For 19 years, Mater Ecclesiae Church in Berlin, New Jersey, has celebrated the Assumption with particular solemnity, and for the last several years, has been welcomed to keep the feast at the Cathedral Basilica of Ss Peter and Paul in Philadelphia, thanks to the kindness of the rector, Father G. Dennis Gill, and the generous permission of His Excellency, Archbishop Charles Chaput. This year, the Ars Laudis Festival Chorus and Orchestra, conducted by Dr Timothy McDonnell, performed Haydn’s “Theresienmesse,” nicknamed for its unofficial dedicatee, the empress Maria Theresa of the Two Sicilies, consort of the last Holy Roman Emperor, Francis II. We are happy to share a complete video of the ceremony published a few days ago, and these photographers by one of our favorite photographers, Mrs Allison Girone.
Tradition will always be for the young!
