.
This was inspired by the metal framework construction seen just before, with Baltards's construction in metal of the old Central Halles in Paris in 1854. This innovative new construction method was deemed perfect for a Church, to keep the cost down because it allowed a decrease in the thickness of the masonry walls while also allowing for quick construction, in this case barely twenty months.
The frame was made of metal cast-iron Columns that are attached to the masonry of the Walls, supporting the wrought-iron Trusses, thus avoiding any appearance of heaviness. On each Column, stands Decorated Capitals, moulded in cast-iron and painted in a beautiful array of colour.
This new Style, employing cast-iron and metal framework, became popular and was used in other neighbouring Church construction, such as with Saint Augustine, also in downtown Paris (built between 1860-1869, it was the first monumental Religious Building in Paris with a metal framework).
Visitors to Saint-Eugène enter and notice the markedly-vertical framework that gives this Church its specific character as the eyes of The Faithful are drawn up to Heaven. In place of the massive Pillars of yesteryear, the thirty-six Columns are as thin as Lances, separating the Nave from the Aisles, with little wooden chairs for The Faithful to use.
The Interior of the Church is absolutely stunning with a colourful, airy space. Facing North, the light of the beautiful afternoon Sun enters the Gothic-inspired Sanctuary, recalling a Holy Place. The display of vivid Stained-Glass Windows harmonises with iron Piers and mouldings that are painted in a variety of colours that match the glow of the Stained-Glass Windows.
Blues, Reds, and Greens, provide for a dark Interior, with mythical Ceiling Vaults. From the entrance, the eye embraces the entire volume of the Church, with the Ceiling decorated with exquisite Stencil Work strewn with Stars in the Neo-Gothic Style, Bright Yellow in the Nave and Midnight Blue in the Apses.
The Interior is clearly inspired by Sainte-Chapelle, the Royal Chapel in Paris of the Kings of France. In addition, influences were taken from the Priory of Saint-Martin-des-Champs, an iconic Monastery in Paris that was suppressed during The French Revolution.
The Windows are mostly the work of Master Glassmakers, Lusson, Gsell and Oudinot. Louis-Adrien Lusson and Gaspard Gsell created the main Stained-Glass Windows. The Centre-Piece in the Sanctuary is the Window depicting The Transfiguration of Our Lord.
The unique Stations of The Cross, on the main level, are famous because they are depicted in Stained-Glass, a rare work of Eugène-Stanislas Oudinot. These Windows are resolutely notable because they are the only known example of The Via Crucis realised entirely in Stained-Glass. The Pulpit, alone, is an incredible Work of Art, made of Carved Wood with a beautiful Canopy.
That period in the history of France is known as The Second Empire (1852-1870). And, like all regimes after the restoration, the Government and People favoured Religious Subjects in the Art that it sponsored.
Expansion of French industry brought with it economic prosperity and an influx of people to the big City. Paris grew from one-million inhabitants around 1850 to two-million by the end of the Century, with the number of Parishes growing from forty-six to sixty-nine.
The Church of Saint-Eugène was constructed between 1854-1855 by the Architects Louis-Auguste Boileau and Louis-Adrien Lusson. It was the first Church in France to use an entirely iron-framed structure for construction.
This was inspired by the metal framework construction seen just before, with Baltards's construction in metal of the old Central Halles in Paris in 1854. This innovative new construction method was deemed perfect for a Church, to keep the cost down because it allowed a decrease in the thickness of the masonry walls while also allowing for quick construction, in this case barely twenty months.
The frame was made of metal cast-iron Columns that are attached to the masonry of the Walls, supporting the wrought-iron Trusses, thus avoiding any appearance of heaviness. On each Column, stands Decorated Capitals, moulded in cast-iron and painted in a beautiful array of colour.
The Church of Saint-Eugène-Sainte-Cécile
is located in The 9th-Arrondissement of Paris.
Illustration: LITURGICAL ARTS JOURNAL
Visitors to Saint-Eugène enter and notice the markedly-vertical framework that gives this Church its specific character as the eyes of The Faithful are drawn up to Heaven. In place of the massive Pillars of yesteryear, the thirty-six Columns are as thin as Lances, separating the Nave from the Aisles, with little wooden chairs for The Faithful to use.
