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Architect says Churches must be beautiful to reflect faith |
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South Bend, Ind., Mar 19, 2013 / 04:02 am (CNA).- Because they help impart the Catholic faith to the world, Church buildings have a responsibility to reflect God's beauty, says architect and author Duncan Stroik.
“You learn your faith through the (church) building; they're sermons in stone, and that's why they're so important,” Stroik, a professor at the University of Notre Dame's School of Architecture, told CNA March 14.
“There's no question in my mind that the architecture we built in the last 40 years did not help us in retaining the faith of the young, and didn't do a great job in evangelizing,” added Stroik, who penned the recent book, “The Church Building as a Sacred Place.”
“Generations of people have grown up in these banal buildings, which have taught them either nothing, or the wrong things about the faith, and that's why architecture is so important.”
Stroik's new work, subtitled “Beauty, Transcendence, and the Eternal,” is meant to guide pastors, parishioners, patrons and architects as they set out to renovate existing churches or build new structures entirely. It was published in December 2012 by Liturgy Training Publications.
The book is composed of numerous essays outlining principles of church buildings, examining the history of both classical and modernist architecture, and looking to the future of sacred architecture.
“I'd like to put the book in context, in the sense that I see a huge renaissance of sacred architecture in this country that's taken place over the last 20 years...this book is coming at a time when we've had a great sea change in the way Catholics think about their churches,” he said.
“Most parishes want something that looks like a church...there's a desire for beauty. Now how do we do it? And I like to think this book can be part of that,” he said, to help those who want to build beautiful, traditional churches.
Stroik said that while there have been “great successes” in Catholic architecture in the past 20 years, still more remains to be done.
“We need to do a better job. We haven't built a new church in the last 50 years that is as good as the best things we built in 1920, or 1820.” We need to “hit that high standard” he said, of “the best things.”
“I'd like to raise the standards...we really need to raise our eyesight, to look on the great things of the past.”
Stroik noted that not all church buildings that are old are necessarily good, and that we should look to the best among them, pointing out the cathedrals of Chartres and Florence, and in the U.S., St. Patrick's in New York City and the cathedrals of Baltimore and Philadelphia.
“Our goal should be to be as good, or better, than Baltimore, or Chartres.”
Stroik, who designed the Thomas Aquinas College Chapel in Santa Paula and the Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe in La Crosse, pointed out that contrary to the thought of modernist architects, working within the tradition leaves “a lot of room...for a variety of styles, of ways of designing a church” and that creativity is welcomed in classical architecture.
He compared working within the tradition of architecture to working within the tradition of theology.
“You have a whole lot of stuff that's out there that you can learn from, and that you want to learn from, but there is development in theology, and in architecture, and it's very creative.”
In his book, Stroik writes that he intends to move Catholics away from “merely the construction of 'worship spaces'” and towards the creation of sacred architecture.
“Walking into a church, our vision is meant to be of the heavenly city...there's a different kind of vision, it's a view to the world as it should be, to the heavenly realm,” he told CNA.
He mentioned that while he believes sacred architecture should have height, directionality, iconography, and a clear sanctuary, within those confines, “there's room for many solutions, for different architecture, and for people to do different things.”
Churches built in the past 40 years have not generally conveyed a vision of the heavenly city, Stroik reflected. This is largely because of the modernist elements of functionality and iconoclasm -- the rejection of sacred images and statues.
“Often we're not conscience of what we've learned from these buildings, but we've learned a lot.”
Architecture “teaches us the wrong things, or the right things; that's why it's so important. Our kids are growing up and worshiping in these churches, and that's what they're learning about the faith.”
To have a “healthy Church,” Stroik said, “we have to use all the tools we have...and architecture is one of them. It's not the most important or the only one, but it is an important one.”
Stroik hopes “The Church Building as a Sacred Place” will impact patrons of sacred architecture, without whom the creation of churches to rival the Baltimore and Philadelphia cathedrals will not be possible.
“You need a great patron, one who is informed and educated about art and architecture, and who cares about and wants the best, and a really great architect, who is supported, and challenged, by the patron.
“I like to think this book can help the architect and the the patron to prepare for their project,” he said, and to “help us all” rise the tide of Catholic architecture, lifting all boats.
“In my philosophy about church architecture, I try to be as broad, as inclusive as possible,” Stroik explained.
Looking at the 2000 year history of Catholic architecture, Stroik uses examples from diverse times and places, “so this is a book not just for Americans, or the 21st century.”
“I'm really interested in those things which transcend our period, and even our regions...there are things relevant across the world to Catholics, and if I've done any little bit of that, there's something for everyone in the book.” |
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Cardinal Dolan outlines ‘creative strategy’ for evangelization |
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Vatican City, Feb 17, 2012 / 12:55 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- In remarks to the Pope and the College of Cardinals, Cardinal-designate Timothy Dolan outlined a seven-point “creative strategy of evangelization” to counter secularism and bring people to Jesus.
