Friday, June 20, 2008

When Papal Liturgies were Baroque...


It all ended in the tenebrous sixties, but here's another taste of the beauty in the hope that it will make a return.
And why hasn't it yet returned? In large part, Aristotle has the answer: "He who wishes to learn must believe." Many of our tepid leaders just haven't really believed as the Church would have us believe in such tenets as Papal primacy or the real presence of Christ in the Blessed Eucharist, etc.
And the truth is that the sixties never really ended in Italy. Pray that Italy and its people can move on from that never-ending decade (and then Italian television will be just so much more bearable!).

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

Ah, I love Cardinal Ottaviani, the deacon on the left. Who's the Cardinal Deacon on the other side who looks like he's asleep?

Hilary Jane Margaret White said...

mmmm, "tenebrous"

Nice. Good adjective.

Aric said...

I am not sure what the event was, or what year it was, but on what occasion would women have approached the throne? Was this in a liturgical context?

Anonymous said...

Procession of the gifts in sixty-four?

Anonymous said...

It was December 8th, 1965.

And believe me, it wasn't a day to celebrate. In fact, this was probably the very last time such beautiful ornamentation was used.
What gave me the hint was I had seen this cope Paul VI wore before. And he only wore it once.
If you look at it closely, you'll see how plain it really is. It was a harbinger of things to come.

The occasion depicted is really something all good Catholics should weep and mourn over, because Dec. 8th, 1965 was the day that Paul VI solemnly closed Vatican II, and the day its disasterous "reforms" were officially promulgated.
The liberalism of the Council was already beginning to manifest itself....very plain Papal cope, laywomen approaching the altar etc.
We all know what else was around the corner.
UGH!!

Anonymous said...

from their mode of dress, they look like Roman noblewomen