Notre Dame de Rouen. The façade of the Gothic Church in France. Photographer: Hippo1947. Licence: SHUTTERSTOCK.

Sunday 1 March 2020

Kyrie Eleison (Orbis Factor). Mass Setting XI (Sundays Throughout The Year Outside Of Lent And Advent). Mediæval Chant From The Gradual Of Eleanor Of Brittany.



English: Kyrie Eleison (Orbis Factor).
Mediæval Chant from The Gradual of Eleanor of Brittany (13th - 14th Century).
Director: Marcel Peres Album: "Le chant de la Memoire"
Sung by: Ensemble Organum.
Director: Marcel Peres.
Album: "Le Chant de la Memoire".
Français: Graduel d' Alienor de Bretagne (Orbis Factor).
Available on YouTube at


English: Detail from The Gradual of Eleanor of Brittany, showing The Nativity.
Français: Graduel d'Aliénor - Nativité.
Date: 15 November 2014.
Bibliothèque multimédia de Limoges.
Author: Anonymous.



English: Detail from The Gradual of Eleanor of Brittany,
showing The Resurrection.
Français: Graduel d'Aliénor - Résurrection.
Date: 15 November 2014.
Bibliothèque multimédia de Limoges.
Author: Anonymous.


The following Text is from Wikipedia - the free encyclopædia.

Eleanor of Brittany (1275 – 16 May 1342) was the sixteenth Abbess of Fontevrault Abbey, France.

She was born in England to John II, Duke of Brittany and Beatrice of England, and, in 1281, at the age of seven, entered Amesbury Abbey, a Priory of The Fontevrault Order (her first cousin, twice removed, Eleanor, Fair Maid of Brittany is buried there).

In 1290, she moved to Fontevrault Abbey in the Loire region of France, the Parent Abbey of The Order, where she took her Vows and became a Nun. A richly illuminated Gradual was presented to her upon her Induction. In 1304, she became Abbess. Upon her death in 1342 she bequeathed the Gradual to the Abbey. It survives to this day and is held by the Public Library of Limoges.


Gregorian Chant Setting for Kyrie XI, notated in Neumes.
Missa XI Orbis Factor
(In Dominicis Infra Annum),
beginning of Kyrie Eleison,
version B.
XIV-XVI Century.
From Graduale Romanum Sacrosanctae Romanae Ecclesiae,
Solesmes MCMLXXIX, p748.
(Wikimedia Commons)



The Kyriale is a collection of Gregorian Chant Settings

It contains eighteen Masses (each consisting of the Kyrie, Gloria [excluded from Masses intended for Weekdays/Ferias and Sundays in Advent and Lent], Sanctus, and Agnus Dei), six Credos, and several “Ad Libitum” Chants.

This collection is included in Liturgical Books
such as The Graduale Romanum and Liber Usualis, and it is also published as a separate book by the Monks of Solesmes Abbey.


In The Kyriale, the individual Chants of The Ordinary are grouped into complete Sets, whose Title usually indicates the opening of the “Prosula”, formerly sung to each respective Kyrie melody. These Masses are followed by individual items not grouped with the complete Masses.

The following list of Masses indicates the Seasons or Feasts for which each Mass is intended. In practice, however, Mass Settings may be used on days that fall outside the Seasons or Feasts listed below; additionally, Chants may be extracted from multiple Mass Settings for use during a given Mass.


(Dominica Ad Aspersionem Aquæ Benedictæ).
(for the Asperges Rite outside of Paschaltide)
(Extra Tempus Paschale).


“Asperges Me”.
Available on YouTube at


Vidi Aquam
(for the Asperges Rite in Paschaltide)
(Tempore Paschali).
Available on YouTube at


Mass I:
“Lux Et Origo”
(in Paschaltide)
(Tempore Paschali).

Mass II:
“Fons Bonitatis”
(In Festis Solemnibus I)
(for Solemnities or First-Class Feasts).


“The Kyrie”.
Mass II.
Available on YouTube at

Mass III:
“Deus Sempiterne”
(In Festis Solemnibus II)
(for Solemnities or First-Class Feasts).

Mass IV:
“Cunctipotens Genitor Deus”
(In Festis Duplicibus I)
(Pre-Vatican II “Double Feast”)
(for Feasts of Apostles or Second-Class Feasts).


Mass V:
“Magnæ Deus Potentiæ”
(In Festis Duplicibus II)
(Pre-Vatican II “Double Feast”)
(for Feasts or Second-Class Feasts).


