This Year's Shrine to Beata Maria Cristina di Savoia

Beata Maria Cristina, ora pro nobis

O God, You adorned Blessed Maria Cristina with diligent and wise charity, so that by her witness, she would contribute to the building up of Your Kingdom. Grant us also, by her example, to do good, drawing on the true riches of Your Love. Through our Lord Jesus, Your Son, Who lives and reigns with You in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, forever and ever. Amen

Feast of St. Blaise at the Shrine Chapel of the Blessed Sacrament in Raritan, New Jersey

First Friday Fatima Devotion at Corpus Christi Church in South River, New Jersey

Candlemas at Our Lady of Sorrows Church in Jersey City, New Jersey

Celebrating the Feast of Beato Carlo Magno in NYC

Since I've yet to obtain a better image of the Emperor, I brought
out a few pieces from my stamp collection for the occasion

After traditional Latin Mass Tuesday evening, I met with a friend at a cozy Parisian-style bistro in Manhattan for a celebratory drink and talk in honor of the Feast of Beato Carlo Magno, Imperator Romanorum, and Pater Europae. Finding it increasingly difficult to find absinthe at bars these days, we took advantage of the opportunity and imbibed the Green Fairy. Evviva Beato Carlo Magno!

Detail of first-day cover and stamp depicting Emperor Charlemagne

(L) Art Deco base of absinthe fountain. (R) Pontarlier
glass with absinthe spoon and sugar cube

Dave and John partake in la fée verte

Remembering S.A.R. Elisabetta delle Due Sicilie

2 February 1933 – 29 January 2022

In memory of S.A.R. Elisabetta delle Due Sicilie, Princess of Württemberg, Dowager Duchess of Calabria, Dame Grand Cross of Justice of the Sacred Military Constantinian Order of St. George, we pray for the happy repose of her soul.

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

Presentazione del libro Bari e Maria Sofia

In Bari

Remembering Papal Zouave Philippe Marie Jean de Vassal-Cadillac

Philippe Marie Jean de Vassal-Cadillac

Born on August 14, 1850, Philippe Marie Jean de Vassal-Cadillac joined the Papal Zouaves in February 1868 at the age of 18. He was promoted to Sergeant in November 1869. 

The outbreak of the Franco-Prussian War in July, 1870 led France to enact a conscription. Jean was one of those conscripted so he was forced to resign from the unit in August 1870.

Jean became Sergeant Fournier in the French Mobiles and was then promoted to Lieutenant in the 119th Line Infantry Regiment.

During the 2nd Battle of Dijon on December 18, 1870, he received two gunshot wounds and was seriously injured. Never truly recovering, he died in Angers on January 28, 1873.

The above portrait comes from my personal collection and once belonged to the Vassal-Cadillac family.

Archduchess Maria Theresa

On the back is an additional portrait of the Countess of Chambord Maria Theresa of Austria-Este, the wife of legitimist French King, Henry V.

I also have Jeaan's Papal Zouave Manual Prayer Book. Page 117 is circled which includes a prayer of thanksgiving after Communion and instructions on how to receive an indulgence.

Below is the translation.

ACT OF KINDNESS    

The tenderest and most generous of friends! what could now separate me from you, after you have given me such touching proof of your love? Ah! I renounce with all my heart what had taken me away from you; and I propose, with the help of your grace, to fall no more into faults which have so often afflicted your heart. 

Papal Zouave Manual prayer book

Those who, after going to confession and after receiving Holy Communion, recite the following Prayer before an image of the Crucifix, can gain a plenary indulgence and deliver a soul from purgatory.  (Pius VII, April 10, 1821.)

O good and sweetest Jesus, before Thy face I humbly kneel, and with all fervour of soul I pray and beseech Thee to vouchsafe to fix deep in my heart lively sentiments of faith, hope, and charity, true contrition for my sins, and a most firm purpose of amendment; whilst I contemplate with great sorrow and love Thy five Wounds, and ponder them over in my mind, having before my eyes the words which, long ago, David the prophet spoke in his own person concerning Thee, my Jesus: Foderunt manus Meas et pedes Meos; dinumeraverunt omnia ossa Mea.*

Five Paters and five Aves are then said, for the ordinary intentions of the Holy Church, to receive the plenary indulgence.

By Brendan Cassell (Papal Zouave History @PapalZouaveUS)

* They dug My hands and My feet; they numbered all My bones.

