At 7.30pm on Wednesday 30th July a concert of rarely heard 17th century English music will mark the opening of an unusual exhibition at St Francis Xavier’s Church (SFX) in the Everton district of Liverpool. More Details >>>
Liverpool’s role as 2008 European Capital of Culture will be celebrated in this socially deprived area by exhibiting artefacts from Stonyhurst College, Lancashire, complemented by embroideries and church plate from SFX’s own beautiful collection. The objects will be displayed in the nave of this stunning Victorian Grade 2* listed building and staffed by volunteers from the local community.
Stonyhurst College was founded on the continent by the Society of Jesus (the Jesuits) during a period of religious upheaval in Britain. At that time, many people asked the Jesuits to look after their most precious religious objects – ‘until such times as they could be used again’. These beautiful artefacts are still in the care of the Jesuits and many of them will be on show to the public for the first time.
The exhibition will be divided into various categories or historical periods, with such objects as a book of Homilies of Pope Gregory from 1170, St Thomas More’s hat, a 1420 Book of Hours from Paris, amongst the display illustrating the medieval period. The Reformation section will include a vestment made for the opening of Henry VII’s chapel in Westminster Abbey, Elizabeth Plantagenet’s Books of Hours, Katherine of Aragon’s chasuble, Cardinal Wolsey’s Book of Hours and the relic of the Holy Thorn for which Sainte Chapelle in Paris was built.
Vestments made by Recusants, a piece of Bonnie Prince Charlie’s kilt, Rubens' paintings and engravings, an Islamic globe from 1620, a crystal head of a Jain deity, Buddhist and Hindu sculptures, plus objects from Chishawasha in Zimbabwe will all be included in this jewel of an exhibition. Also on display will be vestments from the Chapel in the Portugese Embassy in London
Exhibition is open daily until 27th September
Monday – Saturday 11am – 4pm
Sunday - Noon – 4.30pm
Daily Mass at noon (excluding Wednesday) and 10.15am on Sunday.
A full list of exhibits >>>
Exhibition Flyer >>>
Some Pictorial Examples >>>
Alongside the exhibition will be a programme of concerts and talks. A schools educational programme is also planned for the final two weeks of September.
Further details of these programmes will be available soon.
The exhibition starts on Wednesday 30th July with a concert of 17th Century Music and closes at the end of September.
Some SFX Trivia >>>
Further details will be available soon. Contacts: Ken Vance or Debbie Reynolds at SFX Church 0151-298 1911 or email via the addresses on the Contact Page. |