“The Kyrie”.
Mass V.
Available on YouTube at

Mass VI:
“Rex Génitor”
(In Festis Duplicibus III)
(Pre-Vatican II “Double Feast”)
(for Feasts or Second-Class Feasts).


“The Kyrie”.
Mass VI.
Available on YouTube at

Mass VII:
“Rex Splendens”
(In Festis Duplicibus IV)
(Pre-Vatican II “Double Feast”)
(for Feasts or Second-Class Feasts).

Mass VIII:
“De Angelis”
(In Festis Duplicibus V)
(Pre-Vatican II “Double Feast”)
(for Feasts or Second-Class Feasts).


Mass IX:
“Cum Jubilo”
(In Festis Beatæ Mariæ Virginis I)
(for Marian Solemnities and Marian Feasts or Feasts).

Mass X:
“Alme Pater”
(In Festis Beatæ Mariæ Virginis II)
(for Marian Solemnities and Marian Feasts or Feasts).


“The Kyrie”.
Mass X.
Available on YouTube at

Mass XI:
“Orbis Factor”
(In Dominicis Per Annum)
(for Sundays throughout the year, excluding Lent and Advent)
(Time After Epiphany or Pentecost).

Mass XII:
“Pater Cuncta”
(In Festis Semi-Duplicibus I)
(Pre-Vatican II “Semi-Double Feast”)
(for Memorials or Third-Class Feasts).


Mass XIII:
“Stelliferi Conditor Orbis”
(In Festis Semi-Duplicibus II)
(Pre-Vatican II “Semi-Double Feast”)
(for Memorials or Third-Class Feasts).


“The Kyrie”.
Mass XIII.
Available on YouTube at

Mass XIV:
“Jesu Redemptor”
(In Festis Semi-Duplicibus III)
(Pre-Vatican II “Semi-Double Feast”)
(for Memorials or Third-Class Feasts).

Mass XV:
“Dominator Deus”
(In Festis Semi-Duplicibus IV)
(Pre-Vatican II “Semi-Double Feast”)
or Commemorations and Ferias in Christmastide).


“The Kyrie”.
Mass XV
Available on YouTube at

Mass XVI:
(In Feriis Per Annum)
(for Weekdays during Ordinary Time
or Ferias Per Annum).


Mass XVII:
(In Dominicis Adventus Et Quadragesimæ)
(for Sundays in Advent and Lent).

Mass XVIII:
“Deus Genitor Alme”
(In Feriis Adventus Et Quadragesimæ, In Vigiliis,
Feriis Quatuor Temporum Et In Missa Rogationum)
(for Weekdays in Advent and Lent, or Ferias in Advent and Lent, for Vigil Masses, Ember Days, and Rogation Days).


Credo I to VI.

Cantus Ad Libitum.
Kyrie (I–XI).
Gloria (I–IV).
Sanctus (I–III).
Agnus Dei (I–II).

Missa Pro Defunctis.
(for Requiem Masses).

Quadragesima Sunday. First Sunday Of Lent. Lenten Station At The Papal Arch-Basilica Of Saint John Lateran.




Text from The Saint Andrew Daily Missal,
unless stated otherwise.

Quadragesima Sunday.
   First Sunday of Lent.

Station at Saint John Lateran.

Indulgence of 10 Years and 10 Quarantines.

Semi-Double.

Privileged Sunday of The First Class.


Violet Vestments.


Artist: René de Cramer.
"Copyright Brunelmar/Ghent/Belgium".
Used with Permission.



English: Papal Arch-Basilica of Saint John Lateran.
Rome, Italy, by Alessandro Galilei, 1735.
Latin: Archibasilica Sanctissimi Salvatoris et Sanctorum Iohannes Baptistæ
et Evangelistæ in Laterano. Omnium urbis et orbis ecclesiarum mater et caput.
Italiano: Facciata principale della Basilica di San Giovanni in Laterano,
progettata da Alessandro Galilei (1735).
Français: Façade principale de la basilique Saint-Jean-de-Latran
(Rome) par Alessandro Galilei, 1735.
Photo: 2006/09/07.
Source: Own work.
Author: Jastrow
(Wikimedia Commons)

Originally, The Forty Days of Lent were counted from this Sunday. The Liturgical gathering of "The Station" takes place today, as it has since the 4th-Century A.D., at Saint John Lateran, which is The Patriarchal Basilica of The Bishops of Rome. At its first Consecration, it was Dedicated to "Saint Saviour", a name which calls to mind the Redemption accomplished by Our Blessed Lord.

