Photos: Archbishop Carlson's Installation

I'm blogging tonight from the international airport in Charlotte (we're grounded for the time being by a lightning storm moving through). I just opened my email to find these beautiful pictures by Jerry Naunheim Jr. and Lisa A. Johnston for the St. Louis Review waiting for me:

I took a few myself but I'll wait until tomorrow to see if they turned out.

Photo: A good place to change a diaper?

"A military usher suggests to a guest a better location than the crosshall of the White House to change a baby's diaper before an event in the East Room in Washington May 1, 2009." [REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque]

Photos: 300,000 printed signatures being shipped to Notre Dame

David Costanzo, Communications Director of the Cardinal Newman Society (which organized the NotreDameScandal.com petition), has sent me the original covert art and actual photos of the ready-for-shipping mega-binders which contain the first 300,000 signatures:

I hope Fr. Jenkins has a big mailbox:

These were sent out to Fr. Jenkins today.

[second photo credit: Sioux Printing]

Photos: Archbishop-Elect Robert Carlson in St. Louis

A man of prayer in prayer to prepare:

Archbishop-Elect Carlson in the chapel at the Cathedral Basilica of Saint Louis.

Archbishop-Elect Carlson in front of the Cathedral Basilica of Saint Louis.

(I visited this magnificent church last summer and took plenty of pictures and video.)

Archbishop-Elect Robert J. Carlson sings a song of welcome with Kenrick-Glennon seminarians.

(I am told they sang him the traditional Te Deum - "God We Praise You").

[photo source: St. Louis Review]

(post #4,900!)

Photos: Pope Benedict in Africa

He's landed! Pope Benedict Journeys to Africa.

I'll let him take it from here:





Not to say, of course, that I won't be regularly updating with photos/text/video.

First take: Photos from today's Hartford, CT Catholic Rally

From the front lines (courtesy of the Knights of Columbus):

I've uploaded a few more photos to a dedicated AmP Flickr photo set.

Elizabeth Ela of (KofC-run) Headline Bistro was twittering live updates from the rally all morning.

Early crowd estimate: 2-3 thousand!

update - more photos added to the AmP Flickr photo set.

Photopost: Abp. Dolan

Abp. Dolan has a larger-than-life personality, as a couple pictures quickly show:

I'm looking for more....

Photo: Christmas Eve in St. Peter's Square

"People walk around a Nativity scene, center below the obelisk, in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican, Wednesday, Dec. 24, 2008. Pope Benedict XVI is gearing up for his Christmas celebrations with Midnight Mass in St. Peter's Basilica. The Vatican's Christmas festivities began several hours earlier Wednesday with the unveiling of the larger-than-life Nativity scene next to the Vatican's largest-ever Christmas tree in St. Peter's Square. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)."

Picture: New Cardinals (Awesome)

A treasure taken from the recently made-public LIFE magazine photo archives:

Cardinals prostrating in the Sistine Chapel. From The Far Sight 2.0 via NLM.

Amazing Photos of Dubai

I keep tabs on Dubai.

This page contains amazing recent photos of the fastest-growing city in the world.

Including this one, of the new Tower of Babel.

Photos: The Hug/Kiss/Sign of Peace

It seemed topical:

Pictures: Oakland's "Cathedral of Christ the Light" open to the public

This weekend the Diocese of Oakland opened its $190-million-dollar, Cathedral of Christ the Light [Wikipedia entry] to the public. Rocco has an extensive post about it. Because pictures are worth a thousand words...

Back view (?):

Top view:Crucifix: The bishop's coat of arms, as displayed in the cathedral behind his chair (see photo of the chair):(Click on pictures for image source)

See also pictures of the exterior cross, altar-in-the-round, and whatever-this-is.

And how did the San Francisco Chronicle decided to title its article on the new Cathedral?

"New Oakland cathedral aims to unify Catholics"

Well, at least some Oakland Catholics will now be able to feel unified with Catholics in Los Angeles.

Photos: Pope Benedict in France, Day 1

A full day:

Source: Papacy and the Vatican slideshow.

