Feast of Sant’Adelaide di Borgogna

Sant'Adelaide Imperatrice, ora pro nobis

December 16th is the Feast of Sant’Adelaide di Borgogna, Wife, Mother, Foundress, Queen and Holy Roman Empress. Patron saint of abuse victims, brides, princesses, exiles, parents of large families, prisoners, step-parents and widows, she is also invoked against in-law problems and for second marriages. 

In celebration, we’re posting a Prayer to St. Adelaide of Burgundy. The accompanying photo comes courtesy of Father Eugene Carrella. The holy card is part of Father Carrella’s impressive collection of religious artifacts. Evviva Sant’Adelaide di Borgogna!

Prayer to St. Adelaide of Burgundy

Lord God, you blessed Adelaide of Burgundy with gifts of grace as wife and mother, empress and foundress, so that she might spend her life in service to your people. Through her example and prayers, may we keep the faith when we have to endure difficult situations, and be able to fulfill our duties with generosity in spite of them. Through Christ Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Christmas Novena (December 16th-24th)

Infant of Prague at the Shrine
Church of the Holy Innocents in NYC

As an immediate preparation for the Solemnity of Christmas, consider offering this prayer as a final Novena before this great Feast 

Prayer to Infant Jesus of Prague by Ven. Fr. Cyril, OCD 

O Divine Infant Jesus, I have recourse to Thee. Please, through Thy Blessed Mother, assist me in this necessity (...mention intention...), because I firmly believe that Thy Divinity can help me. I hope with confidence to obtain Thy holy grace. I love Thee with all my heart and with all the strength of my soul. I repent sincerely of my sins and I beg Thee, O Good Jesus, to grant me the strength to triumph over them. I resolve never more to offend Thee and I come to offer myself to Thee with the intention of enduring everything rather than to displease Thee. Henceforth, I desire to serve Thee with fidelity and, for the love of Thee, O Divine Infant, I will love my neighbor as myself. 

All-powerful Infant, O Jesus, I implore Thee again, assist me in this need. Grant me the grace of possessing Thee eternally with Mary and Joseph and of adoring Thee with the angels in the Heavenly Court. Amen. 

"The more you honor me, the more I will bless you."

Novena to the Infant Jesus of Prague for the Nine Days Preceding the 25th of Each Month (16th–24th)

1. Eternal Father, I offer to Your honor and glory, for my eternal salvation and for the salvation of the whole world, the mystery of the birth of our Divine Redeemer. Glory be to the Father, etc.

2. Eternal Father, I offer to Your honor and glory, for my eternal salvation and that of the whole world, the sufferings of the most holy Virgin and St. Joseph on that long and weary journey from Nazareth to Bethlehem. I offer Thee the sorrows of their hearts at not finding a place wherein to shelter themselves when the Saviour of the world was about to be born. Glory be to the Father, etc.

3. Eternal Father, I offer to Your honor and glory, for my eternal salvation and that of the whole world, the sufferings of Jesus in the manger where He was born, the cold He suffered, the swaddling clothes which bound Him, the tears He shed, and His tender infant cries. Glory be to the Father, etc.

4. Eternal Father, I offer to Your honor and glory, for my eternal salvation and that of the whole world, the pain which the Holy Child Jesus felt in His tender body when He submitted to the rite of circumcision. I offer Thee that Precious Blood which then for the first time He shed for the salvation of all mankind. Glory be to the Father, etc.

5. Eternal Father, I offer to Your honor and glory, for my eternal salvation and that of the whole world, the humility, mortification, patience, charity and all the virtues of the Child Jesus; and I thank Thee, and I love Thee, and I bless Thee without end for this ineffable mystery of the Incarnation of the Word of God. Glory be to the Father, etc.

V. The Word was made flesh.
R. And dwelt among us.

Let us Pray

O God, whose only-begotten Son was made manifest to us in the substance of our flesh, grant, we beseech Thee, that through Him, whom we acknowledge to have been outwardly like us, we may deserve to be renewed in our inward selves. Who lives and reigns with Thee forever and ever. Amen.