Immediately after His Baptism, Our Lord began to prepare for His Public Life by a Fast of Forty Days in the mountainous desert which stretches between Jericho and the mountains of Judea. [Tradition tells us that Our Lord took shelter in the grotto on the highest peak of all, known as Mount of the Quarantine.] It was there that He was tempted by Satan, who wished to discover whether The Son of Mary was, in reality, The Son of God (Gospel of The Mass of The Day).

As in the case of Adam, Satan addresses his first attack to the senses. Our Lord is hungry and the tempter suggests to Him that He should turn stones into bread. In the same way, he tries, during these Forty Days, to make us give up on our Fasting and mortification. This is the concupiscence of the flesh.


English: Basilica of Saint John Lateran, Vatican.
With its length of 400 feet, this Basilica ranks fifteenth
among the largest Churches in the World.
Français: Basilique Saint-Jean-de-Latran, Vatican, située à Rome.
Avec sa longueur de 121,84 mètres, cette Basilique se classe
au 15è rang parmi les plus grandes églises au monde.
Photo: September 2010.
Source: Own work.
Author: Tango7174
(Wikimedia Commons)


The devil had promised our first parent that he should be as God. Now, he takes Our Lord to the pinnacle of the Temple and tries to induce Him to let Himself be carried by the Angels through the air, amidst the applause of the crowds below. Satan tempts us by Pride, which is opposed to the spirit of Prayer and meditation on God's Word. This is the Pride of Life.

Finally, just as he had promised Adam a knowledge which, like that of God Himself, should enable him to know all things, so Satan assures Jesus that he will make Him Ruler over all Created Things, if He will fall at his feet and worship him. In the same way, the devil seeks to attach us to Temporal goods, when we ought, by Alms and Works of Charity, to be doing good to our neighbour. This is the concupiscence of the eyes, or Avarice.

Since the Sword of the Spirit is the Word of God, Our Lord made use of the Psalm XC against Satan, and this is the theme of the whole Mass and is found again and again in The Office of The Day. "His Truth shall cover thee with a shield," says the Psalmist. This Psalm is, therefore, the ideal Psalm for Lent as a special time of warfare against the devil.


English: Basilica of Saint John Lateran, Vatican.
The Choir and Apse. The mosaics in the Dome are a 19th-Century
rebuilding of Jacopo Torriti's works, dating to the 13th-Century.
Français: Basilique Saint-Jean-de-Latran, située à Rome.
Chœur et abside. La mosaïque du dôme est une réfection du XIXè siècle
de l'œuvre de Jacopo Torriti remontant au XIIIè siècle.
Photo: September 2010.
Source: Own work.
Author: Tango7174
(Wikimedia Commons)


Again, The Eleventh Verse: "He hath given His Angels charge over Thee, to keep Thee in all Thy ways," recurs in Vespers-like refrain during the whole Season. We find the entire Psalm in the Tract, which reminds us of the old custom of singing Psalms during certain parts of The Mass.

Some of its Verses make up the Introit, with its Verse, the Gradual, the Communion and the Offertory, which last was formerly composed, in today's Mass, of three Verses instead of one, following the order of the threefold temptation as recorded in the Gospel.

Side-by-side with this Psalm, the Epistle, certainly dating from the time of Pope Saint Leo, sounds one of the characteristic notes of Lent. There, Saint Paul borrows a Text of Isaias: "In an accepted time, have I heard thee, and in the Day of Salvation have I helped thee." "Behold," says the Apostle, "now is the acceptable time. Behold, now is the Day of Salvation" (Epistle and First Nocturn).


The Decorated Ceiling
of the Basilica of Saint John Lateran, Rome, Italy.
Photo: March 2010.
Source: Own work.
(Wikimedia Commons)


On this, Saint Leo comments: "Although there is no Season of the Year which is not rich in Divine Gifts and in which we, by God's Grace, do not find immediate access to His Mercy; nevertheless, at this time, when the return of the day on which we are redeemed summons us to fulfil all the duties of Christian piety, the Souls of Christians must be stirred with more zeal for spiritual progress, and possessed of a very great confidence in Almighty God.