The Interior of the Church is absolutely stunning with a colourful, airy space. Facing North, the light of the beautiful afternoon Sun enters the Gothic-inspired Sanctuary, recalling a Holy Place. The display of vivid Stained-Glass Windows harmonises with iron Piers and mouldings that are painted in a variety of colours that match the glow of the Stained-Glass Windows.
Blues, Reds, and Greens, provide for a dark Interior, with mythical Ceiling Vaults. From the entrance, the eye embraces the entire volume of the Church, with the Ceiling decorated with exquisite Stencil Work strewn with Stars in the Neo-Gothic Style, Bright Yellow in the Nave and Midnight Blue in the Apses.
Requiem Mass for King Louis XVI at The Church of
Saint-Eugène-Sainte-Cécile, 21 January 2020.
Available on YouTube at
The Windows are mostly the work of Master Glassmakers, Lusson, Gsell and Oudinot. Louis-Adrien Lusson and Gaspard Gsell created the main Stained-Glass Windows. The Centre-Piece in the Sanctuary is the Window depicting The Transfiguration of Our Lord.
The unique Stations of The Cross, on the main level, are famous because they are depicted in Stained-Glass, a rare work of Eugène-Stanislas Oudinot. These Windows are resolutely notable because they are the only known example of The Via Crucis realised entirely in Stained-Glass. The Pulpit, alone, is an incredible Work of Art, made of Carved Wood with a beautiful Canopy.
Advert for a Sung Mass, 21 May 2017,
for Rogation Sunday, at Saint-Eugène-Sainte-Cécile.
Illustration: FACEBOOK, SAINT EUGENE-SAINTE-CECILE
Henri keeps busy, conducting two Church Choirs. He is French and speaks perfect English, a native of the French Island of Réunion in The Indian Ocean. The Choir has an excellent YouTube Channel that I highly recommend for Readers to get a taste of the high-quality music that is made available to all in Paris.
My favourite Hymn sung by the Choir is Domine Salva Fac Galliam, which they sing on patriotic occasions such as the Feast Day of Saint Denis, Patron Saint of Paris and France. The beautiful Pipe Organ of the Church complements the Choir; built by the German Organ builder, Joseph Merklin, who lived in Paris. This same Organ was exhibited at the 1855 Universal Exhibition in Paris before it was installed in the Church. It has thirty-three Stops, three Keyboards of fifty-six Notes each, a Pedal Board of twenty-seven Notes, and 1,941 Pipes.
Saint-Eugène is the same historic Church where Jules Verne was married in 1857, a French novelist and major literary author. It was built by Decree of the Emperor Napoleon III and Dedicated to Saint-Eugène de Deuil-la-Barre in honour of the Emperor's wife, the Empress Eugénie (1826-1920), who was present for the Dedication of the Church.
Although the Church was Consecrated to Saint-Eugène, in 1952 the name of Sainte-Cécile was added as a nod to the Patron Saint of Musicians, due to the close proximity of the Church to the Paris Conservatory, a College of Music Founded in 1795. For this reason, the Church was initially deprived of Bells at the time of its construction, so as to not interfere with the lessons.
Many of the students of Organ Music would visit the Church to practice on the Parish Organ. Although the Church was Blessed and Dedicated in 1855, it was not until The Holy Year 2000 that the fully-completed Interior of the Church was Dedicated by Cardinal Lustiger, Archbishop of Paris. At that time, he also Blessed the new Carillon, a Set of Bells finally installed despite the absence of a Bell Tower. For more historical information on the Church, see HERE.
Although the Church was Consecrated to Saint-Eugène, in 1952 the name of Sainte-Cécile was added as a nod to the Patron Saint of Musicians, due to the close proximity of the Church to the Paris Conservatory, a College of Music Founded in 1795. For this reason, the Church was initially deprived of Bells at the time of its construction, so as to not interfere with the lessons.
Many of the students of Organ Music would visit the Church to practice on the Parish Organ. Although the Church was Blessed and Dedicated in 1855, it was not until The Holy Year 2000 that the fully-completed Interior of the Church was Dedicated by Cardinal Lustiger, Archbishop of Paris. At that time, he also Blessed the new Carillon, a Set of Bells finally installed despite the absence of a Bell Tower. For more historical information on the Church, see HERE.
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JPSonnen
JPSonnen is a tour operator, history docent
and travel writer with Orbis Catholic Travel LLC.
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