NB! · Faith · Moscow · Museums · Observations

The reliquary of Mary of Egypt recalled the "Saint Louis" exhibition in the Patriarch's Palace of the Moscow Kremlin, to which a glass casket from the Crown of Thorns was brought, but without the Crown, that is, simply an empty bit of glass

NB! · Faith · Art · Monarchies · Museums

A unique fifteenth-century lamp with an amber sculpture of the Virgin Mary on a walrus-tusk pedestal belonged to Sophia, Queen of Bohemia, of the German house of Wittelsbach, who was known for her Hussite sympathies

NB! · Faith · Art

Madonna and Child, St

Madonna and Child with Saints Peter, Augustine, Jerome and Magdalene. Alvise Vivarini gave the "sacred conversation" a new form: the Christ Child sits on a flat rock within a protective circle formed by the Madonna and the saints

NB! · Architecture · Faith · Observations · Humour

A few kilometres from Southwold Jack stands another similar "clockmaker" or bell-ringer, at Holy Trinity Church, Blythburgh

A few kilometres from Southwold Jack stands another similar "clockmaker" or bell-ringer, at Holy Trinity Church, Blythburgh. Fine armour, one must say.

Faith · Art · Observations

Stars and blue as symbols of the Virgin Mary in Christian art and church architecture

Readers ask: what makes me so sure this is the Madonna and not simply a lady with a child? In fact, it is obvious, if one knows the simplest Christian symbols. First, the tunic is strewn with stars. The star is a sign of the Mother of God, a reminder

A painted sculpture of a seated Madonna holding the Christ Child, in a glass case with a gilt-framed painting behind.

NB! · Faith · Art · Observations · Humour

Terracotta Madonna in sandals by the French sculptor Gervais Delabarre

Terracotta Madonna in sandals, the work of the French sculptor of the 16th-17th century Gervais Delabarre. The toes are admittedly odd; I recommend replacing the sandals with loafers or espadrilles

Three wooden beehives stand on the roof of Notre-Dame, with three jars of honey of different sizes on the paving in front of them.

NB! · Faith · Observations · Paris · Nature

Beehives have stood on the roof of Notre-Dame Cathedral in Paris since 2013

Since 2013, bees have been kept on the roof of Notre-Dame. It is an initiative of city activists, endorsed by the cathedral because it shows the beauty of the created world. And I am still afraid to go to church with my own candles

Medieval hand-coloured woodcut of Saint Felicitas in a headdress holding a long staff bearing the heads of her seven sons, captioned “Felicitas cu septe filijs”.

NB! · Faith · Observations

Saint Felicitas, who saw her seven sons martyred and was herself executed

Stay strong in spirit, remember the sufferings of this world and bring mercy. St Felicitas saw the martyrdom of her seven sons and was herself put to death. May such a thing never happen again

NB! · Faith · Observations

To mark the first day of spring, I shall launch a regular Wednesday feature on little-known saints

To mark the first day of spring, I shall launch a regular Wednesday feature on little-known saints. The medieval calendar reminds us of the days of veneration in March: the 1st, for example, belongs to Saint Albinus

NB! · Faith · Cinema · Observations · Paris

The relics of Vincent are kept in his chapel in Paris

The relics of Vincent are kept in his chapel in Paris. Its railings look like a set for another film about the Church, one I like far more than the two mentioned earlier: "Sister Act" with Whoopi Goldberg

Faith · Cinema · Observations · Education · People

Saint Vincent de Paul and the disputed account of his captivity in Tunis

Watching Scorsese's "Silence", besides indignation and weariness I felt a sense of déjà vu. The film reminded me of a story that at school is usually recalled in the last days of September. There is a Catholic figure, Saint Vincent de Paul, whom some guides stubbornly

Fresco of a man in a light coat bowing before the Pope in a red cape, with riders and a hilly landscape behind them.

NB! · Faith · Art · Rome · Humour

Nobleman asks forgiveness of the Pope in a fresco in the Vatican

A man begs forgiveness of the Pope, a fresco in the Vatican. You cannot see it, but take my word for it: with his left hand the nobleman is slipping a purse of gold into the Pope's cassock. The Pontiff receives the believer into the embrace of the