This is the second concert in a little over a week for Pope Leo and only an hour or so after his Guadalupe Mass…
At today’s papal Mass for Our Lady of Guadeloupe :
We also removed and completely restored the three oldest stained glass windows in the church, the ones above the altar, which were in place when the church was consecrated in April of 1863, while the Civil War was still being waged!
The side windows by Mayer and Company from Munich Germany, were not installed until about 1917 or so, during the height of World War I!
The three oldest stained glass windows above the altar are from another company, and many believe these are Tiffany windows. These three are of a different style than the Mayer windows, but spectacular in their own right too.
Recently, the Mayer windows were removed to be completely restored and are now installed again. These are huge Mayer windows and spectacular in brilliance and of the typical style of Mayer stained glass windows.
The slide show is accompanied by the church’s historic Jardine Pipe organ, also restored in my time as pastor there. It dates back to 1863 but because of the northern blockade of the south, it sat on a dock in New York until the war was concluded. It was shipped to the church in 1866 and installed then.
Vatican City – This morning, in the Paul VI Hall, Fr. Roberto Pasolini OFM Cap, Preacher of the Pontifical Household, offered the Roman Curia and the Holy Father the second Advent 2025meditation, on the theme: “Rebuilding the Lord’s house. A Church without oppositions.” A reflection that brought into focus the ecclesial responsibility to welcome grace not only as individuals, but as a body, avoiding the shortcuts of uniformity and the polarizations that render discernment sterile.
To respond, the Preacher retraced the account of the tower of Babel: a project born of the fear of dispersion and presented as a “reasonable” operation, but in reality concealing a logic of control. The key phrase of the biblical text, taken up in the meditation, is: «Come… let us make a name for ourselves, so that we may not be scattered». Here unity does not arise from the composition of differences, but from homogenization: identical “bricks” in place of irregular stones, quick consensus instead of real confrontation. Pasolini then brought the temptation of homogenization into the present: yesterday totalitarianisms, today subtler dynamics - from information bubbles to standardized language - even reaching the Church when it confuses the unity of faith with the uniformity of expressions and sensibilities.
The theological point is decisive: God does not “punish” Babel out of jealousy, but intervenes to prevent a process of death. The text places on the Lord’s lips words that are harsh and at the same time medicinal: «Let us go down, then, and confuse their language». Confusion thus becomes a protection, because it prevents a single voice from imposing itself as an absolute and restores to humanity the possibility of not all being the same. In the background,Pentecost emerges as a “mirror” account: not one single language for all, but a communion in which each person understands “in his or her own language”. Difference safeguarded, not abolished.
This is an image of where Pope Francis sat for the annual Vatican Advent Meditations for the Curia:
This is where Pope Leo is sitting and it isn’t in the chapel with Fr. Rupnick’s mosaics:
Pope Francis “attends” a Vatican Concert:
Pope Leo attending a Vatican concert:
Here are some earlier photos of the Sacred Heart in Atlanta:
Post later 1950’s up to the most recent renovation:
Artist rendering of most recent renovation:
In reality:
The earliest iterations of the sanctuary with its more than likely faux marble (wooden) altar, allows the three arches to be clearly seen.
The modern reredos, now removed, as well as a temporary canopy over the altar, hides the middle arch.
The newest renovation strives to recover the three arches look. The pedestal throne for the Most Blessed Sacrament is a nice attempt to be more to scale so that the three arches are all exposed, but it misses the mark. Perhaps the reredos for the tabernacle should have been taller so that the crucifix could be placed directly above the tabernacle but fully on the tabernacle’s marble backdrop. Where the crucifix is now placed looks like an after thought and not the right place for it.
I still think, though, that having the main altar only two steps up from the pews is a disaster of a mistake as the altar cannot be seen from the pews when the church is filled with people. What were they thinking? But this is a common mistake in church renovations and building of new churches. They think it makes the altar look closer to the laity, but in fact, it hides the altar altogether.
I recommend that the main sanctuary be four to five steps higher than the pews. And that there be a more spacious area in front of the altar, then the altar raised two to three steps higher than that space.
Just my two cents.
