Usage of Architecture in Catholic Celebration 1

The Usage of Architecture in the Catholic Church to Enhance Liturgical Celebrations

Hugh J.McNichol

Villanova University

Church Architecture & Worship

Dr. Bernard Prusak, S.T.L., J.C.D.

September, 19, 2011

 Usage of Architecture in Catholic Celebration 2

Abstract

The purpose and goal of this investigation is to provide a comparative analysis on the relationship

between architecture and the celebration of the Catholic Church’s liturgical Sacraments and rituals. My

examination will focus on the positive effects that enhance the participation of the laity as a result of the

reforms of the Council. This examination does not to diminish or criticize the Catholic liturgies that

preceded Vatican II, but illustrate that sacred liturgy is an active engagement of the People of God

expressing their belief in the Paschal Mystery through an ever growing and evolving sense of the sacred

through the liturgy.

Tracing the development of the liturgical celebrations of the Roman Rite shows that first and

foremost the Liturgy of the Eucharist from its earliest manifestation in the ancient Church was based

upon the reenactment of Jesus’ Last Supper with his disciples and is intended to be not only a meal, but a

transcendental manifestation of Christ’s glorified body, witnessed after the Resurrection in the New

Testament and continues through the mystical body of the Catholic Church as an ongoing testament to

the unfolding of salvation history through Christ Jesus.

In comparing forms of the liturgical celebration, my intention is to show the critical importance of

architectural design and planning as crucial to the effective celebration of the Eucharist as a community

of faith, gathered to celebrate the Catholic faith in a sacred place where the People of God experience

Eucharist in a heightened realization of ritual transcendence as experienced through our communal

celebration of the Body of Christ on multiple visceral, personal and eschatological levels.

In discussing this notion, the liturgical norms prior to the Second Vatican Council will be examined

from a structural and liturgical perspective comparing and contrasting the theological shift that occurred

in the post concilliar Church from a Eucharistic ritual specifically sacerdotal in nature, celebrated on

behalf of the faithful passively present and how the liturgical norms after the council incorporated the
 Usage of Architecture in Catholic Celebration 3

assembled faithful into an active presence with particular roles of participation in the Liturgy of the

Eucharist through prayer in the vernacular and recapturing specific ministries formerly reserved only to

the clergy (e.g. Readers and Eucharistic Ministers), enhancing their collective understanding of liturgical

and sacramental inclusion as active members of the Body of Christ as intended in the Novus Ordo

Missae promulgated by Pope Paul VI.

In order to accomplish my points in this paper, I will begin with the liturgical changes of the Second

Vatican Council and in a reverse chronological order return to the Eucharist as a communal meal,

celebrated by the Church as a fulfillment of Jesus’ actions, as similarly expressed in the Synoptic

Gospels: “…while they were eating, he took bread, said the blessing, broke it and gave it to them, and

said, “Take it; this is my body.”Then he took a cup, gave thanks, and gave it to them, and they all

drank from it. He said to them, “This is my blood of the covenant, which will be shed for many.” New

American Bible, Catholic Study Edition, Mark 14:22d-25. Additionally the nascent Church in the Acts of

the Apostles provide us with a record of fulfilling Christ’s actions; “They devoted themselves to the

teaching of the apostles and to the communal life, to the breaking of the bread and to the prayers.”

New American Bible, Catholic Study Edition, Acts of the Apostles 2:42.
 Usage of Architecture in Catholic Celebration 4

In order to begin this exploration between the symbiotic relationship of liturgical celebration and

architectural form, the following quote from The Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy

(Sacrosanctum Consilium) promulgated by Pope Paul VI on December 4, 1963 is my starting point.

“The Church, therefore earnestly desires that Christ’s faithful, when present at the mystery of
faith, should not be there as strangers or silent spectators; on the contrary, through a good
understanding of the rites and prayers they should take part in the sacred action conscious of
what they are doing, with devotion and full collaboration. They should be instructed by God’s
word and be nourished at the table of the Lord’s body; they should give thanks to God; by offering
the Immaculate Victim, not only through the hands of the priest, but also with him, they should
learn to offer themselves; through Christ the Mediator, they should be drawn day by day into ever
more perfect union with God and with each other, so that finally God may be all in all.” 1

Specifically in the language of this document, Pope Paul VI, collectively with the Council Fathers

signify the transformation of the Sacred Liturgy to a celebration of both Word and Sacrament that both

priest and people are expected to fully participate. In starting this examination of the Roman liturgy and

considering the influence of various architectural forms throughout the history of the Church, the

dramatic mandate of the Second Vatican Council gives cause to examine the relationship between the

manifestations of Sacred Liturgy through the contemporary form of the Church building’s structure.

