The fascinating story behind ‘The Song of Bernadette’
A Jewish author and a Catholic story came together, and even the Protestant majority enjoyed its wholesomeness.
Lucien de Guise
Latest articles by Lucien de Guise
Ecumenical tour: St. Bernadette’s relics to visit Catholic and Anglican churches
Will the relics of St. Bernadette of Lourdes stir the hearts of the British people and inspire renewed devotion to the Virgin Mary?
St. Alban, England’s first Christian martyr, is beloved by Catholics and Anglicans alike
The annual Alban Pilgrimage is a puppet-filled street festival commemorating St. Alban, whose shrine was destroyed during the Protestant Reformation but later reinstated by the Church of England.
Jean Cocteau’s unusual tribute to the Virgin Mary at London’s Notre Dame de France
The avant-garde artist, while not reliably religious, was devoted to the Blessed Mother. She is, unusually, the central focus of his depiction of the Crucifixion.
4 Paintings of the Crucifixion that you probably haven’t seen
In recent years, these moving depictions of Christ on the Cross have only been shown to a limited group of museum-goers and visitors to auction houses and private collections.
The surprising sacred art of the Pre-Raphaelites
The artists that formed the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood in the 19th century wanted to turn back the clock to a less polished era. Above beauty and artifice they valued realism, and produced sacred art with a distinctly medieval look about it.
Micromosaics: keepsakes from the Vatican
During the 19th century pilgrims visiting Rome bright home these crosses of easily transportable size.
How many nails were used in the Crucifixion?
Whether Christ on the cross is depicted with three or four nails might depend on the time, the place and whether the artist was Orthodox or Catholic.
The hidden Catholicism of Vermeer
The great Dutch painter, perhaps best known for "The Girl with a Pearl Earring," converted from the Dutch Reformed Church to Catholicism, and broke all the rules with his "Allegory of Faith."
A gift the Magi might have wanted to take back with them
In the Middle Ages, English artisans created beautiful sacred art out of alabaster.
Canterbury Cathedral celebrated Christmas with a tree that recalled the shrine’s Catholic roots
It was a delight to see a lavishly illuminated Christmas tree at the heart of the Church of England’s most important cathedral.
A life-size Neapolitan Nativity wows London museum-goers
It's a perfect slice of Neapolitan life from around 200 years ago.
This cross was chosen by Charles de Gaulle as a response to Hitler’s swastika
The Cross of Lorraine was the only symbol of WWII to truly counter the twisted cross of the Nazi party.
From Russia with divine love
A new exhibit on the House of Fabergé at the Victoria and Albert Museum features a surprisingly religious work of art.
Why did the centurion pierce Jesus in his side?
The artist Raphael understood that the intention of crucifixion was to prolong the public spectacle.
Before there was the Sign of Peace, there was the Kiss of Peace
What was for centuries was a vital part of the Mass was replaced by replaced by nods, handshakes and the occasional daring hug.
For a jewel of a cathedral devastated by war, the delights are in the details
Destroyed during WWII, the Catholic cathedral in the London borough of Southwark rose from the ashes.
This painting of St. Francis was seized in the “Spanish Confiscation”
Less well known than the English Reformation or the French Revolution, it was an equally disastrous time for the Catholic Church.
St. John the Baptist, early environmentalist
Sacred art captures the prophet as truly at one with nature.
A bit of papal history: When popes wore tiaras
Ornate, jewel-encrusted headgear is a thing of the past.