A Recent Discovery - Is This The Earliest Image of Our Lady of Sorrows?

I was recently contacted by my friend Fr. Andrew Marlborough, a priest based in England, who has written for the New Liturgical Movement in the past about items of interest that appear in auction houses throughout Britain and Europe. Before becoming a priest, his career was in the commercial art world.

This time, he wanted to know if I could shed any light on a recent purchase he had made, which, he was speculating, might be the earliest known example of an image of Our Lady of Sorrows, dating back over 1,000 years and possibly as much as 1,400 years. I could not offer any new information, so I open this up to New Liturgical Movement readers. It was described in the auction house as early Byzantine, but Fr. Andrew thinks it might be of Ottonian or Carolingian origin. Here is the object, followed by the letter he sent to me, with his description and thoughts. 

Fr Andrew wrote:

I recently purchased this small gilt-bronze roundel (7.5 cm diameter) at an auction in London. It was catalogued as 6th-8th century Byzantine and described as the Virgin Mary ‘grasping a long staff’. But I could see that it is clearly an early image of Our Lady of Sorrows. It is generally thought that this devotion developed between the 12th and 15th centuries. Therefore, it seemed a rather important object that could rewrite a chapter in the history of Marian iconography. I suspect the Byzantine attribution is wrong and that it is a little later, possibly Carolingian or Ottonian. If so, it could be one of the earliest depictions in art of Our Lady of Sorrows, if not the earliest.

As well as the question of dating, there is also the question of function. The auctioneers described it as a Byzantine phalera. These were decorative metal roundels which adorned the chest armour of soldiers or the harnesses of their horses in antiquity. This is possible, but I wonder if it may have been some kind of ornament for religious processions, pilgrimages, or for membership of a confraternity. Markings visible only on one side of the reverse suggest it has been used as a brooch. The amount of hand-finished detail on the roundel is impressive and finely executed. The use of gilding also indicates that it was a costly and highly prized object.

Stylistically, it seems more Western. This is supported by the fact that Eastern depictions of the Virgin Mary without Jesus are very unusual. The style of the sword/dagger may also help identify its date and origin.

I’d be grateful if anyone can shed further light on this.

He asks that anyone with information write to him at: andrew.marlborough@gmail.com.

The Stabat Mater and the Feast of the Seven Sorrows

From 1727 to 1960, the Friday of Passion week was kept on the general calendar of the Roman Rite as the feast of the Seven Sorrows of the Virgin Mary. This devotion originated in German-speaking lands in the early 15th-century, partly as a response to the iconoclasm of the Hussites, and partly out of the universal popular devotion to every aspect of Christ’s Passion, including the presence of His Mother, and thence to Her grief over the Passion. It was known by several different titles, and kept on a wide variety of dates. Before the name “Seven Sorrows” became common, it was most often called “the feast of the Virgin’s Compassion”, which is to say, of Her suffering together with Christ as She beheld the Passion. This title was retained well into the 20th century by the Dominicans, who also had an Office for it which was quite different from the Roman one, although the Mass was the same. It also appears in many missals of the 15th to 17th centuries only as a votive Mass, with no corresponding feast; this was the case at Sarum, where it is called “Compassionis sive Lamentationis B.M.V.” Its popularity continued to grow in the Tridentine period, until Pope Benedict XIII finally extended it to the whole of the Roman Rite in 1727.

The Virgin of Sorrows; the central panel of the Van Belle triptych by Pieter Poubus (1523 ca. - 1580); in the church of St James in Bruges, Belgium. There were different traditions as to which events in Our Lady’s life counted as Her Seven Sorrows; here they are (clockwise from lower left) the Circumcision, the Flight into Egypt, losing the Child Jesus, meeting Christ on the road to Calvary, the Crucifixion, the deposition from the Cross, and the entombment. The Roman version of the Passiontide feast contains no specific list. (Public domain image from Wikimedia Commons.)

One of the greatest treasures of Latin hymnody, the Stabat Mater, is sung in two different forms on the feast. (Text and translation here.) Divided into three sections, it was sung as the hymn of Vespers, Matins, Lauds; in Italy, this version, in the 6th mode, is still very often sung when the Via Crucis is done. The same text is also sung with a different melody in the 2nd mode, as a Sequence in the Mass.

It was also commonly used as a motet for the ceremonies and devotions of Holy Week; Josquin des Prez’s version is one of the finest among pre-Tridentine composers.

Palestrina’s version was composed a few years before his death in 1594, and traditionally sung on Palm Sunday in Rome.

Ordinariate Celebrations of Our Lady of Sorrows in Louisville, Kentucky

The weekend of September 15th marks the patronal feast day of Our Lady of Sorrows for the Ordinariate Community of Our Lady and St John in Louisville, Kentucky. The community will celebrate the feast with a Choral Evensong on September 14th at 6:30 pm at St Martin of Tours Catholic Church; the service will be lead by the choir of St Martin’s under the direction of Dr Emily Meixner, and will feature local organist Dr Shawn Dawson. The feast of Our Lady of Sorrows will be observed on September 15th with a Procession and Holy Mass, beginning at 3:00 pm, and featuring music by J.G. Rheinberger and Healey Willan. The church is located at 639 South Shelby Street.

EF Mass of the Seven Sorrows in Grand Rapids, MI, This Friday

On Friday, April 12th, Sacred Heart of Jesus Parish in Grand Rapids, Michigan, will celebrate a Missa cantata in the Extraordinary Form for the Seven Sorrows of the Blessed Virgin Mary. The choir of Siena Heights University, directed by Dr Kelly Ford, will sing Rheinberger’s “Stabat Mater” for the sequence, Viadana’s Missa L’hora passa for the Ordinary, motets by Durufle, Peeters, Elgar, and Haydn, and Biebl’s “Ave Maria.” The Mass will begin at 7pm, and be followed by a soup supper in the parish hall; the church is located at 156 Valley Avenue SW.