In this manner, with pure Souls and bodies, shall we celebrate this Mystery of The Lord's Passion, Sublime beyond all others. True, we ought always to be in The Divine Presence, just as much as on The Easter Feast. But, because this spiritual vigour is the possession of only a few, while, on the other hand, the weakness of the flesh leads to any very severe observance being relaxed, and on the other, the varied occupations of this life share and divide our interest, it necessarily happens that the dust of the world soils the hearts, even of Religious themselves.


The Cloisters at Saint John Lateran.
Photo: August 2006.
Source: Own work.
Author: Kodiak
(Wikimedia Commons)


This Divine Institution has been planned with great profit to our Salvation, in a manner that the exercises of these Forty Days may help us to regain the Purity of our Souls, making up, in a way, for the faults of the rest of the Year, by Fasting and pious deeds.

However, we must be careful to give no-one the least cause of complaint or scandal, so that our general behaviour may not be inconsistent with our Fasting and Penance. For it is useless to reduce the nourishment of the body unless the Soul departs from sin" (Second Nocturn).

In this "acceptable time" and in these "Days of Salvation", let us purify ourselves with The Church (Collect), "in Fastings, in Chastity," by zeal in hearing and meditating on The Word of God and by Charity unfeigned (Epistle).

Every Parish Priest Celebrates Mass for the people of his Parish.

Mass: Invocábit me.
Creed: Is said.
Preface: For Lent.

Saturday 29 February 2020

The “Le Puy Manuscript”.




“Le Puy Manuscript”
Vespers: “Veni Redemptor Gencium”.
Available on YouTube at

Recently, not only has the Manuscript unexpectedly re-appeared, but a second book, containing the same New Year’s Office, has come to light. This second book also contains a large number of polyphonic pieces, both simple two-parts textures and four-part settings, made in the 16th-Century by the Clerks of Le Puy, on the basis of older melodies.

No other Manuscript has been found which brings together such a range of older and newer material. It not only reflects the specific ritual Celebrated in this Cathedral, but also vividly illustrates the way Liturgy could evolve over hundreds of years, particularly its artistic, musical aspects, from the Chants found in the oldest notated sources to pieces inspired by the new arts of poetry and song composition in The High Middle Ages, and, finally, the polyphonic writing of The Renaissance.


“Le Puy Manuscript”.
“Psallat Vox Ecclesis”.
Available on YouTube at

It was the custom in The Middle Ages for each individual Clerical rank to Celebrate its own Feast on a specific day following Christmas: The Pueri (boys), as the youngest, would come first, followed by the Deacons and Sub-Deacons, and then the Priests. On their Feast, those concerned would embellish the Liturgy with as much ingenuity as possible, making additional Processions and singing new compositions at the communal meal.

In the 12th-Century and 13th-Century, special books were compiled for such Celebrations, and it is to this Tradition that The Festal Office for New Year’s Day at the Cathedral of Le Puy belongs.


“Le Puy Manuscript”.
Vespers: “O Admirabile Commercium”.
Available on YouTube at

The basis for The Feast was The Liturgy, Proper to The Day, stretching from Vespers on the preceding day through The Night Offices to the end of Vespers on The Feast, itself, almost without a break for more than twenty-four hours.

As in Monastic practice, the Clerks met in the Chancel of the Cathedral every three hours to sing Psalms, to Pray, to read Lessons, and recite their associated Chants, and, of course, to say Mass.

They would also make Processions to the impressive frescoes and paintings in the vast Church and its surrounding buildings high over the Town. The Feast Day ended with dancing by “The Pueri”.


“Le Puy Manuscript”.
Vespers: “Annus Novus In Gaudio”.
Available on YouTube at

As with all High Festivals, Christmas was ‘re-Celebrated’ eight days later, on New Year’s Day. Thus, the principal theme, of both the older and the newer texts in The Le Puy Manuscript, is the Christmas Miracle, the coming of The King of Kings, entering into His Dominion. And, with The Redeemer, was Celebrated – especially in The Middle Ages – Mary, The Mother of God. The Feast is, thus, full of The Joy of Christmas, but, also, that of The New Year, which is greeted by the Clerks in a song addressed to the Cantor.

[ . . . ] a song transports us immediately into the characteristic sound world of The Le Puy Office. It is a 16th-Century Setting for four voices of a monophonic song, notated circa 1100. We then follow the order of pieces in the first part of the Manuscript, with the entire Vespers Liturgy, followed by later stages of The Feast (1424). [. . . ] (see end of Article).

In the book’s old monophonic Chants for Vespers, the characteristic sounds of a Liturgical Tradition stretching back far before The Middle Ages can be heard. Their Texts are drawn mainly from The Psalter and other books of The Bible.