Source: Devotion to the Infant Jesus of Prague, TAN Books, 1990

New Book — Mysticism, Magic, and Monasteries: Recovering the Sacred Mystery at the Heart of Reality

A new title that may be of interest to our readers. Available at Amazon.com

• Mysticism, Magic, and Monasteries: Recovering the Sacred Mystery at the Heart of Reality by Sebastian Morello

Publisher: OS Justi Press
Publication Date: November 22, 2024
Hardcover: $29.95
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Language: English
Pages: 206

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Photo of the Week: Detail of the Scale Model of Pompeii, Museo Archeologico Nazionale di Napoli

Photo by New York Scugnizzo

Feast of Sant'Agnello di Napoli

Sant'Agnello di Napoli, ora pro nobis

December 14th is the Feast of Sant'Agnello di Napoli, miracle worker and patron of Naples. Born in 535, it is said his parents, Giovanna and Federico, were nobles from Siracusa, Sicily, and (according to some) distantly related to Santa Lucia. Having great difficulty conceiving a child the couple invoked the Madonna on the heights of Caponapoli, the site of the city's ancient acropolis. Grateful for granting their petition, the joyous parents fulfilled their votive promise and founded the Chiesa di Santa Maria Intercede at the location of the blessing. 

According to legend, Sant'Agnello was only 20-days-old when he first spoke; saying "Hail Mary" before a statue of the Blessed Mother. At the age of fifteen he chose the ascetic life of a hermit, living for several years in solitude, praying and meditating. During this period, he may have visited Guarcino in Lazio and the Sanctuary of Monte Sant'Angelo, an important destination for pilgrims in the Gargano region of Apulia. Continue reading

Remembering King Carlo di Borbone

b. Madrid, 20 January 1716 - d. Madrid, 14 December 1788

In memory of Carlo di Borbone, King of Spain, first Bourbon Duke of Parma, first Bourbon King of Naples and Sicily, we pray for the happy repose of his soul. Viva ‘o Rre!

Eternal rest grant unto His Majesty, O Lord and let perpetual light shine upon him. May his soul, and the souls of all the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace. Amen

Feast of Santa Lucia di Siracusa

Santa Lucia by Antonio Gagni (1552),
Chiesa di Santa Lucia, Mistretta, Messina
Photo courtesy of Anthony Scillia

December 13th is the feast of Santa Lucia di Siracusa, Virgin and Martyr. According to the old Julian calendar this day marked the longest night of the year, or winter solstice. Patroness of the blind, her name derives from the Latin lux, which means light. Santa Lucia is also associated with the harvest and Sicilians customarily celebrate her feast day with cuccia, a hearty porridge made with wheat berries.

According to tradition, Lucia was born about 283 AD in Siracusa, the seat of the Roman government on the island of Sicily. She was the daughter of a wealthy Roman nobleman who died when she was very young. Her ailing mother, Eutychia, may have been of Greek stock.

Inspired by the martyrdom of Saint Agatha, who perished in 251 AD during the persecution of Christians by Emperor Decius, Lucia devoted herself to a life of Christian piety. However, when she came of age Eutychia arranged for her to marry a pagan suitor. Lucia implored her mother to allow her to remain chaste and distribute her dowry to the poor. Continue reading

Remembering the Warrior Prelate, His Eminence Cardinal Fabrizio Dionigi Ruffo

b. San Lucido, Calabria, 16 September 1744 – d. Napoli, 13 December 1827

In memory of His Eminence Cardinal Fabrizio Dionigi Ruffo, the great counter-revolutionary hero who liberated the Kingdom of Naples from Franco-Jacobin tyranny, we pray for the happy repose of his soul.

Eternal rest grant unto His Eminence, O Lord and let perpetual light shine upon him. May his soul, and the souls of all the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace. Amen

Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe

Our Lady of Guadalupe, ora pro nobis

December 12th is the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe, Empress of the Americas and patroness on unborn Children. In celebration I'm posting the Morning Offering to Our Lady of Guadalupe. The accompanying photo of the Shrine of the Unborn dedicated to the children who have died before or at birth is located at the Shrine Church of the Holy Innocents (128 West 37th St.) in New York City. Ave Maria!

Morning Offering to Our Lady of Guadalupe

Immaculate Heart of Mary, Heart of my Mother, Our Lady of Guadalupe, I unite to thy purity, thy sanctity, thy zeal and thy love, all my thoughts, words, acts, and sufferings this day, that there may be nothing in me that does not become through thee, a pleasure to Jesus, a gain to souls, and an act of reparation for the offenses against thy Heart. Amen

Meridiunalata: L’Ammore Nuosto by Cav. Charles Sant’Elia

Reprinted from Cav. Charles Sant'Elia's Meridiunalata / Southernade, an evocative bilingual collection of poetry written in Neapolitan and translated to English between 1989 and 2010.*

L’Ammore Nuosto

L’ammore nuosto è na cammenata ncopp’’a via,
Nu vasillo mmocca a ll’ombra,
Na carezza a na spalla ‘o’ sole.
L’ammore nuosto è nu gelato offerto
E maje magnato,
Na guardata suspecosa, nu poco ‘e gelusia.
L’ammore nuosto è n’abbracciamiento abbascio ‘o puorto,
‘A paura ‘e nu dimane senza ‘e te, senza ‘e me.
L’ammore nuosto è na canzona ancora senza parole,
Ca pure stammo cantanno,
Ca forze leggimmo int’a ll’uocchie d’’e figlie nuoste.

