Saturday, December 27, 2008

Christmas in Venice

One of my favourite parishes to report upon is that of San Simeon Piccolo in Venice, Italy -- which was also the parish attached to the musicologist and early defender of the usus antiquior in post-conciliar life, Don Siro Cisilino.


(An artistic rendering of San Simeon Piccolo, seen to the left)


Recently, Fr. John Berg, the Superior General of the FSSP, was there to celebrate the Masses of Christmas. The NLM secured some photographs of the Mass of Christmas day, thanks kindly to one of the parishioners there.







The wonderful tradition of festal red and gold banners was in evidence as usual at this parish, which is a very dignified way to ornament a church for feast days of particular importance in the life of a parish.

Readers are invited to send in their photos as well -- though not everything can be used of course. Recall that the NLM is not only interested in those from the usus antiquior, but also the reform of the reform, the Eastern Catholic liturgies, and those of the other Western rites as well.

Documenting and sharing these photographs seems to be a particularly effectual way of giving encouragement to each other, as well as a means to recover our collective "liturgical memory" by means of visual catechesis -- something useful and pertinent to both forms of the Roman liturgy, as well as the other Western rites.

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