One of the most recent examples of a new Catholic cathedral is the Cathedral of Our Lady of the

Angels in Los Angeles, California. Designed by the architect Rafael Moneo, many traditional points of

Catholic architectural history were considered in the development of the site. According to the architect,

the most important consideration was that the apse of the newly constructed cathedral should look to

Rome, emphasizing the importance that the orientation towards the East has for Catholics as the place of

1
Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy (Sacrosanctum Concilium), quoted from
http://www/vatican.va.archive/sacrosanctum-concilium en.html
 Usage of Architecture in Catholic Celebration 5

the rising sun, a symbol of resurrection and new life. It was also important from a historical point of

view to construct the cathedral in a cruciform plan, which recalled the historical consciousness of

Catholicism in placing their religious rites in the proper context as both sacred in character and rooted in

history.2 Throughout the structure, the devotional chapels are not connected to the nave of the cathedral;

however they lead the faithful directly to the path towards the baptistery, culminating in a full view of

the Altar, presided over by an illuminated crucifix.3

The architect then goes on to state that the nave is the heart of the church, a place that provides space

for individual solitude and reflection, but also the space that embraces Catholic faithful of all

backgrounds and ethnic cultures into a communal celebration of the Church’s sacraments and rituals,

most importantly, Eucharist. While further examining the construction of this cathedral, it is important to

note that that the architectural features incorporate elements of high quality, reminiscent of those used in

the construction of a Medieval Cathedral, colored concrete, alabaster, cherry wood, limestone and

bronze were part of the design that integrated the traditions of the past, with the materials of the

contemporary world that provided not only a reclusive place for prayer and celebration, but also filtered

sunlight as a mystical metaphor for the manifestation and presence of God.4

In providing this space at the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels, the importance of multiple spaces

designed for personal prayer and devotion and communal celebrations of the Church’s Sacraments

considered in a place constructed to reflect the glory of God, but also our human desire to ascend

through individual and communal prayer to know God in a more tactile and tangible manner through

these various forms of devotion and celebration.

Karla Britton, Editor, Constructing the Ineffable: Contemporary Sacred Architecture, (New
Haven: Yale University Press, 2010) 159-164.
3
Ibid. p.164.
4
Ibid. p.167.
 Usage of Architecture in Catholic Celebration 6

In the development of liturgy after the Second Vatican Council, the Church through its sacred

structures renewed liturgy towards a participation in the events of the world and provided Catholics with

a restored sense of “baptismal citizenship,” that actively requires the believer to celebrate that

citizenship as part of a participating community that brings personal and collective expressions of our

experiences of the world and set that experience in relationship…orientated towards God. 5

Catholic liturgical worship is intimately and deeply connected with the places where God revealed

his presence to the people of Israel; the Tent of Meeting in the desert and the Temple of Jerusalem. In

our attempts to provide a quasi-physical dwelling place for God, our architecture since the Second

Vatican Council follows the notions of Saint Thomas Aquinas whereas the sacred liturgy is the exercise

of the priestly office of Jesus Christ, in which the Church as his Mystical Body participates. In the public

worship of the Church our sanctification is accomplished through the sacraments, which are signs

perceptible to the senses, instituted by Christ and effecting interior grace. 6 Through the liturgy

especially in the holy sacrifice of the Eucharist, “the work of our redemption is accomplished.”7 The

liturgy manifests to the world, “the mystery of Christ and the real nature of the true Church.”8 Directly

resulting from this notion of the Second Vatican Council is the notion that liturgy itself indeed truly

matters because it is related to the classical tradition of living a life in Christ. Therefore our liturgical

celebrations are reflective through our art, architecture and ecclesial community reflective of the

teaching of Saint Paul, which he infers living in Christ, requires a difficult and ongoing effort to, “…

seek the things that are (above”Colossians 3:1), and the worship of the Church is supposed to do just

that: lead us to the things above, “where Christ is seated at the right hand of God (Ibid.). Liturgy
5
Gordon W. Lathrop, Holy Ground: A Liturgical Cosmology (Minneapolis: Fortress Press),
2003
6
D.Vincent Twomey & Janet Rutherford, Editors Benedict XVI and Beauty in Sacred Art and
Architecture (Dublin: Four Courts Press) 2011, pages 114-122.
7
Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy (Sacrosanctum Concilium), number 2 quoted from
http://www/vatican.va.archive/sacrosanctum-concilium en.html

8
Ibid.
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therefore is most important to the life of the Church because it makes Christ’s work of redemption,

through his passion, death, and resurrection, really and truly present on our altars in their power and

splendor.9

In developing a deeper appreciation of the post Vatican II understanding of the physical building and

architectural design of a Catholic Church an examination of the significance of the Church building is

important. First of all, every Christian community needs a place to meet for non-sacral and strictly

functional purposes. This is what distinguishes them from the classical form of temple in most religions.

