Publications

Was a wedding blessing in 1960’s American ritual books really based on a 7th century Mozarabic blessing?

She recently completed a project researching the signatories to the 1968 Scientists’ Statement on Birth Control Encyclical, which rejected the teachings contained in Pope Paul VI’s encyclical Humanae Vitae.

A collection of photos showing the history of the high altar in Notre-Dame de Paris.

A collection of photos showing the history of the high altar in Notre-Dame de Paris.

A collection of photos and clippings of the Chartres pilgrimage, across the 20th century.

Last summer, Kabel embarked on an ambitious project - attempting to catalog the 500 periti, or theological assistants, who took part in the Second Vatican Council.

We know (or at least debate) a great deal about the Second Vatican Council, but how much do we really know about who was there?

The restoration of Notre Dame has been a triumphant vindication of medieval methods and materials.

In heated discussions on faith and science, one expert is routinely overlooked - Stanley L. Jaki, OSB.

Catholic with a small c, my catechism taught me, means universal. Our Faith’s long history, unique claim to the Truth, and geographic spread make it an ideal and never-ending source of visual projects…The increased availability of Latin Masses is undeniable; what is similarly consoling is the rise in other traditional sacraments, such as weddings. While it is impossible to do any comprehensive project on traditional weddings (for one thing, there is no central place where globally churches report sacramental data), social media makes it easier and easier to notice trends.

Our friend Sharon Kabel has just posted another one of her useful and interesting research pieces, this time on a saying ascribed to Pope Pius XII.

In November of last year, I shared a provocative hypothesis: thanks to the discovery of new evidence, it was possible for the first time to confirm that the long-rumored American Turkey Indult directly from the Pope did in fact occur, although not quite the way we thought.

Every year around Thanksgiving, a flurry of social media posts make the rounds in traditional Catholic circles, concerning a mysterious “Turkey Indult” from the 1950s.

The Catholic News Archive (CNA) is a freely available unique digital collection of American Catholic Newspapers. With an impressive range of advanced search options and search filters, and a friendly mobile layout, it encourages serious research as well as easy browsing. Every newspaper page is scanned with optimal character recognition (OCR). The lack of export options is a serious hindrance to heavy-duty research, which is unfortunate given how extensive and interdisciplinary the content is. The uncorrected OCR is counterbalanced by powerful search options, diverse result display options, and user-corrected OCR.

By virtue of her birth, her education, and her talents, Abbess Pirckheimer was uniquely positioned to be a bastion for Bavarian Catholics against steadily increasing Lutheran influence, an influence that sought not only material repossession over the convent’s assets, but religious abolition of their way of life.

In the fall of 1846, construction finished for Immaculate Conception Catholic Church in Spinkhill, Derbyshire, England. The event merited a nearly 2,500 word, 4-column write-up in the Catholic Telegraph.

On March 25, the Congregation for the Doctrine of Faith issued Quo Magis, which, among other things, added an optional preface (de Nuptiis) to the traditional wedding Mass (Missa pro Sponso et Sponsa).

The Rite of Marriage was codified in the 1614–15 Rituale Romanum by the Council of Trent. The 1962 Rite of Marriage is identical to the one found in the 1615 Rituale and is spartan.

Although it is now frequently claimed that the traditional Latin Mass (TLM) was never abrogated (totally abolished) following the Second Vatican Council, this position is squarely at odds not only with the lived experience of several generations of Catholics, but with the rapid and near total disappearance of the TLM within a brief period of time.

Bible vigils were a Catholic phenomenon of the 1960s. They were called by a variety of names, “Bible vigil” being the most common but also “Bible” or “Biblical” “ritual, service, devotion”, “celebration of the Word”, and most confusingly, sometimes used synonymously with Vespers.

Although active participation may have dissipated as a liturgical rallying call, it remains an unusually revealing and concise way to track how the Church has evolved over recent decades. This was a new concept in regards to liturgy, and its importance is paramount, as it is a frequently cited justification for the 20th-century liturgical reforms.

Although it is now frequently claimed that the traditional Latin Mass (TLM) was never abrogated (totally abolished) following the Second Vatican Council, this position is squarely at odds not only with the lived experience of several generations of Catholics, but with the rapid and near total disappearance of the TLM within a brief period of time.