The Structure of a Mediæval Manuscript.
Available on YouTube at

Examples of Choral Psalmody, sung Antiphonally, are the Psalm and the Magnificat, both framed by Antiphons. Other parts of The Vespers Office, which belong to this early material, are the Ambrosian Hymn, and the closing Prayer.

To this basic structure, are added a Blessing by The Priest before The Reading, and a Response sung after it. A short Psalm Verse is then inserted, and The Office concludes with poetically-extended versions of the usual Thanksgiving, “Benedicamus Domino”, and its Response, “Deo Gratias”.

The Le Puy Vespers were enhanced by the addition of other Chants: A Solemn introduction taken from the main Night Office of Matins; Verses from a Hymn composed by the 6th-Century A.D. poet, Venantius Fortunatus, for New Year’s Day; the song addressed to the Cantor, already mentioned, composed circa 1100; and a Response to The Reading, in the form of a series of skilful hexameters, written in the 11th-Century by Bishop Fulbert of Chartres.


“Le Puy Manuscript”.
Vespers: “Magnum Hereditatis Misterium “D” Magnificat”.
Sung by: Ensemble Gilles Binchois and Dominique Vellard.
Available on YouTube at


The monophonic Chants exhibit considerable variety, both in the alternation of participants – Priest, Readers, Cantor, Soloists and Choir – and, particularly, in musical texture: the delivery of Text on a single pitch, then more ornamental recitation patterns – formulas specific to the beginning, middle, and end of a phrase – and, finally, actual melodies.

Further variety is provided by the different possibilities of polyphonic sound, and especially the contrast between monophonic and polyphonic textures within single pieces. Along with full four-part textures created by adding chords to pre-existing melodies, we find two-part textures in which the second voice is added in accordance with long-standing simple oral techniques. In the final piece, a “Melisma” is sung over a held Pitch, a procedure which hardly needed to be notated.

In the following parts of The Office, this sound world becomes even more diverse. After a request for Blessing addressed to The Bishop, followed by The Blessing, itself, a Processional Chant (Conductus) takes us from the Chancel to the Chapter House.

There, after another Blessing, the Reading is given as a “Farsumen”, a technique widely practised in the time of the great Cathedrals, whereby Text is alternately read and sung. This piece, composed in the Late-11th-Century, is based on The Prologue to The Gospel of Saint John.



“Le Puy Manuscript”.
Selected Chants: “Serpentia amonicio”.
Available on YouTube at

Then, singing another “Conductus”, the Clerks move on to the meal in the Refectory, where another ceremony takes place, with a Reading and Farsumen. The "Toast" is followed by Psalm 50, with its Antiphon. On the way back into the Church, through the Cloister, the Choir divides: at this point a four-part Kyrie is sung, a Setting probably composed in The Late Middle Ages. Once back in the Chancel, the Clerks sing more polyphonic acclamations, a Versicle and a further Prayer, ending with a final “Benedicamus”.

It is in this part of the Manuscript that the new songs, with which The Liturgy had been elaborated since the turn of the 12th-Century, are most prominent. This strophic art is the Liturgical counterpart of early-European "Courtly Song", an art in which verse, rhyme and musical structures are organised in an astonishing variety of patterns, and in which every Text has its own specific melody.

It is here that the origins of European song, in the full sense of the word, lie. This new type of song could be heard in the Church, above all as “Conductus”, or, in the place of The Benedicamus, or, at the Cathedral of Le Puy, as “Farsumen”.


“Le Puy Manuscript”.
“Exultantes In Pertu Virginie”.
Available on YouTube at


Le Puy has possessed a revered image of The Virgin Mary since its earliest days, but, unfortunately, all that survives today is a replica from the Late-18th-Century. The original statue was a Black Virgin statue from circa 1000 A.D. This was Venerated by Pilgrims for eight Centuries until its violent destruction by Revolutionaries on 9 June 1794, when the wooden image was publicly burned on “Le Place du Martouret”.

As the statue burned away, a secret door in its back was revealed, the door opened, and a roll of parchment fell out. Tragically, no attempt was made to read the parchment before it was consumed by the flames. The replica statue is carried in procession on Feast Days, just as the original was throughout The Middle Ages.

[ . . . ] concludes with three of the most beautiful compositions in this part of the Manuscript: Two polyphonic pieces of the 16th-Century, in full and clear harmonies, and, between them, a “Conductus”, itself, an example of one of the most elaborate forms used in monophonic song in The High Middle Ages.


