Martyr of the Confessional

I found St. John Nepomucene story to be very interesting. As confessor to the queen he was ordered imprisoned, tortured and finally executed for refusing to reveal to the king the confessions of the queen.



Picture taken at St. Bernard in Burkettsvile, Ohio.

In the Hand of God be my spirit

As he was on trial and being prosecuted, Saint Stephen experienced a theophany. His theophany was unusual in that he saw both the Father and the Son:

"Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of man standing on the right hand of God." (Acts 7:56)



In this picture St. Stephen is holding the Bible with lettering. If someone can translate this I would appreciate it. It doesn't help that one word is fairly blocked by the window bar.

Kevin Hammer found this explanation: don't know Latin, but after some googling:

St. Stephen holding a book with the words he spoke at his martyrdom: A DE[SC AD DEUM?] SIT ANIMA MEA ("In the Hand of God be my spirit.")

Click the following Link for more info: St. Stephen

Picture taken at St. Bernard Church, Burkettsvile, Ohio.

This was originaly posted on Feb 10 but I thought it would be nice to re-post it with its new title and updated info. (Steeple Chaser)

Saint Bernard

St. Bernard was added as a Doctor of the Catholic Church by Pius VIII (1830). I must admit I am unclear on what distinction the title has. I did find that the person must not have been martyred and that "the requisite conditions are enumerated as three: eminens doctrina, insignis vitae sanctitas, Ecclesiae declaratio (i.e. eminent learning, a high degree of sanctity, and proclamation by the Church)." The web site also went on to say that they should be represented holding a book as pictured here.



You can't really see it in this picture because the statue is up high but I am fairly certain that it has glass eyes.

Pictures taken at the St. Bernard Church in Burkettsville.

Saint Aloysius

In art, St Aloysius is shown as a young man wearing a black cassock and white rochet, or as a page. His attributes are a lily, referring to innocence; a cross, referring to piety and sacrifice; a skull, referring to his early death; and a rosary, referring to his devotion to the Virgin Mary.

Text taken from Wikipedia.

Picture taken at St. Bernard Church in Burkettsville.

Immaculate Conception (Stained Glass)

If your a big fan of stained glass windows, the St. Bernard Church in Burkettsville is a must see church if you are ever in the area. This stained glass window of the Immaculate Conception is just one of many beautiful windows you will find in the church.

The Coronation of the Virgin Mary

The beautiful stained glass window of the Coronation of the Virgin Mary can be found in the St. Bernard Church in Burkettsville.

Ascension of Jesus (St. Bernard)

This wonderful stained glass widow showing the Ascension of Christ can be found in the St. Bernard Church in Burkettsville.

Three In One

(Click on Image for a larger view)

This large three frame stained glass window depicting the Annunciation, Nativity and Presentation, can be found in the St. Bernard Church in Burkettesville.

I was not able to shoot this straight on as I wanted to place the light hanging in front of the Nativity in the most unobtrusive location. This really caused for the picture to be skewed. I was able to fairly correct it in PhotoShop.

Saint Francis Xavier

St. Francis Xavier, pictured here flanked by two stations of the cross was canonized in 1622 and proclaimed patron of all foreign missions by Pope Pius X. F. D.

Picture taken at St. Bernard Church in Burkettsville.

Sorrowful Virgin Mary (Saint Bernard)

Pietà is one of the three common artistic representations of a sorrowful Virgin Mary, the other two being Mater Dolorosa (Mother of Sorrows) and Stabat Mater (here stands the mother). The other two representations are most commonly found in paintings, rather than sculpture, although combined forms exist.



The Pietà developed in Germany (where it is called the "Vesperbild") about 1300, reached Italy about 1400, and was especially popular in Central European Andachtsbilder. Many German and Polish 15th century examples in wood greatly emphasise Christ's wounds. The Deposition of Christ and the Lamentation or Pietà form the 13th of the Stations of the Cross, as well as one of Seven Sorrows of the Virgin.

Text from Wikipedia Pieta.

Picture taken at St. Bernard Chruch in Burkettsville.

Processional Cross (St. Bernard)

A processional cross is simply a crucifix which is carried at the head of a procession, and which, that it may be more easily seen, is usually mounted upon a long staff or handle. (www.newadvent.org -- Catholic Encyclopedia)

The crucifix pictured here is actually bronze. I made everything black and white with the exception of the figure of Christ. I wanted him to be the focus of the composition. As you can see pictured below the figure of Christ tends to blend in even with a stained glass window for a background.



Pictures taken at St. Bernard Catholic Church in Burkettsville. Look for more pictures in upcoming post.

Crucifixion St. Bernard (Burkettsville Ohio)

If you found this post looking for the It's Friday but Sunday's Comin' video click this link to see the video.

Last Sunday I made a day of steeple chasing after church. I spent several hours at the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary and then a stop-by at St. Wendelin and St. Bernard. St. Bernard is huge and dominates the landscape. It was late and I just wanted to poke my head in and plan for a future visit. As I was leaving I looked up and this is what I saw.



It was one of those jaw dropping moments, and to think I almost missed it.

It's a very tight crop but it was very low light making for a long exposure and because I was shooting up limited on what angle I could use. Most of the detail in the crucifixion I could not make out until post processing.

Picture taken at St. Bernard Burkettsville Oh.