In the Old Covenant, the high priest performed the ceremonies of atonement in the Holy of Holies. No

one but he was allowed to enter and he could do so only once a year. In a similar manner temples of

other faiths were not places for the faithful to gather, but cultic spaces reserved to the deity. In the
10
evolution of the Christian house of worship the church building acquired the name, domus ecclesia (the

house of the Church, the assembly of the People of God) and then, as an abbreviation, the word, ecclesia

(“assembly”, “church”) came to be used not just of the living community, but also of the building that

housed it.11 Ratzinger continues on and makes the correlation between the Catholic architectural

developments as a convocato, taken from the writings of Saint Cyril of Jerusalem (18th catechesis 23-24)

and rightly describes the assembly of people called together and made his own by God. Saint Cyril of

Jerusalem points out that the word first makes its appearance in the Pentateuch, when the term first

makes its appearance with the appointment of Aaron and it is ordered towards worship.12 With this

reference firmly rooting our historical context of Christian worship with the establishment of the ancient

priesthood of the Israelites, Ratzinger clearly ties the architecture of synagogue and later church

9
D.Vincent Twomey & Janet Rutherford, Editors, Benedict XVI and Beauty in Sacred Art and
Architecture (Dublin: Four Courts Press) 2011, pages 114-122.
10
Ibid.
11
Joseph Ratzinger (Pope Benedict XVI), The Spirit of the Liturgy (San Francisco: Ignatius
Press) 2000, pages 62-91.
12
Ibid., page 63.
 Usage of Architecture in Catholic Celebration 8

(synagogue-ekklesia) to the calling of the assembly together not just for secular gathering, but rather the

act of worship.

“The calling together, the assembly, has a purpose, and that purpose is worship. The call comes from
worship and leads back to worship. It is the worship that unites the people called together and gives
their being together meaning and worth: they are united in that “peace” which the world cannot give.
This also becomes clear in relation to that great Old and New Testament archetype of the ekklesia, the
community on Sinai. They come together to hear God’s Word and to seal everything with sacrifice.
That is how a “covenant” is established between God and man.13

In developing this notion of the church building as a specific place is more than just a gathering space. It

is a place for the celebration of the Christian Mystery of the New covenant. The Catechism of the

Catholic Church illustrates most clearly and definitively provides inspiration for qualitative architecture

that magnificently refers to the faithful as the “living stones,” gathered to be “built into a spiritual

house.14

In making this transition from the notion of an architectural building that was not only reflective of

the multiple influences of the Old Testament’s modes of worship in either the Temple at Jerusalem, the

Church through the developments of the Second Vatican Council placed a great emphasis on not only

the sacrificial nature of the Holy Eucharist, but an equally strong influence on the importance of the

gathered Christian assembly as an additional manifestation of the Body of Christ, called to full

participation through the Sacraments of Initiation and an integral component to transform liturgical

prayer from an alienated ritual into a communal celebration of the Eucharistic Meal and the gathered

assembly of believers.

With this shift in the appreciation of the understanding of the Church as a perpetually developing

People of God, moving with and in Christ into a realized eschatology of the Eucharistic Sacrifice

13
Joseph Ratzinger(Pope Benedict XVI), The Spirit of the Liturgy (San Francisco: Ignatius
Press) 2000, p.63.
14
Catechism of the Catholic Church, Second edition, (Vatican City: Liberia Editrice Vaticana)
1997, Number 1179, p.305.
 Usage of Architecture in Catholic Celebration 9

changes to the configuration of the Catholic liturgical environment was necessary. Initially, perhaps the

most significant development in the transformation of the Catholic Church’s perspective towards a new

understanding and pragmatic application towards fully incorporating the faithful into the liturgy was the

permission to local Episcopal conferences to utilize the local language of the people as the principle

manner of transforming the notion of sacerdotal liturgy into one of collective participation and

celebration by all of the faithful. In Sacrosanctum Concilium, the permission of local usage other that

