This Hallowe’en – Monday, October 31st – The Catholic Artists Society will host its second major event for artists, patrons and friends of the Society, celebrating All Hallows Eve with sung vespers, a lecture and reception at the Dominican parish of St. Vincent Ferrer in Manhattan.

The evening begins at 6.30pm in the church of St. Vincent Ferrer. Internationally renowned author and speaker Father Uwe Michael Lang, from London’s Brompton Oratory, will preside at the ancient and beautiful liturgy of First Vespers for All Saints. Fr. Lang is the director of the masters program in Sacred Art, Architecture and Liturgy atthe Regina Apostolorum in Rome, and a consultor to the office for papal liturgy.  Fr.Bruno Shah, OP from St. Vincent Ferrer, and Fr. Michael Barone (archdiocese of Newark) will assist in the liturgical celebration, which will conclude with benediction. Gregorian chant and polyphonic settings for vespers will be provided by a schola of professional singers led by David J. Hughes, head of music at St. Mary’s Church in Norwalk, CT.

Following vespers, Father Lang will give a presentation entitled Art, Beauty and the Sacred in the parish hall. A reception with refreshments will follow. Donations are welcome to cover the costs of the event.

Inspired by Pope Benedict XVI’s call to artists to be “custodians of Beauty” and “heralds and witnesses of Hope to humanity”, the Catholic Artists Society is an association of arts, entertainment and media professionals dedicated to working for the greater glory of God and the common good. In keeping with the aims of the New Evangelization, the Society seeks to reach out to allartists, as well as to patrons and audiences, to promote a public discourse on the meaning of Beauty, and to cultivate a greater understanding of Christianity’s contribution to the shaping of our cultural heritage and civilization.

Date: Monday, October 31st , 2011

Time: Vespers at 6.30 PM; lecture and reception immediately following.

Location: Church of St.Vincent Ferrer, 869 Lexington Avenue (@ E. 66th Street), NYC.

Please direct queries to: catholicartistssociety@gmail.com

Ealing Abbey Choir of Men and Boys, London makes their debut in New York City at the Church of  Saint Agnes on Wednesday, October 26th in an hour long program beginning at 6:15. 

Addresss of St Agnes: 143 East 43rd Street, New York. For further information contact James Wetzel at jwetzel@stagneschurchnyc.org or call 412-951-7441.

Vespers on Friday Evening.

“For the whole Church…” This weekend we enjoyed a special opportunity to get to know the extraordinary variety  of the Traditionalist movement across the world. We  in America  encountered leading intellectuals who have become, each in a different capacity, spokesmen for Tradition. For the visitors from Europe, it was a chance to experience the flourishing  life of a post-Summorum Pontificum community in a diocesan parish.  The liturgical aspects of the weekend were also ” extraordinary” in a number of respects. We at the Society of St. Hugh of Cluny seem to be forming our own tradition of scheduling “events”  on days with (a) unfavorable weather and (b) unusually demanding liturgical requirements. For who could forget the Friday Evening Vespers and then the Solemn Mass for Ember Saturday with the chanting of the five lessons from the Old Testament, culminating in the song of the three youths in the fire? Our thanks to the clergy (Fr. Greg Markey, pastor; Deacon Steve Genovese and Fr. Richard Cipolla) and the masters of ceremony and servers of St Marys’ parish,   and also to the schola of the parish under the direction of Mr. David Hughes.  Our thanks also to  women of the parish who labored devotedly for long hours over the weekend to assure the uniformly high quality of the parish hall facilities, the food and the refreshments throughout the conference. 

Fr. Cipolla, in the conference’s first presentation Friday evening, spoke of what is happening at St Mary’s parish as a result of Summorum Pontificum and Universae Ecclesiae. The profound effects are felt on both the spiritual and physical planes. A major repainting and restoration of the interior of the church, for example, is continuing subsequent to the restoration of the extraordinary form liturgy.

The chanting of the lessons on Ember Saturday.

Flectamus Genua….levate.

Prof. Luc Perrin (left) gave us a whirlwind tour of the history of French Traditionalism, its status and future. His report on the current state of ‘Frenchchurch” is understandably bleak. Objectively speaking, the number of Traditionalists is small and the hostility of the episcopate overwhelming.  But I think that the nation which upheld the cause of Tradition for so many years still has many sprititual gifts to offer to the world.  Dr. Lorenz Jaeger (right) offered a series of philosophical and scriptural reflections on liturgy, faith and modernity.  The liturgy of the morning, in which the readings reached back to the detailed provisons of Leviticus served as an (unintentionally) appropriate background for Dr. Jaeger’s presention.  For the exacting liturgical requirements of the Old Testament and the heavenly liturgy set forth in book of Revelation in the New lead us to a philosophy of the liturgy in which Traditomnalism is a natural consequence.

Monsignor Ignacio Barreiro provided a detailed legal analysis of Universae Ecclesiae and its significance for the Traditonalist movement. First, he situated this document – and Summorum Pontificum as well – in the context of the writings of Pope Benedict- both as cardinal and supreme pontiff – on the liturgy. Then, Monsignor Barreiro demonstrated how the new Instruction confirms the liberating effect of Summorum Pontificum against those who wanted to redefine it as merely another variant of an “indult.”

