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| A beautiful mosaic of Our Lord Jesus Christ adorns the apse |
Deus, qui per beátum Alfónsum Maríam Confessórem tuum atque Pontíficem, animárum zelo succénsum, Ecclésiam tuam nova prole fecundásti: quǽsumus; ut, eius salutáribus mónitis edócti et exémplis roboráti, ad te perveníre felíciter valeámus. Per Dóminum nostrum. Amen.1
Monday evening, Solemn Vespers was celebrated on the Feast of St. Alphonsus Liguori by Fr. Seán Connolly at the Church of the Most Holy Redeemer (173 E. 3rd St.) in New York City. Evening Prayer was followed by a fascinating lecture on Blessed Charles of Austria by Charles A. Coulombe at nearby St. Brigid-St. Emeric Church (119 Ave. B). It was the first stop on Charles' highly anticipated East Coast book tour, promoting his latest treatise, Blessed Charles of Austria: A Holy Emperor and His Legacy (TAN Books, 2020).1) O God, Who didst enkindle in thy Blessed Confessor and Bishop Alphonsus Mary a burning love of souls, and by him didst make thy Church the Mother of a new family, we pray thee to give us such strength that, taught by his wholesome doctrine and nerved by his example, we also may in the end happily attain unto thee. Through Jesus Christ... Amen.
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| (Above & below) Solemn Vespers was celebrated by Fr. Seán Connolly |
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| The choir sounded amazing |
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| A look at the sanctuary and high altar |
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Statues of Maria SS. Del Monte, patroness of Racalmuto, Sicily
and Sant'Alfonso Maria di Liguori, Bishop and Doctor of the Church |
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| Life-size statues of Our Lord's Passion and Death by the entrance |
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| Bye-altars of Our Lady and San Giuseppe |
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| (L) Our Lady of Perpetual Help chapel. (R) Reliquary chapel with over 150 relics |
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| Beneath the chapel's altar lies a wax effigy of the Roman Martyr St. Datian |
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Eternal rest grant unto them O Lord. And let perpetual
light shine upon them. May they rest in Peace Amen. |
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| Fr. Connolly gave us a tour of the Church and the crypt |
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| Statues of Our Lady and St. Clement Mary Hofbauer in the basement |
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After Solemn Vespers, Fr. Donald Kloster led us to St. Brigid
and St. Emeric Church for the lecture by Charles A. Coulombe |
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| Exploring the church, we visited St. Brigid and St. Emeric of Hungary |
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Fr. Connolly warmly welcomed everyone to the talk and
introduced the man of the hour, author Charles Coulombe |
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Charles spoke at length about the life and times of Blessed Karl of Austria
and took many questions from the audience |
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| An overwhelmingly young audience packed the church auditorium |
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| Charles meets his audience and signs copies of his book |
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| Copies of Charles' book were available for purchase |
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| Fr. Connolly erected a temporary shrine to Emperor Karl |
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Father was kind enough to show us the note from Bishop
Athanasius Schneider on the back of Emperor Karl's portrait |
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| Guests enjoyed some delicious Mexican fare |
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| Some new & old friends: (L-R) Michela, Daniel, Marie Therese, & David |
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| Daniel and Andrew enjoying the festivities |
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Bourbon-Two Sicilies showing love to the Habsburg Emperor
and his Bourbon-Parma Empress, Servant of God Zita |