Here, a strophic pattern is linked with the older structure of The Sequence, based on repetition. This led to the creation of very long and intricately-woven melodic designs, and is one of the most impressive aspects of 12th-Century song. With the development of new forms of musical expression and structures, this special art was lost.

The “Conductus”, heard here, survives only in The Le Puy sources, and its style shows that The Office, itself, originated in the period when this song art was in full flower. The Cathedral of Le Puy lay on one of the great Mediæval Pilgrim Routes leading to Santiago de Compostela, but, after The Middle Ages, the Town was somewhat remote from historical events taking place in the outside World.

The Cathedral building, itself, constantly modified , with its frescoes dating from the 11th-Century to the 13th-Century, presents a parallel to the pattern of continuous Liturgical expansion reflected in this Festal Office. Yet, the different kinds of music in this Office – the old Liturgical Chants, the new Mediæval songs, pieces in which a second voice is added, following simple oral techniques, and, finally, the characteristic polyphony of The Late Middle Ages – go together, perhaps even more successfully than the Cathedral’s architectural elements, to make up a fascinating, unified whole.

Wulf Artl
(1992).
Translation by Susan Rankin.

Saturday After Ash Wednesday. The Lenten Station Was At The Church Of Saint Tryphon (Now At The Church Of Saint Augustine).




Text from The Saint Andrew Daily Missal,
unless otherwise stated.

Saturday after Ash Wednesday.

Station at Saint Tryphon's
   (now at Saint Augustine's).

Indulgence of 10 Years and 10 Quarantines.

Violet Vestments.


English: The Church of Saint Augustine, Rome.
Italiano: San'Agostino, Rome.
Photo: October 2005.
Source: Own Work.
Author: Lalupa
(Wikimedia Commons)


The Station at Rome was, previously, at The Church of Saint Tryphon, who died a Martyr in The East. This Church having been destroyed, The Station was removed, under Pope Clement VIII, to a neighbouring Church, that of Saint Augustine. [Editor: The Church Commemorates The Feast Day of Saint Tryphon on 10 November.]


The High Altar,
Sant'Agostino, Rome.
Photo: July 2007.
Source: Own work.
Author: SteO153
Permission: CC-BY-SA-2.5
(Wikimedia Commons)


Saturday is the day of rest, which symbolises The Eternal Sabbath (Epistle of The Mass of The Day). To reach it, we must, during Lent, struggle by "Solemn Fast" (Collect of The Mass) and by Works of Charity (Epistle) against our passions, of which the rough sea and the contrary winds, spoken of in the Gospel, are a figure.

In this hard struggle, Jesus will come to our aid (Postcommunion), as He did to The Apostles and "heal our bodies and our Souls by Fasting." (Collect), as He healed all the sick in the country of Genesareth.

Mass: Audívit Dóminus.
Preface: For Lent.


The Altar and Tomb of Saint Monica of Hippo,
at Sant'Agostino in Campo Marzio Church, Rome.
Photo: March 2011.
Source: Own work.
Author: Bocachete
(Wikimedia Commons)


The following Text is from Wikipedia - the free encyclopædia.

Sant'Agostino is a Church in Rome, Italy, not far from Piazza Navona. It is one of the first Roman Churches built during The Renaissance. The construction was funded by Guillaume d'Estouteville, Archbishop of Rouen and Papal Chancellor. The façade was built in 1483 by Giacomo di Pietrasanta, using Travertine taken from The Colosseum. It is a fine, plain work of The Early-Renaissance Style.

The most famous work of art, presently in the Church, is The Madonna di Loreto, an important Baroque painting by Caravaggio. The Church also contains a Guercino canvas of Saints Augustine, John the Evangelist and Jerome; a fresco of The Prophet Isaiah by Raphael; and the statues of The Virgin and Child, by Andrea Sansovino and of The Madonna del Parto (Our Lady of Childbirth) by his pupil, Jacopo Sansovino. The latter sculpture is reputed by Tradition to work miracles and was, according to a legend, based on an ancient statue of Agrippina holding Nero in her arms.

In 1616, the 17th-Century Baroque artist, Giovanni Lanfranco, decorated The Buongiovanni Chapel (in the Left Transept) with three canvasses and a ceiling fresco of The Assumption. The Church also houses Melchiorre Caffà's sculpture "Saint Thomas of Villanova Distributing Alms", completed by his mentor, Ercole Ferrata. Pietro Bracci designed and sculpted the polychromatic tomb of Cardinal Giuseppe Renato Imperiali (1741).