Latin is expressed in the following:

“15But since the use of the mother tongue, whether in the Mass, the administration of the sacraments,
or other parts of the liturgy, frequently may be of great advantage to the people, the limits of its
employment may be extended. This will apply in the first place to the readings and directives and to
some of the prayers and chants…”

It is also in the same document that the Council Fathers stress the importance of the communal aspect of

the celebration of the liturgy, not just in the local cathedrals, but also in the parish churches. In this

sense, the architectural revolution in Church architecture finds its foundation and purpose in the

concilliar directives. In speaking first to the local responsibilities of the bishop, the council places

emphasis on the liturgical life of a diocese, around a single altar:

“…all should hold in great esteem the liturgical life of the diocese centered around the bishop,
especially in the cathedral church; they must be convinced that the pre-eminent manifestation of the
Church consists in the full active participation of all God’s holy people in these liturgical
celebrations, especially in the same Eucharist, in a single prayer, at one altar, at which there presides
the bishop surrounded by his college of priests and ministers”16

The document then further develops the importance of and their pastors as representative of the visible
Church.

“…among these the parishes, set up locally under a pastor who takes the place of the bishop, are the
most important; for in some manner they represent the visible church constituted throughout the

15
Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy (Sacrosanctum Concilium), number36, section 2
quoted from http://www/vatican.va.archive/sacrosanctum-concilium en.html

16
Ibid. Section 36.
 Usage of Architecture in Catholic Celebration 10

world. And therefore the liturgical life of the parish and its relationship to the bishop must be fostered
theoretically and practically among the faithful and clergy; efforts must be made to foster a sense of
community within the parish, above all in the common celebration of the Sunday Mass”17

The architecture of the interior of the Church was as a result of these directives about to experience a

transformation and change that enabled the ancient principle of the Church’s liturgical life,” lex orandi,

lex credendi,” to take on a new development in the manner in which Catholics not only worshipped but

also designed and built their churches. Vatican II directives that would follow in the General Instructions

of the Roman Missal would further elaborate on the nature of a church’s interior design and placement

of a single altar as the norm for Eucharistic celebration, as well as the appropriate placement of the

tabernacle for the reservation of the Blessed Sacrament in a location…”in a chapel suited to the

faithful’s private adoration and prayer.” 18

The reform of the liturgy was the primary, but not singular concern of the Second Vatican Council.

Among other issues at the Council were developments of various doctrines on the role of the episcopate,

religious freedom, ecumenism, the lay apostolate and so on. However the one common goal of the

Second Vatican Council was, in the words of Pope John Paul II, “the enrichment of the faith”.19 The

process of enrichment was to occur in two ways, the policy of aggiornamento, and an increasing

awareness of the laity of their role in the church and her liturgy, known as participatio actuosa, or active

participation. The notion of aggiornamento has a certain underlying tension that becomes apparent in the

activities of the Church and her liturgies; they are both, “unchangeable elements divinely instituted

and…elements subject to change”.20 However, those points that are humanly instituted may and in fact
17
Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy (Sacrosanctum Concilium), number 42 quoted from
http://www/vatican.va.archive/sacrosanctum-concilium en.html

18
General Instructions off the Roman Missal, Section 10, number 276 (Vatican: Vatican
Press) 1975 * I am making reference to the 1975 edition of the GIRM because it most
accurately reflects the liturgical modifications post Vatican II and does not reflect the most
recent edition of the GIRM amended in 2003.
19
Karol Wojtyla, Sources of Renewal (London: Collins) 1980,p.15
20
The Constitution on the Church in the Modern World (Gaudium et Spes), no.21
http://www.vatican.va/archive/207_gaudium-et-spes_en.html
 Usage of Architecture in Catholic Celebration 11

should change to accommodate the needs of the modern day. In regards to what is determined as

divinely given should be considered as ipso facto immutable. While the notion of aggiornamento

therefore does not, nor should it entail a radical restructuring. The General Instructions of the Roman

