How to design a Church

The current reforms in Church interiors result from the requirements of Vatican II.

The Council required that a prominent place in the Mass was to be given to the Liturgy. They wanted the congregation to take a part, rather than the former insistence on the role of the Priest. The Sacrosanctum Concilium specified* that the faithful should not attend the mystery of the Faith as outsiders or dumb spectators, but that they should take part in a conscious way, both pious and active.

Whether in a new or existing Church, the installations should take account of these orientations and be sensitive to them in the choice of spaces, volumes and liturgical furniture.

The proclaiming of the Word must be able to be understood and seen by the faithful from the ambon (the Lectern at the entrance to the Choir); the Priest should be able to have a dialogue with the congregation; the circulation of various Ministers around the altar, around the ambon and towards the congregation for the Communion should be fluid and easy.

The Choir and the Congregation

According to the general presentation in the Roman Missal** the Sanctuary is distinguished from the rest of the Church by a certain elevation or structure or by particular ornamentation.

From now on, for the celebration of the Mass, with the exception of certain special rites, the main altar will no longer be against the wall at the base of the apse, but located in the centre of the Sanctuary.

In churches built before the Council on a traditional basilical plan with a nave, architects can move the altar closer to the congregation.

In new churches, several plans have been designed articulating the choir and the congregation. These include an enveloping plan which places the congregation in a quarter or even half-circle around the altar, and elliptical plans where the whole of the sanctuary is included in an elipse, surrounded by benches which themselves are laid out in an elipse pattern.

The Choir

The altar-table is traditionally made of natural stone, symbol of Christ, anchor of the church. However it can also be made of another material, noble, solid and well-worked***. In addition to the ambon, a special and highly visible place should be made for the chair of the Priest leading the celebration “in persona Christi”.

Seats for the Deacon and other officiants are also placed within the Choir. The crucifix and candlesticks are placed on the altar or at the side so that the congregation get a good view of the celebration. A crucifix can also be suspended. A credenza, a small side-table, placed not far from the altar is used to place the chalice, the paten and offering before the Offertory (offertorium). It is specificed that the ornamentation must aim at a noble simplicity, rather than pompous luxury****.

Where to preserve the Blessed Sacrament

For Catholics, as distinct from Protestants, the Sacramental bread is the subject of a veneration due to the permanence of the real presence of Christ beyond the time of the celebration. The “eucharistic reserve”, the remaining consecrated bread, is preserved in the church tabernacle (tabernaculum, the tent) for being taken to the sick, distributed on Sundays in the absence of priests, or as a focus for meditation and prayer.

From the 16th. Century the tabernacle was placed on the high altar, of which it constituted a richly decorated part. Currently, it is recommended that  the Blessed Sacrament is preserved in a highly visible and decorated part of the church suitable for prayer. It can be, within the choir, in a place other than the celebratory altar (inevitably not excluding the old high-altar), or an oratory or a side chapel. The shape of the tabernacle is free (cubic, sun…); it must be not transparent, be properly closed to avoid any profanation and indicated by a permanently lit lamp.

Where to place the baptistry

Ancient Baptistries were stone buildings built beside the Cathedral, the Bishop’s seat. In the early Middle Ages, baptismal fonts (from the Latin fons: source) were large metal or stone basins placed at the entrance to the Church. Generally they are placed by the door where the faithful gather to signify that baptism is the main entrance for the Christian life.

The Inter Oecumenici states: “In the construction and decoration of the baptistry great pains are to be taken to ensure that it clearly expresses the dignity of the sacrament of baptism and that it is a place well suited to communal celebrations.” ***** For the sake of convenience and in order to ensure that the congregation can see the celebration clearly a mobile tank can be placed in front of the altar.

How do contemporary architects work?

As a result of the liturgical reforms in France the national and diocesan commissions for sacred art (CDAS) have to involve Clerics and qualified members of the Laity in new-build or redevelopment projects for churches.

Craftsmen, architects and artists brought in by the Bishop or the parish priest can receive guidance not only from CDAS but also from the parish community.

Architect François Bévillard said that it is important to create in entering the church an atmosphere of peace, to seek a unity between the architecture and the liturgical furniture, a symbolism which renders the celebrated mystery readable.



NOTES and SOURCES:

* CONSTITUTIO DE SACRA LITURGIA - SACROSANCTUM CONCILIUM. Caput II. DE SACROSANCTO EUCHARISTIAE MYSTERIO. 48. Itaque Ecclesia sollicitas curas eo intendit ne christifideles huic fidei mysterio tamquam extranei vel muti spectatores intersint, sed per ritus et preces id bene intellegentes, sacram actionem conscie, pie et actuose participent, verbo Dei instituantur, mensa Corporis Domini reficiantur, gratias Deo agant, immaculatam hostiam, non tantum per sacerdotis manus, sed etiam una cum ipso offerentes, seipsos offerre discant, et de die in diem consummentur, Christo Mediatore, in unitatem cum Deo et inter se(38), ut sit tandem Deus omnia in omnibus.

**IInstitutio Generalis. Missalis Romani. 2002I. DE PRESBYTERII ORDINATIONE AD SACRAM SYNAXIM. 295. Presbyterium locus est ubi altare exstat, verbum Dei proclamatur, et sacerdos, diaconus et alii ministri munus suum exercent. Ab aula ecclesiæ opportune distinguatur aut per aliquam elevationem, aut per peculiarem structuram et ornatum. Talis autem amplitudinis sit, ut Eucharistiæ celebratio commode peragi et conspici possit.

*** IInstitutio Generalis. Missalis Romani. 2002I. DE PRESBYTERII ORDINATIONE AD SACRAM SYNAXIM. 301. Iuxta traditum Ecclesiæ morem et significationem, mensa altaris fixi sit lapidea, et quidem ex lapide naturali. Attamen etiam alia materia digna, solida et affabre effecta, de iudicio Conferentiæ Episcoporum, adhiberi potest. Stipites vero aut basis ad mensam sustentandam ex qualibet materia, dummodo sit digna et solida, confici possunt.
Altare mobile ex quibuslibet materiis nobilibus et solidis atque usui liturgico, iuxta diversarum regionum traditiones et mores, convenientibus, exstrui potest.

**** IInstitutio Generalis. Missalis Romani. 2002. Caput V. DE ECCLESIARUM DISPOSITIONE ET ORNATU AD EUCHARISTIAM CELEBRANDAM. I. PRINCIPIA GENERALIA. 292. Ornatus ecclesiæ ad nobilem ipsius simplicitatem conferat, potius quam ad pompam. In elementis autem seligendis quæ ad ornatum pertinent, rerum veritas curetur, atque eo contendatur, ut ad fidelium institutionem conferat et ad dignitatem totius loci sacri.

***** INTER OECUMENICI Sacred Congregation of Rites. X. BAPTISTRY. 99. In the construction and decoration of the baptistry great pains are to be taken to ensure that it clearly expresses the dignity of the sacrament of baptism and that it is a place well suited to communal celebrations (see SC art. 27).

article: “Aménager une église” by Béatrice Bazil, published: La Croix, 1/7/11 - translations from the article by Richard Haut

François Bévillard (quoted in La Croix) is a member of the group “Les Chantiers du Cardinal” and has been involved in the new-building and renovation of more than a dozen churches.

Illustration: the new Chapel of Saint Joseph in Eze, designed by Olivier Tampn-Lajariette, Pascal Ceillier and Joseph Nieto with pierced cross by Beppo. Photograph: ©Richard Haut, 2011.