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The Book of Samuel calls David a skillful harp (lyre) player and "the sweet psalmist of Israel." Almost half of the Psalms are headed "A Psalm of David" (also translated as "to David" or "for David") and tradition identifies several with specific...
Adigrat is a city and separate woreda in the Tigray Regional State of Ethiopia. It is located in the Misraqawi Zone with an elevation of 2,457 metres (8,061 ft) above sea level and below a high ridge to the west. Adigrat is the last important Ethiopian city south...
Giovanni Francesco Barbieri, called il Guercino or simply Guercino, meaning “The Squinter”, a nickname referring to a congenital eye condition from which he suffered. In 1621, Guercino was called to Rome from his hometown of Cento, Ferrara, to paint this portrait of Pope Gregory XV (1554–1623). Despite being a...
Please Subscribe or Donate [https://sdcason.com/donate] to Help Keep This Site Free! Saint George (Greek: Γεώργιος; died 23 April 303), also George of Lydda, was a Christian who is accepted as a saint in Christianity. According to traditional rumors, he was a soldier in the Roman army. His...
The Catholic Church regards Good Friday and Holy Saturday as the Paschal fast, in accordance with Article 110 of Sacrosanctum Concilium. In the Latin Church, a fast day is understood as having only one full meal and two collations (a smaller repast, the two of which together do not equal...
The Discalced Carmelites, known officially as the Order of the Discalced Carmelites of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Mount Carmel (Latin: Ordo Fratrum Carmelitarum Discalceatorum Beatae Mariae Virginis de Monte Carmelo) or the Order of Discalced Carmelites (Latin: Ordo Carmelitarum Discalceatorum; abbrev.: OCD), is a Catholic mendicant order with roots...
Following a model established for papal portraits by Raphael two decades earlier, Sebastiano del Piombo painted Pope Clement VII (Giulio de'Medici, reigned 1523–1534) in three-quarter length and seated in an armchair, positioned diagonally to the picture plane. In a letter dated July 22, 1531, Sebastiano told his...
Anthony or Anthony the Great (c. 12 January 251 – 17 January 356), was a Christian monk from Egypt, revered since his death as a saint. He is distinguished from other saints named Anthony such as Anthony of Padua, by various epithets of his own: Saint Anthony, Anthony of Egypt, Anthony...
The Carmelites, formally known as the Order of the Brothers of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Mount Carmel (Latin: Ordo Fratrum Beatissimæ Virginis Mariæ de Monte Carmelo) or sometimes simply as Carmel by synecdoche, is a Roman Catholic mendicant religious order for men and women. Historical records about its origin...
In this depiction of the lamentation of Christ, Fernando Gallego looked to Northern European paintings for inspiration but included distinctly Spanish elements such as a subdued palette and unidealized figures. Unlike Netherlandish artists who were interested in depicting the natural world in minute detail, Gallego concentrated on the pietà'...
Irenaeus (c. 130 – c. 202 AD) was a Greek bishop noted for his role in guiding and expanding Christian communities in what is now the south of France and, more widely, for the development of Christian theology by combating heresy and defining orthodoxy. Originating from Smyrna, he had seen and...
Throughout the lifetime of the Third Republic (1870–1940), there were battles over the status of the Catholic Church in France among the republicans, monarchists and the authoritarians (such as the Napoleonists). The French clergy and bishops were closely associated with the monarchists and many of its hierarchy were from...
Holding the jawbone as his attribute, Samson looks upward, perhaps to God. The great strongman slew a thousand Philistines with the jawbone of an ass (Judges 15:19). Overcome by thirst, he then drank from the rock at Lechi, a name that also means "jawbone" in Hebrew. Due...
A little-known day of Jesuit thanksgiving was celebrated on March 12 to mark the canonizations of two of the most famous Jesuits: St. Ignatius of Loyola and St. Francis Xavier. Every year on that date, each Jesuit offers a special prayer or Mass of Thanksgiving for the gift of the...
The Catholic University of America (CUA) is a private Catholic university in Washington, D.C. It is a pontifical university of the Catholic Church in the United States and the only institution of higher education founded by U.S. Catholic bishops. Established in 1887 as a graduate and research center...
In the classic biblical tale of faith, daring, and skill overcoming brute strength and superior odds (1 Samuel 17), the shepherd boy David slew the armored Philistine giant Goliath with just a stave, a slingshot, and a pouch containing a few pebbles from a local brook. After stunning Goliath with...
Alphonsus Liguori CSsR (1696–1787), sometimes called Alphonsus Maria de Liguori or Saint Alphonsus Liguori, was an Italian Catholic bishop, spiritual writer, composer, musician, artist, poet, lawyer, scholastic philosopher, and theologian. He founded the Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer, known as the Redemptorists, in November 1732. In 1762 he...
An Eastern Catholic cemetery in northeastern Pennsylvania, where many Eastern Catholics settled in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Free Downloads Below Hi-Res [https://sdcason.com/content/images/2021/03/Eastern_Catholic_cemetery_o.jpg] 1200px [https://sdcason.com/content/images/size/w1200/2021/03/Eastern_Catholic_cemetery.jpg]...
The use of light and shade, saturated colors, and bold gestures dramatically capture the drama of the Resurrection, so vividly recorded in the Bible. Famous as the teacher of Rembrandt, Pieter Lastman brought a direct, emotional conviction to religious themes in his native Amsterdam in the early 1600s. In The...
Louis IX (25 April 1214 – 25 August 1270), commonly known as Saint Louis or Louis the Saint, is the only king of France to be canonized in the Catholic Church. Louis was crowned in Reims at the age of 12, following the death of his father Louis VIII; his mother,...
Prelates of Eastern Catholic Churches with Pope Pius XI (whose arms are displayed on the canopy above his throne). Free Downloads Below Hi-Res [https://sdcason.com/content/images/2021/03/Pius_XI_oriental_bishops_o.jpg] 1200px [https://sdcason.com/content/images/size/w1200/2021/03/Pius_XI_oriental_bishops....
This panel depicts the early Christian saint, Catherine of Alexandria, holding a book and a palm leaf of martyrdom, surrounded by a dozen scenes from her legend. A beautiful and highly intelligent young noble woman, Catherine vowed only to marry if she found a suitor who surpassed her in every...
St. John the Apostle, the son of Zebedee and Salome, was one of the Twelve Apostles of Jesus. John was called to be an Apostle by our Lord in the first year of His public ministry. He is considered the same person as John the Evangelist, John of Patmos and...
This is a photo of St. Clara's Cathedral which is a monument in Zhytomyr Oblast, Horodkivka village, Ukraine. Free Downloads Below Hi-Res [https://sdcason.com/content/images/2021/03/Horodkivka_Catholic_Church_RB_o.jpg] 1200px [https://sdcason.com/content/images/size/w1200/2021/03/Horodkivka_Catholic_Church_...