Missal points out in another context that the Church must, “embrace one and the same

tradition,”21because “beneath all that changes there is much that is unchanging, much that has its

ultimate foundation in Christ, who is the same yesterday, today and forever.”22

These same principles were in effect applied architecturally. Certain changes were permitted or even

necessary for example general seating, the use of pulpits, placement of the tabernacle or even the form

and location of the baptistery and confessionals. However, the sacrificial aspects of the Mass, the unique

place of the ministerial priesthood in the Eucharistic assembly and the uses of water at Baptism and

bread and wine at Eucharist have their foundation in Christ and cannot change essentially.23 The

structure of the Mass was also revised to give a greater prominence to the Liturgy of the Word, at which

time the faithful are nourished,” at the table of God’s word, and most especially to the homily when they

are instructed in the guiding principles of Christian life”.24 The common prayer or the “prayer of the

faithful” was also restored so that the laity might be able to enter into the prayers of the Mass with their

whole lives.25 These directives of the Second Vatican Council imbued the People of God with new life

through a deeper understanding of the Mass and a new understanding and appreciation of their place in

the Church and of their evangelical role in God’s Kingdom.26

21
GIRM, intro,no.6
22
The Constitution on the Church in the Modern World (Gaudium et Spes), no.10
http://www.vatican.va/archive/207_gaudium-et-spes_en.html
23
Steven J.Schloeder, Architecture in Communion: Implementing the Second Vatican
Council through Liturgy and Architecture (San Francisco: Ignatius Press) 1998, p 18
24
Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy (Sacrosanctum Concilium), numbers 51 & 52 quoted
from http://www/vatican.va.archive/sacrosanctum-concilium en.html

25
Ibid. number 53
26
Steven J.Schloeder, Architecture in Communion: Implementing the Second Vatican
Council through Liturgy and Architecture (San Francisco: Ignatius Press) 1998, p 19
 Usage of Architecture in Catholic Celebration 12

The purpose of architecture within the Catholic Church is to serve the needs of the faithful

community in exercising its sacred worship. Traditionally, the Church has not given any specific

approbation to one particular design or style of architecture. Again, Vatican II asserts that the church

does not claim any particular style exclusively and that the Church is open to any style, including the

modern, asking only that it “bring to the task the reverence and honor due the sacred building”.27

One of the first considerations for sacred architecture is the notion that that same architecture follows

specifically from the notion of spiritual progress it is meant to suggest and foster, the type of dynamism

it aims to promote. There seems to have evolved three distinctive architectural forms of church

architecture that have been linked to the celebration of the Sacred Liturgy; the longitudinal space of the

classic sacramental church, meant for procession and return; the auditorium space of the classic

evangelical church, built for proclamation and response ( developed during the Protestant Reformation

period), and a relatively new form of space in the modern communal church, designed for people to join

in community, celebrate the liturgy and proceed back out into the workaday world.28

An example of the longitudinal church is the Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore, one of the four major

basilicas of Rome. The church was already present in the fourth century and the grand basilica was

completed by Pope Sixths III. The nave of the church is nearly 290 feet long and the length of the church

is accentuated by a long procession of forty marble columns, separating the nave from the aisles. This

church has a dramatic sense of length and highlights the prominence of the altar, the pillars providing a

rhythmic progression of columns leading towards the altar which stands before the emphatically clear

vanishing point.29 With this form of architecture, the church building is intended to be an imposing

structure, connected with the highest levels of Church ecclesiastical authority and to facilitate
27
Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy (Sacrosanctum Concilium), number 123 quoted from
http://www/vatican.va.archive/sacrosanctum-concilium en.html
28
Richard Kieckhefer, Theology in Stone, Church Architecture from Byzantium to Berkeley
(London:Oxford University Press) 2004, p.24
29
Richard Kieckhefer, Theology in Stone, Church Architecture from Byzantium to Berkeley
(London:Oxford University Press) 2004, p.22
 Usage of Architecture in Catholic Celebration 13

processional space integral to its longitudinal design. In terms of a structure designed for the celebration

of the Eucharist, it clearly is intended to draw the congregation towards the altar in prayer.30

In this sense it also provides a sense of mystery and distance from the altar allowing the laity to be

firmly placed in their positions, while the clergy move more closely towards the sanctuary, an area

where the general faithful were excluded. In this notion of a church’s architectural form, it preserves the

sacred inapproachability of the altar and does not develop communal participation of all of the faithful

present. This type of design is similar to the design of Saint Mary’s Cathedral in Tokyo (cathedral built

1967-1969), by architect Kenzo Tange who insisted on keeping the altar on a high and wide platform

because, “Fear of God should deter us from passing by the altar”.31 In our modern notion of Catholic