AmP complete coverage here.

Picture: the future of American churches?

Via The New Liturgical Movement, a Catholic church undergoing a restoration of the high altar:

Photos: 8 Wonderfully Distinctive Historical Churches in Italy:

My favorite - Basilica Santa Maria sopra Minerva:

View the rest here.

Photo: Large WYD Monstrance

But not very beautiful...

Full-size here, courtesy of Pope2008.

Ph/t: Faith&Family.

Photo Slide Show: Pope Arrives in Sydney

Fr. Z spent a lonely vigil in front of his computer screen grabbing photo stills from the CTV feed of Pope Benedict's grand entrance into Sydney harbor. Validate his valient efforts by clicking here! It's worth it.

Pictures: Pope Benedict with Serpent, Koala, Parrot & Roo!

Of course, you have to start with a Kangaroo:

And Koalas are kute:

This would freak me out too:

Whew, much better:


Fr. Z has a bit of video of the pope's meeting with animals and CNA describes it.

Ph/t: UK Evening Standard.

AmP on the road: The Baltimore Basilica & More

Yesterday I made the 40 mile trip from Washington DC to Baltimore. I experienced a very full day of sightseeing, aided in no small part by the helpful assistance of AmP readers!

Since I use public transportation, the trip from my door to the Baltimore Basilica (my first destination) involved stints on the DC metro, MARC commuter train, Baltimore lightrail, metro, and finally my own two legs.

The Basilica tour guide team was very helpful, and regularly offers tours lasting about 50 minutes to interested parties. They provide a good balance between information about the Basilica itself and the wider history of the Catholic Church in America.

The interior of the Basilica [wikipedia entry] is exceptionally bright and welcoming. Most everything has been renovated. The basilica was famously designed by Benjamin Latrobe, who also helped design the U.S. Capitol. He was told to construct an American church and did just that. The windows feature no stained glass and the architecture follows a strict newclassical style. Most impressively, the basilica has a huge, soaring dome, lit at the top with sky lights:

It's really difficult to take a full-size picture of the dome with my camera's aperature. It's really big. They eventually plan to have an online virtual tour which will probably do a better job. So this will have to do.

I found this an interesting piece of information. The upper church avoids any need for pillars through an inventive "reverse arch" system that is visable in the crypt below the church:

I thought the marble high altar, while rather minimal, was very beautiful:

The full name of the church is the "Basilica of the National Shrine of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary", so appropriately enough. Children of the staff provided the models for the cherubs' faces:

As a Basilica which Pope John Paul II has visited, it has a Tintinnabulum and Conopaeum (visible in this picture to the far right).

As the "first among equals" American church, it features large memorials to the councils and gatherings of Bishops which have taken place in Baltimore over the centuries, as well as a list of the bishops consecrated in the cathedral (not pictured) - it's am impressive who's-who list of American prelates.

To conclude, here is a short video I took inside the Basilica (it's here on YouTube):

Now a couple fun facts:

According to tradition, upon the death of a Cardinal his galero is raised in the sanctuary of his cathedral church. The tongue-in-cheek follow-up is that the cardinal will be in purgatory until his hat disintegrates and falls to the ground. The first hat fell apart during the renovation, and the rector wished to still have one around, so he petitioned Rome for a replacement! I bet the cardinal wasn't too pleased about that.

Another fun fact:

This is the famous "Cardinal Gibbons balcony." The story is that the Cardinal was so popular with the people that he could never have solitude for prayer in his Church, thefore he had an overhang created to the left of the sanctuary so he could say his prayers undisturbed. It remains to this day.

After my tour of the Basilica, I headed down to St. Alphonsus Church, which is quite an experience (and contrast to the crisp neoclassicisc decoration of the Basilica). My photo did not turn out well but captures a bit of the soaring european-style gothic. An impressive and complex beauty:

I attended noon Mass here, celebrated by an Irish priest. Mass was about 20 minutes, but reverent.

