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In a barren, mountainous landscape, the three wise kings Caspar, Melchior, and Balthasar meet to continue their journey to Bethlehem. Heralds on prancing horses blare trumpets to proclaim the unification of humankind at the birth of Jesus. On the peaked mountains above, the kings appear again at an earlier moment....
Pope Clement XIV (Latin: Clemens XIV; 31 October 1705 – 22 September 1774), born Giovanni Vincenzo Antonio Ganganelli, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 19 May 1769 to his death in 1774. At the time of his election, he was the only Franciscan friar...
Saint Thomas also called Didymus ("twin") was one of the Twelve Apostles of Jesus according to the New Testament. Thomas is commonly known as "Doubting Thomas" because he doubted Jesus' resurrection when first told of it (as related in the Gospel of John alone); later,...
Genesis (39:7–20) tells how Joseph, sold into slavery by his jealous brothers, was bought by Potiphar, captain of Pharaoh's guard. Potiphar's wife (who is not named in the Bible) took a liking to the young man and made several failed attempts to seduce him....
In the Catholic liturgy , the Tridentine Mass is that form of the Eucharistic celebration of the Roman rite promulgated by Pope Pius V in 1570 at the request of the Council of Trent , up to the revision ordered by the Second Vatican Council . It was maintained, with minor modifications, in...
A Madonna (Italian: [maˈdɔn.na]) is a representation of Mary, either alone or with her child Jesus. These images are central icons for both the Catholic and Orthodox churches. The word is from Italian ma donna 'my lady'. The Madonna and Child type is very prevalent in Christian...
In this painting, Nicolaes Maes almost exactly copied Albrecht Dürer's 1504 engraving of the Nativity. Maes simply widened the house to the left, provided new poses for the Virgin Mary and baby Jesus, and added the four shepherds that give the painting its new subject. The harmony of...
Strasbourg Cathedral or the Cathedral of Our Lady of Strasbourg, also known as Strasbourg Minster, is a Catholic cathedral in Strasbourg, Alsace, France. Although considerable parts of it are still in Romanesque architecture, it is widely considered to be among the finest examples of Rayonnant Gothic architecture. Architect Erwin von...
Bartholomew was one of the twelve apostles of Jesus according to the New Testament. He is said to have been martyred for having converted Polymius, King of Armenia, to Christianity. Eastern Christianity honors him on June 11 and the Catholic Church honors him on August 24. The Armenian Apostolic Church...
When Christ paused to rest at Jacob's Well, a holy site for both Samaritans and Jews, he requested a drink of water from a Samaritan woman. Though she was initially surprised, since Jews and Samaritans were traditionally enemies, she became increasingly intrigued by the knowledgeable and all-seeing...
Strasbourg Cathedral or the Cathedral of Our Lady of Strasbourg, also known as Strasbourg Minster, is a Catholic cathedral in Strasbourg, Alsace, France. Although considerable parts of it are still in Romanesque architecture, it is widely considered to be among the finest examples of Rayonnant Gothic architecture. Source [https://en....
The Holy Family consists of the Child Jesus, the Virgin Mary, and Saint Joseph. The subject became popular in art from the 1490s on, but veneration of the Holy Family was formally begun in the 17th century by Saint François de Laval, the first bishop of New France, who founded...
The New Testament relates an occasion when, upon visiting the Temple of Jerusalem during Passover, Jesus found it filled with livestock and turned into a marketplace by merchants and money changers. Furious that the sacred place had been turned into a “den of thieves”, Christ fashioned a whip out of...
In Eastern and Western Christian liturgical practice, the elevation is a ritual raising of the consecrated elements of bread and wine during the celebration of the Eucharist. The term is applied especially to that by which, in the Roman Rite of Mass, the Host and the Chalice are each shown...
Philip came from the same town as Peter and Andrew, Bethsaida in Galilee. Jesus called him directly, whereupon he sought out Nathanael and told him of the “one about whom Moses wrote” (Jn 1:45). Like the other apostles, Philip took a long time coming to realize who Jesus was....
The turbulent emotions behind Peter's denial and later repentance have been the subject of major works of art for centuries. Examples include Caravaggio's Denial of Saint Peter, which is now at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. The incidents have also inspired segments in various films related...
In Eastern and Western Christian liturgical practice, the elevation is a ritual raising of the consecrated elements of bread and wine during the celebration of the Eucharist. The term is applied especially to that by which, in the Roman Rite of Mass, the Host and the Chalice are each shown...
The Denial of Peter (or Peter's Denial) refers to three acts of denial of Jesus by the Apostle Peter as described in all four Gospels of the New Testament. The turbulent emotions behind Peter's denial and later repentance have been the subject of major works of...
Bernardo Cavallino depicts an episode from the Bible in which King Saul, about to enter into battle with the Philistines, asked the Witch of Endor to summon the spirit of the recently deceased prophet Samuel, the last Judge of the Israelites. Silhouetted against a bright light emanating from a nearby...
The Immaculate Conception is a dogma of the Catholic Church which states that Mary, mother of Jesus has been free of original sin from the moment of her conception. Wikipedia [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Immaculate_Conception] The Tridentine Mass, also known as the Traditional Latin Mass (TLM), is the...
The Apostle John was one of the "pillars" of the Jerusalem church after Jesus' death. He was one of the original twelve apostles and is thought to be the only one to have lived into old age and not be killed for his faith. It had been...
After curing Tobit's blindness, returning the family's wealth, and making it possible for Tobit's son Tobias to marry his beloved Sarah, the Archangel Raphael has dropped his disguise and revealed himself as an angel, saying, "I was not acting on my own will,...
This is a photo of Pope Pius XII in papal regalia including the triregnum, falda and the mantum, while being carried on the sedia gestatoria and flanked by the flabellum The triregnum is a headgear with three crowns or levels, also called the triple tiara or triple crown. Paul VI...
Salvator Mundi, Latin for Saviour of the World, is a subject in iconography depicting Christ with his right hand raised in blessing and his left hand holding an orb (frequently surmounted by a cross), known as a globus cruciger. The latter symbolizes the Earth, and the whole composition has strong...
