The fresco is in the Chiesa di San Maurizio al Monastero Maggiore in Milan

St. Mary Church, Greenwich CT, March 12-14, Forty Hours Devotion with conferences by Fr. John Perricone and Fr. Jospeh Koterski, SJ, more information

St. Mary Church, Norwalk, CT, March 19-21,  Fr. Gerald Murray will lead a Lenten mission at St. Mary Church, Norwalk, CT. Father Murray is the pastor of Holy Family Church in Manhattan and a frequent speaker on EWTN. The dates are Sunday, March 19, Monday, March 20 and Tuesday March 21 at 7:30 pm. Benediction will be included each evening and an opportunity for confession.

Knights of Columbus Hall and St. Rose of Lima Church, Rockaway Beach, NY, March 19, Fr Sean Connelly, priest of the Archdiocese of New York,  will lead a Lenten recollection from 2 pm to 9 pm. More information

Parish of St. Christopher, 11 Gale Avenue, Baldwin, Nassau County, NY, March 25, Lenten Morning of Recollection, 8:30 am to 12:30 pm, more information

Fr. Gerald Murray will lead a lenten mission at St. Mary Church, Norwalk, CT.  Father Murray is the pastor of Holy Family Church in Manhattan and a frequent speaker on EWTN.  The dates are Sunday, March 19, Monday, March 20 and Tuesday March 21 at 7:30 pm.  Benediction  will be included each evening and an opportunity for confession.

March 25: Lecture By Dr. Evelyn Birge Vitz
Beauty, Piety, and Delight in Medieval Literature

The next lecture in the Art of the Beautiful Series is March 25, 7:30 PM, at the Catholic Center, NYU. Dr. Evelyn (Timmie) Birge Vitz will speak about “Beauty, Piety, and Delight in Medieval Literature.”

A Professor of French, and Affiliated Professor of Comparative Literature, Medieval and Renaissance Studies, and Religious Studies at New York University, Dr. Vitz is the author of many articles and books, including Medieval Narrative and Modern Narratology and A Continual Feast, a scholarly cookbook. She speaks widely on topics such as Christianity, family life, and gender.

The Lecture will be followed by a reception and sung Compline. Don’t miss it! Bring a friend!

The Catholic Center at NYU is located at 238 Thompson St, New York.

We might say that Germany today is the exemplar of a desacralized Europe. And within Germany the city of Berlin is among the least Christian. Yet, we find here a growing community of priests dedicated to the celebration of the Traditional liturgy: the Institute of St Philip Neri.1) The congregation on weekdays is small – but on Sundays it reaches 120 and is growing. In a region so alienated from the Faith, that’s a significant achievement. Indeed, it may be advantageous for a Traditionalist order to start from scratch than to try an negotiate the political minefields of more “Catholic” regions of Germany.

I recently visited the St. Afra church, located a little outside the center of the city. St Afra, in the hands of the Insitute since 2006-2008, was built for the “Gray Sisters” in 1898 as an interesting urban complex of church, school and convent. (A significant part of the construction cost was provided by the descendants of the famous German legal scholar Friedrich Carl von Savigny) The facade features elaborate brickwork; inside one proceeds along arched passages and through heavy medieval-style doors to reach the church. The Institute has done much to restore and beautify the church, often using objects from churches that have been closed or demolished. In 2015 an English organ was installed. By the way, the entire oeuvre of Martin Mosebach seemed to be on sale in the back of the church – an excellent sign! ( Mr. Mosebach has spoken at St. Afra’s)

It was dark already by the time I reached the church at 6:00 PM. On this weekday evening low mass was celebrated in a side chapel, followed by the singing of vespers in the main sanctuary. A memorable experience on such a chill and gloomy night! As we have so often seen elsewhere, Traditionalist communities and apostolates continue to rise up – even in those places where, humanly speaking, all hope would seem to have vanished.

(Above and below) The interior of the Church of St. Afra – preparing for vespers.

For more information see the WEBSITE of the Institute

For more on the buildings of St Afra (in German) see HERE.

1. “Our community life is modelled on the Oratory but we do not call ourselves Oratorians so as not to encounter any diplomatic or juridical difficulties with the existing Oratorian communities.” SOURCE

On Sunday, April 23 at 4:00 PM at St. Mary’s Parish hall there will be a celebration with wine, cheese and music of the release of the St. Mary’s Schola Cantorum’s first CD. Hosted by David Hughes, St. Mary’s director of music, the event will feature a performance by the Schola Cantorum  of excerpts from their world premiere recording of the mass Christe Jesu by William Rasar.