What a beautiful moment.. no???? A Mother blessing her two sons who were ordained to the Catholic priesthood on the same day in Croatia..
Want-to-be minor basilica, Saint Joesph Church in Macon, Georgia:
Unfortunately, since my departure, and even before, we made little to no progress in moving the needle forward to have Saint Joseph Church named a minor basilica. Congratulations to those at Sacred Heart who knew what they were doing and took the initiative to do it and quickly!
Preparing the Basilica of the Sacred Heart of Jesus in Atlanta for its 150th anniversary has been nothing short of amazing. The church stands as a beautiful example of Romanesque architecture, characterized by its round arches, barrel-vaulted ceiling, and pillared triforium. The sanctuary dome depicts a golden glow of heaven, while the star-studded blue ceiling is inspired by the Mausoleum of Galla Placidia in Ravenna, Italy.
Below are before and after photos of the renovation/restoration of the Basilica of the Sacred Heart in downtown Atlanta:
REPORTER: Cardinal Kurt Koch recently said in an interview that Pope Benedict had shown a helpful way forward by being convinced that something practiced for centuries could not simply be forbidden. Indeed, the restrictions on the classical liturgy clearly pained Pope Benedict.
Archbishop Georg Gänswein:It was not only painful [for him], but he also saw, in his role as Pope, that something had to be done to change this state of affairs. He repeatedly stated that the so-called ‘old liturgy,’ that is, the Tridentine liturgy, was never abolished. This is absolutely not the case since, of course, the Tridentine liturgy became the Novus Ordo; that is to say, the language was retained, but the content was somewhat changed. And it is precisely this liturgy that, for centuries, has allowed the Church not only to live, but to live well; the Saints have nourished themselves on it and from it. It cannot be the case that it was legitimate and precious yesterday, but then no longer so from tomorrow. This is, therefore, an unnatural situation, and that was the driving force, along with the experience he gained after the Second Vatican Council—his experience that those who have lost their spiritual and liturgical homeland just need to be returned to this spiritual homeland. This is where his motu proprio and accompanying letter came
REPORTER: What is your assessment of Traditionis custodes and the new regulations for the classical rite?Archbishop Georg Gänswein:I have never understood why Pope Francis introduced this restriction. At the time, the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith was tasked with conducting an investigation, or survey, of the bishops worldwide. What do you think about Benedict‘s motu proprio? Have the experiences been positive? Have the experiences been desirable? Did anything need to be changed? The results were never published, but of course, we know about them. The result, ultimately, was that a sense of peace had been achieved. It was a path to peace, especially in the liturgy, the most important place of religious life, and there should not be any changes. Why Pope Francis still did this anyway is and remains a mystery to me. Have we not seen, especially in the English-speaking world, the difficulties that arose from this? Even in the accompanying letter from Pope Francis, where he repeatedly referred to John Paul II and Benedict, it is impossible to discern what purpose his restrictions serve.So, I suspect that for most bishops, today [the classical rite] still remains in the way it had done until Traditionis custodes. But it is, of course, the case that the motu proprioof Francis has indeed been a great burden with regard to this important question of the extraordinary form.
REPORTER: What path do you yourself envision now for the future of the liturgical tradition?
Archbishop Georg Gänswein:
I believe that Pope Benedict’s wise approach is the right way—and this has been the case for over ten years now—it is the right way, and this path should be continued without difficulty or restriction. And I can only hope that Pope Leo will also move in this direction and simply continue the process of reconciliation, that this cooperation may also bear fruit.
This Holiday, aka, Christmas 🎄 miracle happened to me this morning at a Hilton Head Island gas pump ⛽️! What affordability! However, I am old, aka, young enough to remember paying 19 cents a gallon around 1970 in Augusta, Georgia, as there use to be gas-wars with gas stations competing to have the lowest price. Hess, of happy memory, always won that war!
Vatican City – After the act of veneration of the Immaculate Conception in Piazza di Spagna on Monday, 8 December, Pope Leo XIV went to Castel Gandolfo, to Villa Barberini, to spend a few hours at rest. On Tuesday morning the Pontiff received the President of Ukraine and, in the evening, after dinner, he returned to the Vatican.