Church architecture this formalized incorporation of the classical basilica, while dramatic does not lend

itself to our contemporary notion of communal celebration of the Eucharist as both a gathering of the

faithful and as a meal. However, this structure does indeed impose a sort of Neoplatonic theme of

procession and return, namely all things flow out from God and return to God; the worshiping assembly

turns to God in prayer and returns into the world. This type of elongated space for worship, with pews in

straight and orderly rows is the experience most Catholic churches in the United States have

encountered before the liturgical reforms of the Second Vatican Council. This form makes God,

unapproachable and not incorporated into the assembly of the faithful, who were in turn further excluded

from clerical spaces. In most cases, this sort of barriers and distinctions gave rise to the faithful not

participating in the celebration of the Eucharist, but rather playing the role of spectators, frequently

engaging in other forms of spiritual devotions or pious exercises. Clearly, the architectural development

of this type of ecclesial architecture was intended to convey hierarchical order, clerical isolation from the

30
Thomas Matthews, The Clash of Gods (Princeton, New Jersey: Princeton University Press)
1999, pages 92-94.
31
Edward A. Sloevik An Architects Response to Liturgical Reform, Worship Magazine 71
(1997) pages 19-41.
.
 Usage of Architecture in Catholic Celebration 14

general faithful and anticipated only a spiritual participation on the part of the faithful, while the

Sacrifice of the Mass was taking place from a distance.

The classic evangelical form of church design and architecture evolved as a result of the Protestant

Reformation and was intended to foster the verbal dynamism of pastoral preaching, based on the

proclamation of God’s Word through the reading and interpretation of Sacred Scripture. For the purposes

of understanding the developmental architectural forms of the post Vatican II Catholic Catholic Church

it is important to note that the great emphasis was placed on the celebration of the Liturgy of the Word,

after which the entire congregation would be invited to enter the chancel (our sanctuary) to participate in

the eucharist. Interestingly enough, the architect Christopher Wren designed churches as preaching

halls, which was a great deviation from Catholic tradition.

“In our reformed religion, it should seem vain to make a parish church larger, than all who are
present can both see and hear. The Romanists, indeed may build larger churches, it is enough if they
hear the murmur of the mass and see the elevation of the host, but ours are to be fitted for auditories.
I can hardly think it practical to make a single room so capacious, with pews and galleries, as to hold
above 2000 persons, and all to hear the service, and both to hear distinctly, and see the preacher”.32

This model of classic evangelical architecture in churches while seen in the works of Wren is actually

more consistent in the Lutheran tradition, which adapted the longitudinal church for the needs of

preaching. More clearly, the style is seen more consistently in Calvinist churches, which led to a form of

design that departed from processional churches. Good examples of these “preaching churches”, can be

seen in an early form at Walpole chapel, or earlier still in the 16th century Calvinist Temple du Paradis at

Lyon.33 This architectural form is inconsistent with the Catholic traditional style of architecture and the

Catholic emphasis on the Liturgy of the Word and preaching does not evolve in our tradition until the

reforms of the Second Vatican Council. In considering the classic evangelical church, it might perhaps

32
Quoted in Margaret Whinney, Wren (London: Thames and Hudson) 1971, page 48
33
Klaus Raschzok and Reiner Soerries, eds. Geschichte des Protestantiischen Kirchenbaues,
(Erlangen:Junge and Son) 1994, pages 163-165
 Usage of Architecture in Catholic Celebration 15

be a precursor to our third developmental form of liturgical architecture which is the contemporary

modern church with consideration for both active and integral participation of both faithful and clergy

alike.

The liturgical reforms of the Second Vatican Council caused an examination of the effectiveness of the

architectural styles that preceded the council. The notion of a more intimate and communal church in

shape and size has worked well as a sort of hybrid of both the traditional sacramental church and the

classic evangelical styles, intended to provide a place of liturgical celebration that is both conducive to

both gathering of the faithful and integrative into the celebration of the Eucharist. One of the first writer

to offer a sustained rationale for such a church was Belgian Roman Catholic Frederic Dubuyst who

envisioned, “…a place where the faithful come together to meet the Lord and meet one another in the

Lord” For Debuyst, this meeting took place in the context of a celebration, one that synthesizes two

nearly opposing factors: on the one hand an “aesthetic exaltation” or experience of “splendor, greatness

and fullness,” and on the other a sense of “graciousness.”34 This architectural development proposed by

Debuyst at first resembles the classical evangelical approach to worship. However on closer examination

the liturgical space is designed to create a true sense of bonding and community between the gathered

faithful and with the clergy. Additionally, it encourages fuller participation in the liturgical celebration of

the Mass, because the entire area of worship space is considered as an integral whole and subdivisions

are reduced to a minimum. The area of central focus is now distributed between the ambo for the

celebration of the Liturgy of the Word, and the Altar for the celebration of the Liturgy of the Eucharist

which anchors the attention of the Catholic faithful into a fuller understanding of active participation in

the Body of Christ, the Church. In addition to this central focus on Word and sacrament, the relationship

for space for assembly and the space for entry become crucial: symbolically, the entrance space