For some reason, this put a smile on my face:

That Fr. Visitor sure gets around! I noticed him hearing confessions everwhyere. ;-)

And in case you were wondering, yes I did spend some time in Baltimore itself:

I highly recommend taking a water taxi if you are ever able to visit. "Get in on it." ;-)

I even visited the tomb of Edgar Allan Poe and left him a little present. And said some prayers for him.

The day concluded with dinner, a short tour of Baltimore's federal hill and a pint with some of the fine folks behind InsideCatholic. They were extremely hospitable and I can understand why they choose to live in Baltimore. My sincere gratitude goes out to them. It's always wonderful when I meet the people whose material I read in St. Blogs to find out that their blogging is just one (public) expression of their personal, lived faith. Cheers to that.

In case you were wondering, I always upload my photos from trips like this one to my Flickr page.

I might be back in Baltimore by as early as next week, which is nice because there are plenty of places I wished to visit that I did not have time to see this time around. Again, thanks for all the tips! I put them to good use.

Photos: Inappropriate advertisements help finance Church upkeep in Italy

Reader Joe writes:

My daughter just returned from a semester in Rome. She was with a group of students and seminarians, mostly from Saint Thomas University in Minnesota, all of whom enjoy your website. She shared some of your humorous captions with me, so I thought you might like to see a couple of photos that I took recently in Milan.

The first place I went was the famous Gothic cathedral. You can imagine how shocking it was to find large (40-50 foot) billboards plastered on the sides of the cathedral! One of them reminded me of a 'B' rated sci-fi movie from the 1950's-the Attack of the Fifty Foot Woman. Apparently, in Italy, many churches are actually owned and maintained by the government with the stipulation that the faithful can continue to worship at these sites. Scaffolding space is rented out to advertisers when renovations are underway. That is because the Church can't afford to maintain all of the priceless artwork and architecture.

I couldn't agree more with this gentleman's reaction. When I was in Milan several years ago to see the Milan Cathedral, these advertisements were not in place. I do remember, however, often seeing inappropriate advertisements featured to the scaffolding at other Catholic Churches in Italy (and Austria).

I wonder if these Churches could think up some sort of workaround. For instance: how about starting a fund to buy out the advertisement space with Catholic ads? Parishioners and tourists could add money to this fund, which would enable Catholic outfits to compete against the mainstream promoters. I'd have gladly donated a couple euros to such a fund when I was visiting.

Anyway, it's the first solution that came to mind. What do you think?

Photos: American Archbishops receive the pallium in Rome

Looking good:

"Edwin Frederick O'Brien, Archbishop of Baltimore, US, is embraced by Pope Benedict XVI after receiving his pallium". (AP Photo/Pier Paolo Cito)

"John Clayton Nienstedt, Archbishop of Saint Paul and Minneapolis, US, walks away from Pope Benedict XVI, behind him, after receiving his pallium (white and black woolen shawl) during a Mass celebrated by the pontiff and Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I, not pictured, in St. Peter's Basilica, Sunday, June 29, 2008. The Mass marking the feast of St. Peter and St. Paul included readings from the Gospels in Latin and Greek by Catholic and Orthodox clerics. During the ceremony Benedict bestowed the pallium on 40 archbishops from around the world to symbolize their bond with the Vatican. One by one the archbishops, wearing crimson vestments, knelt before the pope to receive the shawl and the pontiff's embrace. (AP Photo/Pier Paolo Cito)"

Related: Pope calls new Archbishops to ecclesial unity and fidelity (CNA)

AmP on the road: The Cathedral Basilica of St. Louis

During my recent visit to St. Louis, MO I had the opportunity of visiting the Cathedral Basilica of St. Louis [wikipedia], the seat (until August) of Archbishop Raymond Burke.

I was lucky enough to show up at the cathedral precisely when a tour was starting, which I decided to follow around. If facts and figures are your thing, the 83,000 square feet of mosaic art in this Church have been under construction for a period of 75 years I found out!

Pope Paul VI called it the "outstanding cathedral of the Americas" and having been myself, I can see why. It's certainly one of the most beautiful churches I've seen in the Americas, and the most beautiful large one. There's a wealth of artistic and architectural styles harmoniously integrated in its cavernous interior.