English: “Madonna di Loreto”, by Caravaggio
Deutsch: Altargemälde der Cavaletti-Kapelle in Sant' Agostino in Rom,
Szene: Madonna der Pilger.
Date: 1603 - 1605.
Current location: Church of San'Agostino, Rome.
Source/Photographer: The Yorck Project: 10.000 Meisterwerke der Malerei.
DVD-ROM, 2002. ISBN 3936122202
Distributed by DIRECTMEDIA Publishing GmbH.
Permission: [1]
(Wikimedia Commons)


The Church contains the tomb of Saint Monica, mother of Saint Augustine, and that of Fiammetta, lover of Cesare Borgia and a famous courtesan.

Sant'Agostino was once noted for the presence of a number of courtesans and prostitutes in its Congregation.

The Titulus S. Augustini is held by Cardinal Jean-Pierre Ricard since 2006. Furthermore, it is The Station Church of The First Saturday in Lent.

Friday 28 February 2020

Saint Gabriel Of Our Lady Of Sorrows. Confessor. Feast Day, Today, 28 February (In Leap Year). Normally, 27 February.


Text from The Saint Andrew Daily Missal,
unless stated otherwise.

Saint Gabriel Of Our Lady Of Sorrows.
   Confessor.
   Feast Day 27 February
   (28 February in a Leap Year).

Double.

White Vestments.



Saint Gabriel of Our Lady of Sorrows.
Passionist Saint and Patron of Students and Young People.

Saint Gabriel of The Seven Sorrows, born in 1838 at Assisi, Italy, the little Italian town made famous by Saint Francis of Assisi, was miraculously guided by Our Blessed Lady into The Passionist Congregation, and, during his short life upon Earth, he became a veritable Apostle of her Sorrows.

His spirit of Penance and self-denial, his heroic humility, and his true devotion to Our Lord's Sacred Passion, quickly raised him to a high degree of Sanctity.

In 1862, only in the twenty-fourth year of his age, his Heavenly Patroness came to call him to Eternal Happiness. The many Miracles, that bore witness to his holiness, led to his speedy Canonisation by Pope Benedict XV in 1920, and Pope Pius XI extended his Feast Day to the whole Church in 1932.

Mass: Oculus Dei.
Commemoration: Of The Feria, in Lent.
Last Gospel: Of The Feria, in Lent.


English: The Church of Saint Gabriel of Our Lady of Sorrows, Italy.
Italiano: Santuario di San Gabriele dell'Addolorata
ad Isola del Gran Sasso d'Italia, in Italia.
Photo: 29 June 2007.
Source: Vacanze abruzzesi.
Author: freegiampi.
(Wikimedia Commons)

The following Text is from Wikipedia - the free encyclopædia.

Saint Gabriel of Our Lady of Sorrows (born Francesco Possenti, 1 March 1838 – 27 February 1862) was an Italian Passionist Clerical student. Born to a professional family, he gave up ambitions of a Secular career to enter The Passionist Congregation.

His life in the Monastery was not extraordinary, yet he followed The Rule of The Congregation perfectly and was known for his great devotion to The Sorrows of The Virgin Mary. He died from tuberculosis, at the age of 23, in Isola del Gran Sasso, in the Province of Teramo, Italy. He was Canonised by Pope Benedict XV in 1920.

Friday After Ash Wednesday. Lenten Station Is At The Church Of The Holy Martyrs, John And Paul.




Text from The Saint Andrew Daily Missal,
unless otherwise stated.

Friday after Ash Wednesday.

Station at The Basilica of The Holy Martyrs, John and Paul.

Indulgence of 10 Years and 10 Quarantines.

Violet Vestments.



English: Basilica of The Holy Martyrs, John and Paul, on Mount Cœlius, Rome.
Français: Vue d'ensemble de la Basilique Santi Giovanni e Paolo
de Rome sur le Celio.
Photo: May 2009.
Source: Own work.
Author: LPLT
(Wikimedia Commons)


The Station at Rome was on Mount Coelius, in the Residence that the Christian Senator, Pammachius, in the 5th-Century A.D., transformed into a Parish Church, which bears the Title of Saints John and Paul (Feast Day 26 June). Six frescoes of that period represent the captivity and death of these two Romans, “who, in the same Faith and the same Martyrdom, were truly united as brethren”.