34
Edward A. Sloevik An Architects Response to Liturgical Reform, Worship Magazine 71
(1997) pages 19-41.
 Usage of Architecture in Catholic Celebration 16

highlights the process of gathering and of proceeding outward; practically it provides a space for both

social and liturgical gatherings as traditionally celebrated by the early Church. With the usage of this

form of 20th century architectural innovation, the Catholic assembly comes together not just to simply

hear or see the celebration of the Mass, they are there to actively participate in the prayers, ritual and the

Eucharistic Meal, that transcendentally incorporates them more deeply into a participation in the

Mystical Body and collectively The People of God.35

The notion of a modern communal church is most appropriate because it incorporates the principles

set forth by the Fathers of the Second Vatican Council and reiterated by the American Bishops;

“Liturgy is “the participation of the People of God in “the work of God”; It is the “exercise of the
priestly office of Jesus” in which God is worshipped and adored and people are made holy. God
begins the work of sanctifying people in time and space and brings that work to completion. Those
who respond to God in worship and in service are given the privilege of becoming co-workers in the
divine plan”.36
In his book, Architecture for Worship (1973), Soevik unambiguously emphasizes the role of the
assembly; “a house of worship is not a shelter for an altar; it is a shelter for the people. It is not the
table that makes a sacrament: it is the people and what they do. The presence of God is not assured
by things or symbols or by buildings but by the Christian people”.37
Architects James & Susan White highlight three basic qualities of church architecture: hospitality,
participation and intimacy. A church “must be inviting in order to welcome all comers and make them
feel at home.” Hospitality brings people together “so they want to meet, know each other and act
together in a common purpose.” Finally, scale is a critical factor for design, because a church that
overwhelms in its monumentality makes the beholder into a passive spectator, whereas a sense of
intimacy fosters participation.”38
35
Richard Kieckhefer, Theology in Stone, Church Architecture from Byzantium to Berkeley
(London: Oxford University Press) 2004, p.53-55.
36
United States Catholic Conference of Bishops, Built of Living Stones, (Washington, D.C.)
2000. http://usccb.org/prayer-and-worship/liturgical-resources/architecture-and-
environment/environment-and-art-in catholic worship.cfm

37
E.A. Soevik, Architecture for Worship, (Minneapolis: Augsburg Press ) 1973, page 33
38
James and Susan White, Church Architecture: Building and Renovating for Christian
Worship,(Akron,Ohio:OSL Publications) 1998, pages 13-15
 Usage of Architecture in Catholic Celebration 17

The theoretical idea for them is a concentric space with the community “gathered around a font or altar,
where someone reaches out to minister. In an extremely unique manner they distinguish between the
needs of the sacraments and those of preaching. The human voice can project hundreds of feet without
amplification, but “there is no similar extension of the arm,” and it is in the arms and hands that are used
in the sacraments for giving bread and wine, for pouring or sprinkling water or anointing the forehead
with oil.” At the heart of sacramental action is gathering about, a coming within an arm’s reach…for
individuals, if not for the whole community. The sacraments require visibility, proximity and
accessibility. If the faithful community as a whole is to participate in the sacraments, the entire
congregation must be able to see and be close. 39
In discussing the notion of the influence of architecture on the liturgical celebrations of the Catholic
Church, the critical observer needs to acknowledge that liturgy like life itself does not exist or take place
in a vacuum. The developments of various architectural styles and expressions of sacred signs and
symbols are human attempts to participate more fully in the Paschal Mystery, especially in the
participation of the Eucharistic meal as a tangible and physical presence of Jesus Christ in each of us and
in the Universal Church. Architecture then becomes the vehicle through which we express our desire to
know the Triune God more closely through participation in the Church and Her sacraments. One of the
important notions for the celebration of the sacred liturgy is that of a cosmic dimension of liturgy and
church architecture. Joseph Ratzinger, now Pope Benedict XVI in his book, The Spirit of the Liturgy
comments on the cosmic nature of the Eucharistic celebration in his third circle (Kreise). Namely, “the
cosmic nature of the liturgy represents something beyond a simple larger or smaller circle of human
beings; rather the liturgy is celebrated within the vastness of the cosmos, it embraces creation and
history at the same time”.40
According to Joseph Ratzinger, the cosmic symbolism of sacramental worship allows the world to
remain transparent for transcendent reality. The orientation of prayer goes beyond the visible altar
towards eschatological fulfillment, which we celebrate collectively as the People of God in the
Eucharist. Much has been said and written regarding the writings of then Cardinal Ratzinger in his
suggesting that both priest and people should face east when celebrating the Eucharist. This movement
towards the Lord, who is, “the rising sun of history,” finds a sublime artistic and architectural expression
39
Richard Kieckhefer, Theology in Stone, Church Architecture from Byzantium to Berkeley
(London: Oxford University Press) 2004, p59.