Mass of Our Lady of Sorrows Next Friday in NYC

The church of the Most Precious Blood, located at 113 Baxter Street in the Little Italy neighborhood of Manhattan, will have a Solemn High Mass in the traditional rite for the feast of Our Lady of Sorrows, next Friday, April 12th, starting at 7:15 p.m. The Mass is sponsored by the American Delegation of the Sacred Constantinian Military Order of St George, and will be celebrated for the persecuted Christians of the Middle East.

Exaltation of the Cross Photopost 2018

As always, our thanks to everyone who sent these photos of their liturgies celebrated last weekend on the Exaltation of the Cross and the feast of the Seven Sorrows. This year’s submissions include a pilgrimage to one of the oldest centers of Christianity in Italy, the traditional Mass celebrated for the first time in an American parish, and the first school Mass of the new chapel of Jesuit High School in Tampa, Floria, which we featured last month. Evangelize through beauty!

Old St Mary’s - The Oratory of Cincinnati, Ohio

Solemn Mass in the traditional rite for the Exaltation of the Cross was followed by a procession with a relic of the True Cross and a statue of the recumbent Christ; the church then held Adoration though the night in reparation for the sins of the clergy and hierarchy, for the victims of abuse worldwide, and for healing within the Church.

Continue Reading this Article. . .

All Night Vigil in Cincinnati, Sept. 14-15

The Cincinnati Oratory will keep a vigil on the night of Friday, September 14, in reparation for the sins of the clergy and hierarchy, for the victims of abuse worldwide, and for healing within the Church. It will begin with a solemn traditional Mass for the Exaltation of the Cross at 7:00 p.m., followed by an outdoor procession with a relic of the True Cross and a statue of the recumbent Christ. Following the Procession, Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament will go on until 6:30 a.m. on Saturday morning, with a Low Mass in the traditional rite for the feast of the Seven Sorrows of the Blessed Virgin Mary at 6:45. Those who are interested in signing up for an hour of Adoration can do so by following this link: https://goo.gl/forms/QQWkERjYUHckRpmA3. The church is located at 118 East 12th Street.

EF Mass for the Exaltation of the Cross and All-Night Adoration in Birmingham, Alabama

The Cathedral of St Paul in Birmingham, Alabama, will have a Sung Mass in the Extraordinary Form on the feast of the Exaltation of the Cross, featuring William Byrd’s Mass for Five Voices, offered for the healing and purification of the Church. The Mass will begin at 6:30 pm; the church is located at 2120 Third Avenue. Following the Mass, Adoration will be held through the night, from 8:30 pm to 8:30 am, as an act of reparation for the crimes of sexual abuse by the clergy; prayers will be offered each hour in English and Spanish. In the morning, the Mass of Our Lady of Sorrows will be offered in the Ordinary Form, for the healing of the victims.

This is the second notice we have posted in as many days of an initiative such as this; NLM will be very happy to share notice of other special events of prayer and reparation as we receive them. 

All-Night Vigil with Two EF Masses at Our Lady of Mt Carmel in NYC, Sept. 14-15

On Friday, September 14, and Saturday, September 15, the Pontifical Shrine of Our Lady of Mt Carmel in Manhattan, NYC, will hold an All-Night Vigil of Adoration before the Blessed Sacrament.  All are invited to join in prayer for the many necessities and intentions offered and placed before Our Lord present in the Blessed Sacrament, especially in reparation for the victims of sexual abuse by members of the Church, for the healing and purification of the Church. September 14th is also the eleventh annivsary of the motu proprio Summorum Pontificum, and the faithful are invited to prayer in thanksgiving Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI permission to every priest to offer the Mass, Divine Office and Sacraments in the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite without restriction.

As noted in the schedule below, Mass for the Exaltation of the Cross on Sept. 14, will be sung at 7:30 pm, that of the Seven Sorrows of the Virgin Mary on Sept. 14 at 5:00 am. The church is located at 448 E. 116th St.

Preliminary Schedule

Friday, September 14

6:00 pm - Angelus
6:15 pm - Recitation of the Holy Rosary & Divine Mercy Chaplet
6:45 pm - Stations of the Cross and Confessions
7:30 pm - Sung Mass in the Extraordinary Form
8:30 pm - Chanting of the Te Deum
9:15 pm - Talk on the Virgin Mary by Ricardo Saludo from the Archdiocese of Manila

After the talk, there will be Exposition, moments of silent adoration and vocal prayers

Saturday, September 15

Midnight - Angelus and the Rosary of the Seven Sorrows of the Blessed Virgin Mary
12:45 am - First Break, silent Adoration
1:30 am- Prayers to the Holy Black Nazarene and Our Lady of Caysaysay, followed by the Recitation of the Holy Rosary
2:00 am - Silent Adoration
3:00 am - Divine Mercy Chaplet
3:15 am - Second break, silent Adoration
4:30 am - Procession with and Benediction of the Most Blessed Sacrament
5:00 am - Sung Mass in the Extraordinary Form

Mass of Our Lady of Sorrows in New York City, April 7th

On Friday, April 7th at 7:15 p.m., a Solemn High Mass in honor of Our Lady of Sorrows will be celebrated in the traditional rite at the church of the Most Precious Blood, located at 113 Baxter Street in Manhattan’s Little Italy neighborhood. The Mass, which is sponsored by the Constantinian Order of St George, will be followed by the veneration of a Relic of the True Cross.