Remembering Henri du Vergier, Comte de la Rochejaquelein

The Death of Henri de La Rochejaquelein by Alexandre Bloch

"Friends, if I advance, follow me! If I retreat, kill me! If I die, avenge me!" ~ Henri du Vergier de la Rochejaquelein

In memory of Henri du Vergier, Comte de la Rochejaquelein (30 August 1772 – 28 January 1794), Généralissime of the Catholic and Royal Army during the wars in the Vendée, we pray for the happy repose of his soul. 

Eternal rest grant unto him, 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

Candlemas at Our Lady of Mt. Carmel Shrine in East Harlem, New York

Brief Excerpt from “Rerum Novarum: Encyclical of Pope Leo XIII on Capital and Labor”

Portrait of Pope Leo XIII,
ca. 1878, Fabio Cipolla

"Those Catholics are worthy of all praise—and they are not a few—who, understanding what the times require, have striven, by various undertakings and endeavors, to better the condition of the working class by rightful means. They have taken up the cause of the working man and have spared no effort to better the condition both of families and individuals, to infuse a spirit of equity into the mutual relations of employers and employed, to keep before the eyes of both classes the precepts of duty and the laws of the Gospel – that Gospel which, by inculcating self-restraint, keeps men within the bounds of moderation, and tends to establish harmony among the divergent interests and the various classes which compose the body politic. It is with such ends in view that we see men of eminence meeting together for discussion, for the promotion of concerted action, and for practical work. Others, again, strive to unite working men of various grades into associations, help them with their advice and means, and enable them to obtain fitting and profitable employment. The bishops, on their part, bestow their ready goodwill and support, and with their approval and guidance, many members of the clergy, both secular and regular, labor assiduously on behalf of the spiritual interest of the members of such associations. And there are not wanting Catholics blessed with affluence, who have, as it were, cast in their lot with the wage-earners and who have spent large sums in founding and widely spreading benefit and insurance societies, by means of which the working man may without difficulty acquire through his labor not only many present advantages but also the certainty of honorable support in days to come. How greatly such manifold and earnest activity has benefited the community at large is too well known to require Us to dwell upon it. We find therein grounds for most cheering hope in the future, provided always that the associations We have described continue to grow and spread and are well and wisely administered. The State should watch over these societies of citizens banded together in accordance with their rights, but it should not thrust itself into their peculiar concerns and their organization, for things move and live by the spirit inspiring them and may be killed by the rough grasp of a hand from without."

Reprinted from Rerum Novarum: Encyclical of Pope Leo XIII on Capital and Labor, May 15, 1891, www.vatican.va

Settimana Celebrativa in ricordo dalla Beatificazione della Beata Maria Cristina di Savoia

Photo of the Week: Guerriero con Fanciullo (Achille e Troilo), Museo Archeologico Nazionale di Napoli

Photo by New York Scugnizzo

Presentazione dell'opuscolo "Francesco II: l'Uomo della Carità, il Re dell'Attenzione Agli Ultimi"

 In Napoli

Movie Review: Nosferatu (2024)

“I have seen things in this world that would have made Isaac Newton crawl back into his mother’s womb. We have not become so much enlightened as we have been blinded by the gaseous light of science. I have wrestled with the devil as Jacob wrestled the angel in peril. And I tell you, if we are to tame darkness, we must first face that it exists.” ~ Robert Eggers’ Nosferatu (2024), as spoken by Professor Albin Eberhart von Franz, played by Willem Dafoe

Out since Christmas, I finally got to see Robert Eggers’ Nosferatu (2024) in the theater this week. Starring Bill Skarsgård as the vampire Count Orlok and Lily-Rose Depp as Ellen Hutter, the film is a haunting remake of F.W. Murnau’s 1922 German classic, Nosferatu – Eine Symphonie des Grauens (Nosferatu: A Symphony of Horrors), which was itself based on Bram Stoker’s 1897 gothic horror novel, Dracula. I’ll do my best not to give anything away.

Despite Hollywood’s poor record of late, I had a good feeling about this film, and I’m happy to say I wasn’t disappointed. A cinematographic masterpiece, Eggers’ reimagining is both visually and aurally stunning. A convincing period piece, the sets and costumes were magnificent. Movie-goers are transported back to 1838 Wisburg, Germany, and the brooding Carpathian wilds of Transylvania.

