Hillary Clinton is Nuts

Saint Agnes Parish

Home!

Swiss Vestmens from the Storied Tailor of St. Gall: Fraefel & Co.

Gorgeous craftsmanship.

For generations Fraefel & Co. successfully filled a gap in the market in the world of embroidery for ecclesiastical use. 

Arnold Fraefel (1852-1919) was trained as an embroidery designer at the Industrie-und Gewerbemuseum (Industry and Commerce Museum) at St. Gallen, Switzerland.

In 1883, he founded his own embroidery and vestment factory, A. Fraefel-Eberle St. Gallen (Schweiz), together with his wife, Emma Eberle. In 1884, the young company purchased the "Felsenburg" in St. Gall as a residence, office and production site.

In 1888, Fraefel’s products were awarded a gold medal at the Esposizione Mondiale Vaticana (Vatican Exhibition Rome), and Pope Leo XIII gave Mr. Fraefel the order of merit "Pro Ecclesia et Pontifice" which lead to international fame. The company reached its peak around 1910 doing business in the United States, running branches in Chicago, New York and Toledo, Ohio.

Read more HERE.  Hopefully this company can be revived in St. Gall. 

This set was made for the Feast of St. John.  It came from the church of St. John in East Saint Paul, Minnesota (a historic church since closed, sold, gutted and converted into a mosque). 

Rose Colored Vestments

1950s Antique Vestments

City of Saint Paul: A Catholic City

National Shrine of the Apostle Paul with Saint Agnes church. 

One of the Greatest Liturgical Events of the Year in the United States

Sit in the front row.  Do not miss this glimpse of glory. 

5th Annual Summorum Pontificum International Pilgrimage

https://unacumpapanostro.com/

The traditional Catholic event of the year.

To the tomb of the Blessed Apostle Peter.

Oremvs!

Donald Trump ROASTS Hillary Clinton At The Al Smith Memorial

Holy Mass in USA

Church of Saint Agnes in Saint Paul, Minnesota.  

Celebrated by the great Fr. Bryan Peds!

Immense Value of Letters to the Editor

Tombs of Deceased Priests at Calvary Cemetery in St. Paul, Minnesota

Most of them came from Ireland.  Others came from countless other corners of the world.  Providence led them here where they lived, died and were laid to rest.  Remember to pray for priests, living and deceased.   

Vestments from the 1941 Eucharistic Congress in St. Paul, Minnesota

A lovely neo-Gothic set kept at the church of St. Agnes.  The chalices from the Congress were sent to the missions in Africa many years ago.  I would like to see this set preserved and made us of at the Cathedral of St. Paul. 

Tombs of Deceased School Sisters at Clavary Cemetery in St. Paul, Minnesota

I always visit here to pray for them and to thank them.  Sisters in those days professed with terrific names.  One of my favorite is the name "Sr. Evangelista." 

Tabernacle Veil

Switching veils at St. Agnes church in St. Paul, Minnesota. 

Set As Desktop Background or Lock Screen

Lovely sacristy window from the famous F. Mayer stained glass studios in Munich and New York.  

Church of St. Agnes in St. Paul, Minnesota. 

Blue Vestment Highlights Craftsmanship of a Bygone Era

A rare treasure likely Anglican in origin.  Seen at St. Agnes in Saint Paul, Minnesota. 

How to Store Starched Altar Cloths

100% pure linen.  You need a large table to dry them on, after you launder them by hand.  When they are dry, roll them and keep them flat in storage, as seen here.

As someone who has seen the Shroud of Turin twice, altar linens have taken on a new meaning.  They symbolize the burial shroud of Christ.  They are blessed objects and are to be maintained with great dignity.   

FYI: The Palm of Christ: Palma Christi (Castor Oil)

Due to its reputed ability to heal wounds and cure ailments, castor oil has been known as the "Palm of Christ." 

Catholic Culture: Hand-Painted Pall and Ciborium Veil

This artwork was done by School Sisters of Notre Dame.  

God bless and reward them with eternal rest. 

St. Francis of Assisi Garden Shrine

Minneapolis, Minnesota. 

Holy Family Garden Shrine

St. Paul, Minnesota.

Very nice to see this.  Works for Christmas, too.  The model family is a light to all men and nations.

I encourage everyone to have a nice garden statue. 

Catholic Culture: Garden Statue

My relatives have this in their garden.  It is my favorite garden statue. 

Historic Parish Closed and Sold to the Highest Bidder

More bad news from the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis.

In one of the most sought after neighborhoods in the city of St. Paul, this historic church was closed and sold.  My mother was Baptized here.  A Byzantine-Romanesque gem of immeasurable beauty and value that rivals anything like it I have ever seen anywhere.  Built in 1927.  It could have been given to the Institute of Christ the King.   Notice the cross was knocked off the tower and front facade?  It makes you wonder who is in charge? 