The conference concluded with a lively dialogue among the speakers and with the audience. I should add that there was opportunity during and after the conference for all of us to get to know each other better. That, after all, was one of the Society’s main aims in organizing this event. In his presentation, Prof. Perrin spoke of the preexisting “networks” in France that enabled the survival of the Traditional liturgy in that country. Going forward, we at the Society of St. Hugh of Cluny hope to facilitate the establishment of such networks in this part of the country through further events as time and resources permit.

There is still time to register for our conference next week at St. Mary Church, Norwalk.

“For the Whole Church: Looking Forward with Summorum Pontificum“
Perspectives on the Traditional Liturgy and Catholic Culture in the wake of the Instruction Universae Ecclesiae and the fourth anniversary of Pope Benedict XVI’s Motu proprio Summorum Pontificum

Sponsored by the Society of St. Hugh of Cluny


Friday, 23 September
Solemn Vespers at 7:30 P.M. — Presentation at 8:30 P.M.
Saturday, 24 September
Solemn Mass at 9:00 A.M. — Presentations at 11:00 A.M., 1:15 P.M., 2:15 P.M.
Registration fee: $20 per person, payable at the conference (includes lunch)
St. Mary Church, 669 West Avenue, Norwalk, CT

Please register ahead.  Send an email to contact@sthughofcluny.org 

Parking available.  Rail access:  South Norwalk MetroNorth Station plus a short cab ride.

Speakers include Fr. Richard Cipolla, D.Phil., parochial vicar of St. Mary Church; Dr. Luc Perrin, Professor at the
Univ. of Strasbourg, France; Dr. Lorenz Jaeger, editor of the FAZ, Germany, and Visiting Lecturer at Stanford
University; and Msgr. Ignacio Barreiro Carámbula, S.T.D., Acting President of Human Life International.

The four years that have elapsed since the effective date of Summorum Pontificum have witnessed an amazing flowering of the Traditional liturgy in this country.  While still encountering many obstacles, the Traditional Liturgy continues to acquire new supporters and new homes – often in what previously were thought to be the most inhospitable places.  And every Catholic must ask: what does  this liturgical ferment mean for the Christian life in the contemporary world?  The Society of St. Hugh of Cluny is organizing this conference to take stock of  these developments and to provide a broader context for what we have experienced. We will hear extraordinary speakers who, each in a very different way, will provide insights on the political, legal and spiritual dimensions of  living Traditional Catholicism today.  We also hope that this will be an opportunity for us to get to know each other better and to lay the foundations for continued fruitful cooperation in the work of restoring Christendom. 

More detailed information

“For the Whole Church: Looking Forward with Summorum Pontificum“
Perspectives on the Traditional Liturgy and Catholic Culture in the wake of the Instruction Universae Ecclesiae and the fourth anniversary of Pope Benedict XVI’s Motu proprio Summorum Pontificum

Sponsored by the Society of St. Hugh of Cluny


Friday, 23 September
Solemn Vespers at 7:30 P.M. — Presentation at 8:30 P.M.
Saturday, 24 September
Solemn Mass at 9:00 A.M. — Presentations at 11:00 A.M., 1:15 P.M., 2:15 P.M.
Registration fee: $20 per person, payable at the conference (includes lunch)
St. Mary Church, 669 West Avenue, Norwalk, CT

Please register ahead.  Send an email by September 18 to contact@sthughofcluny.org 

Speakers include Fr. Richard Cipolla, D.Phil., parochial vicar of St. Mary Church; Dr. Luc Perrin, Professor at the
Univ. of Strasbourg, France; Dr. Lorenz Jaeger, editor of the FAZ, Germany, and Visiting Lecturer at Stanford
University; and Msgr. Ignacio Barreiro Carámbula, S.T.D., Acting President of Human Life International.

More detailed information

Fr. Richard Cipolla, the chaplain of our Society,  will give an evening of recollection at the Convent of Saint Birgitta in Darien, CT on Tuesday, September 27 from 6-9 PM.  The program will include several meditations, the Sacrament of Reconciliation and time for  Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament at this beautiful site at 4 Runkenhage Road, Darien on Long Island Sound.   Invite a friend! All are welcome!

A $15 contribution to the Sisters is requested, payable to Convent of Saint Birgitta.  There is also the option to have dinner at the convent, cooked by the Sisters,  at 5:15.  The cost is $20 extra. 

The Evening of Recollection is limited to 45 people and the dinner is limited to 15 people.  To attend you must  RSVP by Sept 23, contacting  Jacqueline Juhasz :  jacquelinejuh@gmail.com or 203-866-7429.

The Catholic Artists Society cordially invites you to an Evening of Recollection for Women in the Arts and Media, Wednesday, September 28th, 6:45 PM, Feast of St. Wenceslaus.
The program includes Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament and Benediction, with a meditation offered by a priest of Opus Dei on themes related to the work of the artist and the spiritual life. Refreshments and conversation afterwards.
RSVP by Tuesday, September 27th. Coordinators: Vivian Choi (vivian@vivian-choi.com) and Maui Mier (aldertonhouse@yahoo.com)
Alderton House is located at 117 East 70th Street New York, New York 10021 between Park and Lexington Avenues. By Subway: 6 Train to 68th Street/Hunter College.
For more information, visit catholicartistssociety.posterous.com.