Our Love

Our love is a walk on the avenue,
A little kiss on the mouth in the shade,
A caress on the shoulder in the sun.
Our love is an icecream offered
And never eaten,
A suspicious glance, a bit of jealousy.
Our love is an embrace down by the harbour,
The fear of a tomorrow without you, without me.
Our love is a song still without words,
That yet we are singing,
That perhaps we read in the eyes of our children.

* Self-published in 2010, Meridiunalata / Southernade is a treasury of poems gleaned from Cav. Sant'Elia's previous collections (Nchiuso dint''o presente, 'A cuntrora, and 'O pino e l'éllera), which were circulated among friends in New York City and Naples. Special thanks to Cav. Sant'Elia for allowing us to reprint his poetry and translations.

Gaudete Sunday at St. Michael's Church in Staten Island, New York

Download the Latest Edition of 'Il Portastendardo di Civitella del Tronto'

Click here to download the current issue (N. 42 Dicembre 2024)

Rorate Caeli Mass at Our Lady of Mt. Carmel Church in Newark, New Jersey

Celebrating the Feast of the Immaculate Conception and the 5th Annual Feast of San Nicola di Bari in Brooklyn, New York

San Nicola di Bari, ora pro nobis

Following the Traditional Latin Masses at Our Lady of Peace, Holy Innocents, and St. Josaphat’s Sunday morning, members and friends of the Fratelli della Santa Fede (aka Sanfedisti) gathered at Amunì Ristorante (7217 3rd Avenue) in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn, to celebrate the Feast of the Immaculate Conception and the 5th Annual Feast of San Nicola di Bari. Partygoers enjoyed a fun evening of fellowship, games (tombola, raffles, etc.), and a sumptuous repast by Chef Vincent Dardanello.

As always, it was a great joy to celebrate our faith and culture together. Evviva Maria e San Nicola di Bari!

Dave and John

(L) Andrew and Enza. (R) Carmine and Angie

(L) Jim and Cindy. (R) Anthony and Maria

Caponata

Arancini

Carduna

Carciofi fritti

Manicotti

Cavatelli

Ragù

Bignè

Translation of the Holy House of Loreto

Our Lady of Loreto, ora pro nobis

December 10th is the Feast of the Translation of the Blessed Mother's Holy House from Nazareth to Loreto, a hilltop town near Ancona in the central Italian region of the Marche. However, before arriving to Loreto the sacred dwelling first moved to Tersatto in Dalmatia (Croatia) in 1291, after the defeat of the Crusaders in the Holy Land. Appearing out of nowhere, many miracles have been attributed to the house, including the healing of the town's ailing Bishop. With the Moslem conquest of Albania in 1294 the house miraculously moved again, first to a wooded area near Recanati, then finally settling in Loreto. In the 15th century, the magnificent Basililca della Santa Casa was built around the Holy House, becoming one of the most popular and revered Marian shrines in the world.

Patroness of aviators, Our Lady of Loreto is also petitioned by new and potential homeowners. In celebration, I'm posting a Prayer to Our Lady of Loreto. The accompanying photo of The Translation of the Holy House of Loreto (ca. 1510) by Saturnino Gatti (L'Aquila 1463–1518) was taken at the Metropolitan Museum of art. Ave Maria!

Prayer to Our Lady of Loreto

Our Lady of Loreto, Our Glorious Mother, we confidently turn to you; receive our humble prayer. Humanity is troubled by great evils, which it wishes to overcome on its own, and is in need of peace, justice, truth and love, yet thinks it can find these divine realities away from your Son.

O Mother! You, who carried the Divine Savior in your immaculate womb and lived with Him in the Holy House that we venerate on the Loreto Hill, grant us the grace to seek Him and imitate His example, He who leads us to salvation.