“In many of the countries represented in this college, the ambient public culture once transmitted the Gospel, but does so no more. In those circumstances, the proclamation of the Gospel -- the deliberate invitation to enter into friendship with the Lord Jesus -- must be at the very center of the Catholic life of all of our people,” he said on Feb. 17.
The Archbishop of New York’s comments came during the College of Cardinal’s day of prayer and reflection, held at the Vatican’s New Synod Hall one day before the Feb. 18 consistory that will create 22 new cardinals.
New York’s cardinal-to-be delivered his speech in Italian in the presence of Pope Benedict XVI and Cardinal Angelo Sodano, the college’s dean. He drew on the words of Pope Benedict, Pope John Paul II, Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen, and famous saints, urging the cardinals to remember the potential of all people for conversion.
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Come after me, and I will make you fishers of men. |
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After John had been arrested, Jesus came to Galilee proclaiming the gospel of God: "This is the time of fulfillment. The kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe in the gospel."
As he passed by the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and his brother Andrew casting their nets into the sea; they were fishermen. Jesus said to them, "Come after me, and I will make you fishers of men." Then they abandoned their nets and followed him. He walked along a little farther and saw James, the son of Zebedee, and his brother John. They too were in a boat mending their nets. Then he called them. So they left their father Zebedee in the boat along with the hired men and followed him. Mark 1: 14-20 (NAB)
According to Mark, the very first thing Jesus says in his public ministry is "Repent. Turn back. Do a complete about-face. Change your way of life. Believe in the good news." Immediately he chooses his first disciples, and offers them a mission. "Come after me," he says, "and I will make you fishers of people, rather than fish." Again, you see, repentance and mission.
As is always the case, Jesus's invitation in the gospel this morning is not just to that handful of disciples. Rather, Jesus invites each one of us to have a radical change of heart; to do an about-face; to pledge our entire lives to believing in the good news, which is nothing less than Jesus himself. Each of us is also invited to become a fisher, and to fish for human souls.
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Pope warns of 'grave threat' to religious freedom in US |
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Vatican City, Jan 19, 2012 / 12:00 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- Pope Benedict XVI warned today of a “grave threat” to religious liberty in the United States that requires American Catholics to respond with intelligence and courage.
“It is imperative that the entire Catholic community in the United States come to realize the grave threats to the Church’s public moral witness presented by a radical secularism which finds increasing expression in the political and cultural spheres,” he said Jan. 19 in an address to a group of American bishops visiting the Vatican.
The Pope said he was particularly concerned with “certain attempts being made to limit that most cherished of American freedoms, the freedom of religion.”
Pope Benedict’s address was delivered to the bishops from the Mid-Atlantic states region, which includes the Archdioceses of Washington and Baltimore. They are in Rome this week on their regular “ad limina” visit to discuss the health of the U.S. Church with the Pope and Vatican officials. The two bishops from the Archdiocese for the U.S. Military Services are also participating in the meetings.
Pope Benedict said that over the past few days many of the bishops have expressed concern over attempts in the U.S. to “deny the right of conscientious objection on the part of Catholic individuals and institutions with regard to cooperation in intrinsically evil practices.”
Meanwhile, other bishops raised the “worrying tendency to reduce religious freedom to mere freedom of worship” without guarantees of respect for freedom of conscience.
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Ecumenism today and the expectation of its fulfilment |
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2012-01-17 L’Osservatore Romano
“To work tirelessly to rebuild the full and visible unity of all Christ's followers”. This is the “impelling duty” of the successor of Peter. Already in this first Message after his election to the Papal Throne Pope Benedict XVI spoke these programmatic words. Looking back at the more than six yeas of his Petrine ministry, we can note with gratitude that the cause of ecumenism is the central thread of his pontificate. Not only does he refer in his numerous homilies and many messages to the necessary “purification of the memory” and see “inner conversion” as the indispensable premise for progress on the ecumenical journey, but from this moment exercises ecumenical primacy in his many meetings with representatives of other Churches and Christian communities.
This clear emphasis in the Holy Father's work cannot come as a suprise if we bear in mind that already as a theologian and a cardinal Pope Benedict XVI worked very hard to ensure that the ecumenical dialogue made headway and enriched
it with useful theological reflections. Iti s not of course possible in the context of a brief article to pay homage in detail to the wide range of contributions that Pope Benedict XVI has made to ecumenism. I shall therefore focus on the essential nucleus of his ecumenical action which, in my opinon, is expressed more clearly and deeply in his interpretation of the priestly prayer of Jesus, that all may be one, of which the Pope speaks in part two of his book on Jesus of Nazareth.
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