The Cathedral Basilica's website offers an online tour of it's art. I took a few pictures myself:

This one below intrigued me - I had never seeing an "Hourglass Angel" before. Have you?

The rest of the pictures are in a new AmericanPapist Flickr Album.

I also took a video of the cathedral interior and put it on my YouTube channel:

If you ever have the opportunity of visiting the St. Louis Cathedral Basilica - do so!

Photo: Simply Stunning Papal Vestments Worn Today

Wow:

"Pope Benedict XVI arrives to lead the Vespri's ceremony at the St. Paolo's Basilica in Rome June 28, 2008."

REUTERS/Tony Gentile (ITALY)

More photos at NLM. CNA has launched a website dedicated to this Year of St. Paul.

Picture: Latin Mass celebrated on a navy supercarrier

A late Memorial Day tribute:

Photo credit: "The extraordinary form of Holy Mass offered on board the USS Theodore Roosevelt. Courtesy of Chas. Johnson, Sac." - Meeting Christ in the Liturgy.

Ph/t: Phatmass user "KnightofChrist."

Awesome Procession Pic (+other things liturgical)

Shawn Tribe at New Liturgical Movement gives us something else to rejoice and wonder at:

In second place, this picture from the Chartres pilgrimage (which I narrowly missed attending when I was in Europe the summer of 2003).

Also see the breathtaking photopost on English rood screens.

update: and for good measure, Damian Thompson on the Latin Mass in England:

...Interestingly, [a Cardinal] added that the Pope wants this Mass to become normal in parishes, so that ‘young communities can also become familiar with this rite’.”

[Damian Thompson:] "The idea of young people discovering the ancient Mass, said entirely in Latin with zero opportunity for congregational showing-off, will truly horrify with-it bishops and their Sandalista worship leaders. And what will Bobbie (“Cry me a river”) Mickens have to say?

I do wonder, however, whether the Pope realises that if he wants the classical Mass celebrated widely in this country he will have to make one extra provision. New bishops. Lots of them. And fast."

Pictures: The Best Photos of Pope Benedict XVI

Flickr User Christus Vincit has done us a service - the best photos of Pope Benedict XVI.

A sample:

.... an endless supply of Papist Pictures of the Day! ;-)

Photos: Pope Delivers Homily at Funeral Mass for Cardinal Trujillo

More fantastic photos at New Liturgical Movement.

From the Vatican Information Service:

This morning in St. Peter's Basilica, Benedict XVI pronounced a homily following the funeral Mass for the late Cardinal Alfonso Lopez Trujillo, president of the Pontifical Council for the Family, who died on Saturday 19 April at the age of 72.

The Pope highlighted "the zeal and passion" with which the cardinal worked over the last 18 years, "his tireless activity in safeguarding and promoting the family and Christian marriage" as well as "the courage with which he defended the non-negotiable values of human life".

Among the late cardinal's achievements, the Pope mentioned "the 'Lexicon', which is a valuable formational text for pastoral care workers and an instrument for dialogue with the modern world on the fundamental themes of Christian ethics. We cannot", he added, "but be grateful for the tenacious battle he fought to defend the truth of familial love and to spread the gospel of the family".

He was well loved and will be dearly missed.

Exclusive behind-the-scenes photos from the NYC papal Mass!

These sent to me by AmP reader Jeff, studying at St. Mary's Seminary and University.

A gorgeous altar crucifix, seen close up. This guy had access.

The sacristy (aka the Yankee's locker room) all decked-out.

Cardinals DiNardo, O'Malley and Maida chat before the Mass.

Cardinal Folley takes an opportunity to get off his feet prior to the official activities.

Cardinal O'Malley shows off his spiffing matching red socks. Get it ... red sox?! :)

Angels in the outfield, and bishops in the dugout!

The commemorative plaque donated by the KofC that will remain in Yankee Stadium.

I had to laugh at this one: the famous orange fanta that the pope supposedly loves!