Rorate Caeli Mass at Corpus Christi Church in South River, New Jersey

A Look at the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Annual Angel Tree and Neapolitan Baroque Crèche

Taking a much-needed respite from the hustle and bustle of NYC, I finally got to visit the Annual Angel Tree and Neapolitan Baroque Crèche installation at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. One of my favorite Adventide and Christmastide traditions, it is (in my humble opinion) the best Christmas tree and Nativity scene in New York City, including the magnificent Norway spruce in Rockefeller Center. The Met's 20-foot blue spruce and its splendid array of 18th-century presepio figurines from Naples will be on view until 6 January 2025. It is a must-see when visiting the Big Apple. Buon Natale!

Photo of the Week: Scale Model of Pompeii, Museo Archeologico Nazionale di Napoli

Photo by New York Scugnizzo

Visit of the Major Relic of St. Thomas Aquinas, O.P.

Celebrating the Feast of San Nicola at the Met

Saint Nicholas with the Three Boys in the
Pickling Tub, oak, South Netherlandish, ca. 1500

Friday after Mass, we celebrated the feast of San Nicola di Bari with a delightful trip to the Metropolitan Museum of Art in Manhattan. With no real agenda planned, we sauntered through the Medieval Treasury, the American Wing, and the 19th-century British Art galleries. Too much to show here, we offer a tiny glimpse of the many treasures we viewed during our visit. San Nicola, ora pro nobis.

Upcoming exhibits of note at the Met Fifth Avenue:

• Caspar David Friedrich: The Soul of Nature (February 8—May 11, 2025)

• Sargent and Paris (April 27—August 3, 2025)

The entombment, limestone, French, Bourbonnais,
ca. 1515, from the Château de Biron, Périgord

(L) Saint George and the Dragon, ca. 1475, wood, gilded, and painted, attributed to Hans Klocker (Austrian, active, 1474-1502). (R) Saint Elzéar, alabaster, carved about 1370-73, French, from the Franciscan church at Apt. The work is one of eight sculptural reliefs depicting the saintly life of the knight from the reliquary tomb (erected in 1373) destroyed during the French Revolution.

King, Queen, and Prince, marble with traces of paint and gilding, carved
and painted about 1350, French. The figures are believed to portray King
Philip VI Valois (d. 1350); his second wife, Blanche of Navarre (d. 1398);
and one of their sons, John the Good or Philip of France.

(L) Saint Anne Holding the Virgin and Child, Walnut with paint and gilding, carved and painted about 1500-1525, from the Benedictine convent of Nonnberg, Salzburg, Austria. (R) Saint Catherine of Alexandria, gold, enamel en ronde bosse, sapphires, corundum, and pearls, made in Paris about 1400-1410

Saddle with Courtly Scenes, bone, linden wood, rawhide, and birch bark,
made in central Europe (probably Tyrol) about 1430-60

(L-R) Rosary Terminal Bead with Lovers and Death's Head, elephant
ivory with emerald pendant, gilded metal mount, North French
or South Netherlandish, made about 1500-1525

Drinking Horn, cow or European bison horn, silver and gilded silver
mounts, and champlevé enamel, German, Nuremberg, made 1436

(L) Drinking Horn (see above). (R) The Spanish Girl in Reverie,
oil on canvas, 1831, Washington Allston (1779-1843)

Ariadne, oil on canvas, ca. 1831-35, Asher Brown Durand (1796-1886)

(L) Madame X (Virginie Avegno Gautreau), oil on canvas, 1883-84,
John Singer Sargent (1856-1925). (R) Carmencita (Carmen Dauset
Moreno), oil on canvas, 1890, William Merritt Chase (1849-1916)

View from Mount Holyoke, Northampton, Massachusetts, after a Thunderstorm—The Oxbow, oil on canvas, 1836, Thomas Cole (1801-1848)

(L-R) Fragilina, marble, 1923, Attilio Piccirilli (1866-1945)

(L) Evening, marble, this carving 1891, Frederick Wellington
Ruckstull (1853-1942). (R) Genius of Mirth, marble,
carved 1843, Thomas Crawford (1813[?]-1857)

(L) Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington (1769-1852), marble, 1823, Sir Francis Chantrey (British, 1781-1841). (R) King George IV, when Prince of Wales (1762-1830), oil on canvas, after 1798, Sir William Beechey (British, 1753-1839)

(L-R) Alexander the Great, black basalt (unglazed stoneware), ca. 1779-80, Wedgwood and Bently (British, 1769-80); and Laurence Sterne (1713-1823), marble, modeled 1766, Joseph Nolleken (British, 1737-1823)