40
Joseph Ratzinger(Pope Benedict XVI), Zum Eroeffnungsband meiner Schriften ( Munich:
Herder & Herder) p.8
 Usage of Architecture in Catholic Celebration 18

in the sanctuaries of the first millennium where representations of the Cross or the Glorified Christ point
towards the ultimate goal of the Faithfull’s earthly pilgrimage. In reality, the orientation of prayer is
inconsequential, the eschatological character of the Eucharist that keeps us as a Church alive and in
anticipation in looking for the Lord. The celebration of the Eucharist throughout the ages has taken
many ritual forms and has been adapted into many architectural spaces, however is indeed a heavenly
meal; where we anticipate participation in future glory in God’s presence. This is what gives the
Eucharist its greatness and saves the individual community from closing into itself and opens it towards
the assembly of saints in the heavenly city. (cf. Hebrews 12:22-4).
In another example of commenting on the cosmological direction of liturgical prayer, Pope Benedict
XVI says;”the orientation of liturgical prayer towards the rising sun is the sign of Christ returning,
whom we go to meet when we celebrate the Eucharist.”41Pope Benedict further cites that in Christian
antiquity when “facing east” was not literally possible, the faithful could turn towards the image of
Christ in the apse or towards the Cross, so as to orient themselves inwardly towards the Lord.42
For Benedict XVI, the direction of liturgical prayer, expressed in the exclamations, “Conversi ad
Dominium” and “Sursum corda” have profound spiritual and theological dimension.
“…in both exclamations we are summoned, as it were, to a renewal of our Baptism: conversi ad
dominum…we must always turn away from false paths, onto which we stray so often in our thoughts and
in our actions. We must turn anew towards him who is the Way, the Truth and the Life. We must be
converted ever anew, turning with our whole life towards the Lord. And ever anew we must withdraw
our hearts from the force of gravity, which pulls them down, and inwardly we must raise them high: in
truth and love”.43
Uniquely enough the architecture in the major basilicas in Rome with the entrance to the East and the
apse in the West, like Saint Peter’s in the Vatican the bishop or priest was facing the apse, which
indicated the liturgical East and therefore the focus of prayer44
Since 2008, Benedict XVI has celebrated the Liturgy of the Eucharist with an appreciation of the
theological and architectural implications. In 2008 he celebrated Mass for the Feast of the Baptism of
the Lord at the old altar in the Sistine Chapel, facing the same direction as the congregation from the
41
Pope Benedict XVI, Homily for the Easter Vigil 2008. Cf.
http://vatican.va.org/Benedict/homilies2008
42
D.Vincent Twomey and Janet Rutherford, editors, Benedict XVI and Beauty in Sacred Art
and Architecture (Dublin: Four Courts Press) 2011.
43
Benedict XVI, Homily for Easter Vigil, 2008
44
Bouyer, Liturgy and Architecture(South Bend The:Indiana: Notre Dame Press)
1967pps.55-57
 Usage of Architecture in Catholic Celebration 19

Offertory onwards and has repeated this celebration each year. It is also interesting to note that in
December of 2009, Benedict XVI celebrated Mass at the restored Cappella Paolina of the Apostolic
Palace in the Vatican “facing east” at a freestanding altar.
In conclusion to the discussion of the various developments of the Eucharistic celebration from the
meal shared among early Christians in the “Breaking of the Bread, “it is still most interesting to note that
throughout the multiple and various stages of architectural growth and development, there has always
been in the Eucharistic celebration, a “hermeneutics of continuity” that always accompanied these
artistic and architectural changes. Most importantly, the sacred liturgy, according to Joseph Ratzinger,
“must never be changed radically, but should grow and develop organically.”45

45
A. Reid, The Organic Development of the Liturgy (Farnborough, Hants Saint Michael Abbey Press)
2004

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