L'Enigme, 1871, oil on canvas, Gustave Doré

Clearly inspired by the paintings of the old masters, various scenes pay homage to Caspar David Friedrich’s The Wanderer above the Sea of Fog, Rembrandt van Rijn’s The Conspiracy of the Batavians under Claudius Civilis, Henry Fuseli’s The Nightmare, and Gustave Doré’s The Enigma, among others. Normally, I don’t like the drab and dark cinema trend of late, but in this case, the muted colors served, intentional or not, as an evocative tribute to the original black-and-white film.

Vlad Tepes III

“I am an appetite, nothing more.” ~ Robert Eggers’ Nosferatu, as spoken by Count Orlok, played by Bill Skarsgård

While all the actors were superb, Skarsgård’s portrayal of the imperious vampire was absolutely bone-chilling and deserves special praise. The eldritch fiend’s harrowing voice, heartless malevolence to his lessers, and ravenous bloodlust were all gruesomely portrayed. I especially liked the decision to make him look like an old mustachioed Wallachian voivode, like Prince Vlad Tepes III, rather than the hackneyed tuxedoed maîtres d'hôtel with slicked-back hair alla Bela Lugosi.

Be warned: Nosferatu is not for the faint-hearted, there are disturbing scenes replete with gore, the occult, and nudity.

~ Giovanni di Napoli, January 23, Feast Sant'Ildefonso da Toledo

A Look at the 6th Annual King Louis XVI of France Memorial Dinner and Lecture in Brooklyn, New York

Portraits of Queen Marie Antoinette and King Louis XVI of France

Domine salvum fac Regem et exaudi nos in die qua invocaverimus te. Gloria Patri et Filio, et Spiritui Sancto. Sicut erat in principio et nunc et in saecula saeculorum. Amen. 

Lord, save the King, and hear us when we call upon thee. Glory to the Father and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. As it was in the beginning and is now, and it shall be, for ever without end. Amen.

Tuesday evening, a handful of us braved the cold weather to commemorate the 232nd anniversary of the murder of King Louis XVI of France in Brooklyn, New York. In addition to breaking bread, participants remembered the martyred King and discussed the tragic events of the French Revolution, as well as some of the problems currently plaguing the Church, and, of course, the results of the recent U.S. election.

Heartfelt thanks to our esteemed confratello Dr. John C. Rao for participating in this year's commemoration. Chairman of the Roman Forum, you can read Dr. Rao's extensive catalog at For the Whole of Christ or listen to his Church History lecture series via SoundCloud. Vive le Roi!

Between courses, we took group photos with the flags of the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies (above) and Cross of Burgundy (below)

Dios, Patria, Fueros y Rey

John, Andrew, and Vincent

Fava beans

Panelle e crocchè di patate 

Vongole al forno

Mista polpo e calamari

Caponata

 Insalata vastasa

Baked cauliflower with breadcrumbs

Spaghetti al nero di seppia

Pasta con le sarde

Stuffed meat roll with mushroom gravy

Sausage and peppers

Chicken parmigiana

Escarole, broccoli, and asparagus

The lads were kind enough to celebrate my 56th Birthday

I received a couple thematic gifts

Louis XVI Procession aux Flambeaux

Remembering King Louis XVI

23 August 1754 - 21 January 1793

Domine salvum fac Regem et exaudi nos in die qua invocaverimus te.1

In memory of Louis XVI, King of France and Navarre executed during the Reign of Terror, we pray for the happy repose of his soul. Vive le roi!

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

Note:
(1) Lord, save the King, and hear us when we call upon thee.

Remembering HM Maria Sofia di Baviera, Queen of the Two Sicilies, on the Centenary of Her Death

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

Sunday afternoon, following traditional Latin Mass, a handful of us gathered at a friend’s house in Staten Island, New York, to commemorate the 100th Anniversary of the death of HM Maria Sofia di Baviera (b. October 4, 1841—d. January 19, 1925), the last Queen of the Two Sicilies and "Heroine of Gaeta."

Only two days before our 6th Annual King Louis XVI of France Mass and Memorial Dinner, we wanted to keep it intimate and “light,” but the ladies had other ideas and treated us to another delicious and sumptuous home-cooked meal.

Speaking of King Louis XVI of France, the numerous videos circulating on X over the weekend of Son Altesse Royale Monseigneur le Prince Louis de Bourbon, Duc d’Anjou, and the impressive royalistes torchlight march in Paris had us all buzzing with delight and anticipation for our upcoming commemoration. Viva ‘a Reggina! Vive Dieu et vive le Roi!