Put it this way: More than 200,000 participants and more than 500 vendors can’t be wrong. It’s time for the 19th annual Jamaica Arts & Music Summer (JAMS) Festival. On Friday, a mega concert will take place in Rufus King Park from 5 pm to 10 pm. Toni Ann Semple, a Queens native who blends African and Native American rhythms into R&B and other genres, will headline the show. Ditto for Guyanese Christian singer Dallas Forte and DJ Jordan Knoxx, a locally bred “mixologist.” On the following day, August 8, the Jamaica Avenue strip from 170th Street to Parsons Boulevard will be converted into a pedestrian-only zone. One section will host a classic car show, while another will offer a safe play area for children. More musicians will perform in another segment, and other areas will focus on food, health, and senior issues. More information and another photo are on the jump page. Friday details: JAMS Under the Stars,… Read More

Those who had the blessing to meet with Saint Paisios the Athonite, remember how he avoided to be photographed. This is why there are so few photos of him which he gave permission for. Most photos of...

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A mass for the feast of St Lucy in the private chapel of St. Febronia in Hoboken, New Jersey….

The Santa Febronia Chapel was founded in 1927 by immigrants from Patti, Sicily to honor their patroness the Virgin Martyr Saint Febronia and the Madonna of Tindari. The chapel, still the private property of a society of these immigrants, is one of the most important Sicilian American as well as Catholic heritage sites in the country. The chapel both in its interior and exterior has been unchanged from its founding and its faux marble niched altar is a brilliant work of immigrant folk craftsmanship.

This was the first Traditional Mass held at the chapel since the Second Vatican Council. A schola from the chapel sang the mass. Father Michael Barone was the celebrant.

The chapel is an amazing example of Catholic folk art in this country. The statue of St. Lucy, whose feast was commemorated today.

Our Lady of Tindari – a “Black Madonna.” Her sanctuary is in Patti, Sicily.

Prayer to Our Lady of Tindari in Sicilian – recited by the congregation after the mass:

Bedda ‘n terra
Bedda ‘n cielu
Bedda siti ‘n paradisu
Bedda assai, e’ lu Vostru visu.

(Bello sulla terra, Bello nel cielo, Bello Lei e in paradiso; Molto bello e la Sua faccia.)

(Beautiful on earth, beautiful in the sky, beautiful are you in paradise; most beautiful is your face)

St. Febronia of Nisibis. An early Christian nun martyred in Northern Mesopotamia under Diocletian, her cult spread over Constantinople in the 7th century to Sicily (an Eastern Roman possession ground around 530 to 840). She is venerated in Patti, among other places. The statue really should reside in the central niche of the altar, but had been removed for a procession.

The Madonna of Tindari – with the banner of the Society. it is hoped that this mass will be an important step towards the restoration and preservation of the chapel.

For those to whom the experience of a great painting is essential nourishment, the new exhibition at The Frick Collection, Masterpieces from the Scottish National Gallery, is a feast.Just ten artworks, this exhibit includes a panel by Sandro Botticelli (1445-1510) never before shown in America, as well as pieces by El Greco (1541-1614), Diego Vel quez (1599-1660) and Sir Joshua Reynolds (1723-1792). But in this small yet broad selection of jewels from Scotland, the standouts are canvases by...

I know we're supposed to say hey, wasn't that a terrific World Series, it went down to the wire, the last out of the seventh game, and both teams were valiant, the storybook Royals and the never-say-die Jints that once inhabited Coogan's Bluff. But it doesn't smell as sweet if you're a TV exec and you notice that the WS ratings were lower than even a meaningless November college football game or an exhibition match between ice hockey squads. Well, the exec gets no special affection from me, as he or she is part of the problem, but the average...