A Welcome to Our Readers from Sacred Heart Radio

I just wanted to wish a hearty welcome to those new readers who heard my interview this morning on EWTN Sacred Heart Radio. You will find much food for thought here on the New Liturgical Movement, particularly regarding Pope Benedict's call to re-enchant the liturgy and place the worship of God at the heart of our common Catholic life. Shawn Tribe, our principal editor, is one of the main name you will see around here, as he has been covering these issues tirelessly for years. You will also see work by our other exemplary correspondents covering a variety of topics. I usually cover sacred architecture and art, though I stray into other territory occasionally.

Just as an introduction, I am a graduate of the University of Notre Dame's classical architecture school, currently living and working in Milwaukee at a very fine traditional architecture firm, where I am involved in a number of current and pending sacred architecture projects (as well as several secular residential ones as well). I have written a number of articles on traditional liturgical planning and architectural design in scholarly journals such as Antiphon and Sacred Architecture, as well as pieces on related subjects for Dappled Things (my most recent article here), First Things (article here), Touchstone and elsewhere. I am also an artist and illustrator, and my work is in collections from California to England to Austria.

While, through the firm I work for, I am soon to be involved in at least one traditional sacred architecture design (more on that in the future), I recently saw the completion of much of my furnishing designs for the newly-restored historic Catholic cathedral in Vladivostok, Russia, Most Holy Mother of God Catholic Church. You can find photographs of it at the Vladivostok mission's website, and I hope to post on it in the near future.

I also frequently undertake designs for counter-proposals to existing churches and cathedrals to help illustrate and develop my architectural and liturgical philosophy. The inimitable Cusack has a whole category devoted to them over at his website here.