A couple more photos can be found on the AmP Flickr set I've created for these.

My thanks to Jeff for sending these to me. I think they reveal a nice alternative perspective on what was - by all accounts - a "well polished production of a Mass."

If you have any behind-the-scenes photos, please, send them along! I'd love to share them with AmP readers.

Photos: Pope addresses U.S. Bishops and visits National Shrine

Some good images in this batch....

Note how attentive Francis Cardinal George appears. It's wonderful for me to see these pictures. because I often attend daily Mass in the crypt church of the National Shrine where this was held! I've sat in those pews!

AmP Pictures: Pope Benedict visits the National Shrine

Some choice pictures from the AmP photo stream I uploaded today:

(check back tomorrow for my photos taken at the Papal Mass!)

The rest of them (in high-quality) are on this AmP Flickr Album.

Day 2 Pictures: Pope Benedict at the White House

Fresh from the photostream. One of my roomates was lucky enough to have a ticket (I haven't had a chance to see his pictures yet, these are from the AP's photo feed):





Anyone who lives in DC would know what a miracle today's weather is - just glorious.

Day 1: Pictures of Pope Benedict's Arrival

Fresh from the photostream....





Looks like he's energized for his visit. He almost ran down those steps!

Photopost: Washington DC baseball stadium prepares for the papal Mass

Photos taken today. I hope to be at the Mass this Thursday, with 46,000 other American Catholics.

"Workers assemble the roof structure that will cover the stage where Pope Benedict XVI will say Mass at Nationals Park April 14 in Washington, DC. US President George W. Bush will roll out the red carpet for visiting Pope Benedict XVI on Wednesday during a gala day which concludes with a White House dinner in the pontiff's honor.
(AFP/GETTY IMAGES/Win Mcnamee)"
"Archbishop Donald Wuerl (L) of Archdiocese of Washington Pope (4th L) tours the Nationals Stadium."
"A crew begins to assemble a stage in the outfield for an outdoor Mass."
"Lorena Gonzalez of Silver Spring, Md., cleans the seating area in the upper deck."
... now that's a proper use for a baseball stadium. ;-)

Pictures: First look at National Shrine & CUA papal welcome banners!

Taken this afternoon!

Theological College across the street from the CUA campus.

Unfolding the large welcome banner on the National Shrine's tower.

A sample Archdiocese of Washington banner on 4th Street, across from the National Shrine.

The CUA (left) and Papal Welcome (right) banners, with National Shrine in background.

Pope Benedict XVI's papal coat of arms, posted above the National Shrine's main entrance.

The fully unfolded papal welcome banner on the National Shrine's tower. It's huge!

I've uploaded these to the AmP Flickr page, where you can find full-size versions of them.

update - I decided to add a few more:





Very nice.

Photos: Pope Benedict celebrates anniversary of Pope John Paul II's death

Pope Benedict XVI arrives in St. Peter's square [in red!] to celebrate a Mass in memorial of the third anniversary of Pope John Paul II's death:

[Photo sources: REUTERS/Alessandro Bianchi (VATICAN CITY); (AP Photo/Plinio Lepri)]

Santo Subito!

update: TNLM has a fine post on this Mass with plentiful pictures from the video stream.

Photopost: Exclusive images of Pope Benedict's altar being fabricated

William A. Cubbedge, who is busy being a good father to his growing family, forwarded me two exclusive photos of the papal altar being fabricated in Baltimore.

The photos originate from Ryan Mullen, the co-winner of Catholic University's design contest (click through link for photos of the winning design and explanation of the contest). Will's captions:

The first image shows the aluminum filigree being cut:

The second image shows wood for the papal altar being brought back to Washington DC:

What a wonderful depiction of the United States offering its "work of human hands" for the papal Mass!

These photos, like all exclusive images, have been uploaded to the AmP Flickr page.

update: coverage this morning from the Baltimore Sun.

Photo post: CUA prepares for the Pope to Visit

The Catholic University of America campus continues to prepare for the pope's upcoming visit on April 17th.

