(Above) Virgin, 1150 France.

Gothic Spirit: Medieval Art from Europe

Luhring Augustine Gallery/Sam Fogg

531West 24th Street, New York, NY

www.luhringaugustine.com

(Exhibition lasts until March 7, 2020)

The Luhring Augustine gallery is offering until March 7 a special exhibition of medieval art. What a pleasure to view treasures of medieval art up close, away from the crowds and surrounded  by quiet!  The works cover the entire period of medieval art – with a few outliers before and after that age – and are splendidly illuminated. Yes,  on the whole the exhibits are not colossal masterpieces, but the quality is very high and leading artists are represented: Michel Erhart, Hans Leinberger, Luca della Robbia.

As we might expect, this art is overwhelmingly religious in character. Most of Europe is represented in the exhibition, with perhaps a focus on Germany/the Holy Roman Empire. We encounter art from locations that were in former ages artistic leaders in Europe, like Cologne or Ulm. The uniform quality of the workmanship in artwork created over many centuries and in many different countries is amazing.

(Above) From the Shrine of St Ursula.

We get a sense of the enormity of  losses from the remnants of great artworks that have come down to us. An enameled orb is one of the few  surviving fragments of the magnificent shrine of St Ursula, melted down and destroyed after the occupation of Cologne by French revolutionary armies in the 1790’s. A roundel with a depiction of the Presentation comes from an image of the Virgin surrounded by the mysteries of the Rosary, created by Hans Leinberger of Bavaria.

(Above)  One of series of reliefs carved by Hans Leinberger depicting the mysteries of the rosary.

(Above and below) Stained glass windows from Cologne, 16th century. We get a sense of this city’s former artistic grandeur, which lasted some six centuries.

Perhaps most impressive are two wooden sculptures: a highly stylized figure of the Virgin from the earliest beginnings of Gothic art and dramatic crucifixion scene from 16th century Germany, made shortly before this art disappeared in the chaos of the Reformation. You can get from these works an “ideogram” (Ezra Pound)of what medieval Christian art could achieve both at its origin and in its final flowering. This small exhibition gives the visitor a chance to study at close hand examples of the great art that flourished in between these bookends.

(Above) An early Gothic Virgin, France; (Below) 3 figures from a Crucifixion, Ulm 1510-20.

Fr. Greg J. Markey will be leading a pilgrimage to Wisconsin on June 19 to 23.  Tour highlights include Our Lady of Good Help in Champion.  the only approved Marian apparition site in the US,  the Basilica of St. Josaphat in Milwaukee, and Our Lay d of Guadalupe in La Crosse.  Extraordinary Form Mass will be celebrated daily.The price is $1699 double or $1999 single.    For more information contact Virginia DeDad at Cruise Planners,  203-402-0632 or 800-794-0741.  Or vdedad@cruiseplanners.com.

The St. John Neuman Chapter is sponsoring a day of prayer and reflection on how to achieve holiness in our lives. It will take place in the Cathedral Basilica of SS. Peter and Paul in Philadelphia.  The speakers will be His Eminence Raymond Cardinal Burke, Most Reverend Joseph Strickland and Father Gerald Gill.  There will be an opportunity for Confession, Eucharistic Adoration, Rosary, Procession and Crowning of the National Pilgrim Virgin Statue of Our Lady of Fatima and a beautiful Palm Sunday Vigil Mass (please note: this is a Novus Ordo Mass). Lunch will be served, registrations are required and may be made on Eventbrite or on a registration form downloaded from our website:https://www.stjohnneumannchapter.org

On the weekend of Septuagesima Sunday, Fr Hernan Ducci of the Fraternity of Saint Joseph the Guardian will preach a retreat for men based on the Ignatian Exercises, at the Church of Saint John the Baptist, located at 1282 Yardville-Allentown Road, in Allentown, New Jersey. The Spiritual Exercises comprise an ordered series of meditations and contemplations born from the profound spiritual experience St Ignatius, gained from his conversion and his time as the first Superior General of the Society of Jesus. The purpose of these exercises is to help the retreatant discern God’s will for his own life.

The retreat will begin on the early afternoon of Friday, February 7, and finish with lunch on the afternoon of Sunday, February 9. In order to cover the expenses (Fr. Hernan’s travel from France, food, donation to the parish, etc.) we suggest a donation of $60. Also, please bring a sleeping bag. In addition to the meditations, the traditional Mass will be sung each day, as well as parts of the Divine Office; there will also be plenty of opportunities for spiritual direction and Confession. To confirm your attendance please read the following Google doc and fill in the registration form. If you have any questions, please contact hernan.ducci@gmail.com. Feel free to forward this invitation to anyone else you think would be interested.

Above and below:  photos from the Solemn Pontifical Mass of last year’s Lepanto Conference, held at St. Vincent Ferrer Church.

The third annual Lepanto Conference will be held in New York City on Saturday February 15. We are most honored to have as our celebrant and  speaker at our conference His Eminence Joseph Cardinal Zen, Bishop Emeritus of Hong Kong.

The event will open with a Solemn Pontifical Mass from the Throne, at St. Vincent Ferrer, 869 Lexington Avenue (at 66th Street), New York, NY at 11 am. There will be about a one hour break for lunch, at which point attendees can disperse, recharge, and reconvene for the talks.  The talks will be held at the school building owned by the Parish of St John Nepomucene, a few blocks from St. Vincents,  from 3-5 PM. The address is 406 East 67th Street.   The speakers will be His Eminence Cardinal Zen,  Fr. George Rutler, and Professor Michael Foley.

A  donation of $10 per person  at the entrance to the talks is suggested.  There is no advance registration.  (n.b. Unlike last year’s conference, food will not be provided.)

His Eminence Cardinal Zen