English: Church of The Holy Martyrs, John and Paul, Rome, Italy.
Italiano: SS. Giovanni e Paolo - Roma, Italia.
Photo: July 2006.
Source: Flickr
Reviewer: Mac9
(Wikimedia Commons)


Near this Church, is a Hospice for Pilgrims (Xenodochium Valerii). Pammachius, in other directions, spent his whole fortune upon The Poor. The Gospel of this Mass and the Postcommunion also speak of Charity.

The Epistle and the Gospel declare that the external works of Penance, such as Prayer, Fasting and Almsgiving, which should be practised during Lent, have no value in the sight of God unless they are accompanied by the spirit of internal sacrifice. This spirit shows itself in works of mercy, done out of consideration for our neighbour, without distinction of friend or enemy and with the sole intention of pleasing God. Let us ask for the spirit of sacrifice and mercy.

Mass: Audivit Dominus.
Preface: For Lent.

Thursday 27 February 2020

The Ford Thunderbird “Square-Birds” Remain A Masterpiece Of Fifties’ Detroit Design. Everybody Wanted A T-Bird.



Illustration: HEMMINGS


“Fun, Fun, Fun, ’Til Her Daddy Takes The T-Bird Away”.
Sung by: The Beach Boys.
Available on YouTube at

Well, she got her daddy's car
And she cruised through the hamburger stand now.
Seems she forgot all about the library
Like she told her old man now.
And with the radio blasting
Goes cruising just as fast as she can now.
And she'll have fun fun fun
Til her daddy takes the T-Bird away.
(Fun fun fun til her daddy takes the T-Bird away).


Well, wheel-spin's standard cause she walks, looks, and drives like an ace now.
(You walk like an ace now, you walk like an ace).
She makes The Indy 500 look like a Roman Chariot race now.
(You look like an ace now, you look like an ace).
A lotta guys try to catch her, but she leads them on a wild goose chase now.
(You drive like an ace now. you drive like an ace).
And she'll have fun fun fun ’til her daddy takes the T-Bird away.
(Fun fun fun ’til her daddy takes the T-Bird away).


Well, you knew all along that your dad was gettin' wise to you now.
(You shouldn't have lied now, you shouldn't have lied).
And since he took your set of keys,
you've been thinking that your fun is all through now.
(You shouldn't have lied now, you shouldn't have lied).
But you can come along with me, cause we gotta a lot of things to do now.
(You shouldn't have lied now, you shouldn't have lied).
And we'll have fun fun fun now that daddy took the T-Bird away.
(Fun fun fun now that daddy took the T-Bird away).
And we'll have fun fun fun now that daddy took the T-Bird away.


(Fun fun fun now that daddy took the T-Bird away).
(Fun fun fun now that daddy took the T-Bird away).
(Fun fun fun now that daddy took the T-Bird away).
(Fun fun fun now that daddy took the T-Bird away).
(Fun fun fun now that daddy took the T-Bird away).
(Fun fun fun now that daddy took the T-Bird away).
(Fun fun fun now that daddy took the T-Bird away).


This Article is taken from, and can be read in full at, HEMMINGS

By: Richard Lentinello.

Hot on the heels of the new Corvette, Ford introduced its 1955 Thunderbird to great fanfare and thunderous approval when the Sporty Two-Seater premiered at The 1954 Detroit Auto Show.

With its appealing shape, distinctive style and a 292-cubic-inch V-8 putting out either 193 or 198 horsepower, depending on transmission pairing, it was a huge success with 16,155 examples sold that first year. Compared to its Cross-Town rival, the Corvette, which only attracted 700 buyers that same year, Ford hit a grand slam right out of the box. It seemed everyone wanted to own a new Thunderbird.


With its hardtop styling, sculptured sides and limited front-end overhang,
the 1960 Thunderbird was a styling masterpiece. Note how the bottom spear flows into the rear bumper.
Illustration: HEMMINGS

In preparation for its upcoming re-style for the 1958 model year, how could Ford possibly update the car while ensuring its continued sales success ? Shocking as it seemed at the time, the Thunderbird was stretched to accommodate five passengers instead of just two.

Ford’s sanity was called into question, but clearly its marketing staff knew what they were doing. As shown by the following production figures:

Overall three-year sales of the new “Square-Bird” were nearly 374 per cent higher than the combined three-year production run of the ever-lovable “Little ‘Bird.”

The public loved the re-styled Thunderbird and flocked to Ford showrooms throughout the Country to get one of their own.
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