Two weeks ago, the daily Masses were held upstairs in the main church instead of below in the crypt church because the lighting fixtures were being updated. Pope Benedict will be praying vespers with the assembled U.S. bishops in the crypt church during his visit.

Rumor also has it that the side entrance to the Basilica of the National Shrine is having work done because the pope will be using those steps at one point.

Basically, if the Pope is going to use or see it - time for a facelift.

The CUA student-run newspaper had a somewhat acerbic comment about the construction:

"Word is, the side of the architecture building is being renovated because Pope Benedict will make his way down that alley during his visit to campus in April. The Pryz Great Room is also getting an upgrade. At this point, we would like to request that the Holy Father's route be adapted so that he also swings by some other ugly parts of campus that could use some sprucing up. In fact, let's just have him do a quick lap around the entire campus. We're sure he's up to it."

I don't quite get why the author felt the need to gloss what is otherwise an informative tid-bit with comments like "We're sure he's up to it."

Anyway, below are some photos I took showing the areas of campus that are getting attention.

These images have all been posted in their full-size versions on the AmP Flickr page.

The stairs which are being refurbishing for the pope's visit:

The same stairs viewed from below:
While I was in the neighborhood, the Basilica veiled in fog:
The exterior of the Pryzbola center, where Pope Benedict will talk to Catholic educators:
The back of the architecture building where Pope Benedict will allegedly walk:
A benefit of this path is that it gives the pope a view of the CUA law school:
I doubt the campus will be this empty on the day of the pope's visit:
... but it sure makes for a beautiful shot in the meantime.

Other posts on the pope's visit are available here. More posts in the works!

Photopost: Capuchins welcome Pope Benedict to Loreto

Most folks probably didn't know this, but Pope Benedict visited a local Loreto shrine and the Capuchin Friars while he was there. CWNews reported on it:

During his weekend visit to Loreto, Italy, on September 1-2, Pope Benedict XVI made a private visit to the famous Holy House there.

On Saturday evening, after a meeting with young people in the town's Montorso section, the Holy Father made a visit to the shrine to pray in silence .... He also gave his blessing to the local Capuchin friars and cloistered nuns at the site.

"May the Holy House truly be the center and heart of your city," the Pope said. He reminded the local officials of "the great privilege you have of living in the shadow of the Holy House."

In his prayer at the renowned shrine, the Pope appealed to Christ to "show us, we ask of you, your ever-new face, the mysterious mirror of God's inexhaustible mercy." He asked the Virgin Mary to "help us have innocent hands and a pure heart" with which to serv God.

Happily, a Capuchin Fransiscan Friar let me know about the webpage of the Order of Capuchin Friars Minor that contains some rare (and beautiful) photos taken during the Pope's recent visit.

(click for full-size versions)

The same website also has a news post covering the Pope's visit. Some excerpts:

At 9:15 p.m., Benedict XVI entered the Basilica, welcomed by the Rector, Br. Marzio Calletti, OFMCap and his Delegate S.E. Monsignor Gianni Danzi who accompanied him to the Sanctuary of the Holy House of Mary, the Virgin of Nazareth. Here the Holy Father prayed in silence at first, then through a televised linkup, to the prayer vigil of the young people. Before he left the Basilica, the Pope met with the Capuchin Friars, guardians of the House of Mary since around 1559.

... After receiving the greetings of the Minister General, Br. Mauro Jöhri (who on this day also celebrated his 60th birthday – and may the Virgin of Loreto sustain his ministry) who was accompanied by the Minister of the province of the Marches, Br. Gianni Pioli, the Pope, in an outdoor program, wished to speak with the friars who had gathered in the German Chapel. He thanked them for their presence and for their dedication to the sacramental ministry of Reconciliation and the welcoming of pilgrims. He then added that he knew well the “Capuchin Fathers” because from the time of his infancy he listened and learned when, very frequently, they were present in his parish for preaching and the sacramental life.

What a wonderful little jem. You can even hear an audio file of the Pope's words to the community. If that isn't technology put to good use I don't know what is!