Today it is a German school.  The Archdiocese foolishly let this one go.  If the lawyers running the Archdiocese had been a bit more strategic, they could have leased this Como landmark to a charter or Montessori school and made big bucks.  I also noticed the charming rectory and convent were torn down and are now parking lots. 

National Shrine of Saint Paul the Apostle in Saint Paul, Minnesota (USA)

One of the finest Christian temples on the North American continent. 

Church of Saint Luke in Saint Paul, Minnesota (USA)

One of my favorite churches in the world.  

Due to a false appeasement process during a recent parish consolidation (closure), the name was changed to "St. Thomas More."  Sad.  The parish was given to the Jesuits and hardly anyone attends Mass here anymore.

Church of the Nativity of Our Lord in Saint Paul, Minnesota (USA)

Yours truly was Baptized here on Palm Sunday by a saint, Monsignor Clarence Steiner, longtime pastor of Nativity. The faith of the people was so strong that not even the Great Depression stopped them; they just built and kept building until it was done and perfect with no expense spared.  The most striking crucifix I have seen anywhere in the world adorns the sanctuary wall.   

Stop Hillary Clinton

New FSSP Parish in Minneapolis: Church of All Saints

A lovely Polish parish built in 1938, in the very Catholic neighborhood of Northeast Minneapolis.

A thriving parish with a great homeschool co-op and a very fine choir!

 http://www.fsspminneapolis.org/

What a Nice Ordination Chalice Looks Like

A native of the tiny town of Silver Lake, a farming community in Minnesota, the Rt. Rev. Mons. Rudolph G. Bandas, Ph.D., Agg. S.T.D. et M. was ordained in 1921.  The chalice was a gift from his family.

He was pastor of the very popular St. Agnes parish in the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis until 1969.   

Monsignor Bandas, a renowned Catholic educator and author of many books, was a friend to popes and bishops.  He was in the seminary with Archbishop Fulton Sheen. 

He had been Rector of the St. Paul Seminary, Professor of Sacred Theology at the College of St. Catherine and the College of St. Thomas, Peritus (Expert) at Vatican Council II, Consultor of the Sacred Congregation of Seminaries and Universities and Member of the Roman Pontifical Academy of Theology.

We remember him at Holy Mass every time this chalice is used.  May he rest in peace!

Biretta Shelf in the Sacristy of Saint Agnes Church

Many great ones over the years have fished for a biretta in this shelf.  

The late great Monsignor R.J. Schuler wore an R.J. Toomey biretta.

Downtown Saint Paul, Minnesota

Church of the Assumption, where my parents and grandparents were wed.  

Built in 1871.

Tomb of a Priest

DOMUM APUD MINNEOTAM REDIENS. 

Saint Agnes Church in Saint Paul, Minnesota (USA)

The Church of Saint Agnes is a baroque Austro-Hungarian parish located in Saint Paul's historic Frogtown neighborhood.

The 205-foot green oxidized copper "onion tower" is a city landmark, known as the Zwiebelturm.  At night the green clock glows and the tower is bathed in light.

A Solemn High Mass has been sung in Latin on the high altar inside this church every single Sunday, without exception, since the church was completed over one-hundred years ago.

I cannot think of a more interesting parish in the state of Minnesota.  A great many of us received our formation here, including Fr. Z, the famous pioneer of Internet evangelization fame.    

Saint Paul, Minnesota (USA)

Home.  Where yours truly was born.

The Cathedral of Saint Paul seen with the church of Saint Agnes, my alma mater. 

Rome Quotes

"By divorce, condemned by Christ, the unity of the family is broken, yes, and that of human life; hearts are separated, affections misdirected; ruinous incentives to infidelity suggested; seeds of discord spread among families; the dignity of woman is diminished, and cheapened; the good moral education of children becomes impossible as they see the authors of their life first divided, then joined in other unions, legalized by civil law, but which no moral principle can justify."

-Archbishop Amleto Giovanni Cicognani

November 2nd: Visiting the Dead

All Souls Day is the day to visit your dead ancestors at the family plot.  Dads, bring your kids to the cemetery to pray.  Bring a garden knife, too, to trim the ever encroaching sod off the family stones.  

Countless times yours truly has been here to pray before the mortal remains of my family members.  Eternal rest! 

Chapel Where Archbishop Sheen Began His Daily Holy Hour

It began here at Saint Paul's Seminary, located in Saint Paul, Minnesota (founded in 1894).  Fulton Sheen was a seminarian here during the First World War.  The chapel interior was later "wreckovated" during the 1980s.  Pray for a restoration.   

Autumn in Minnesota

Church of the Nativity of Our Lord, where yours truly was Baptized. 

Built in 1938.

The first church in the area to have an altar "facing the people," in the basement chapel.