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March 16, 2006
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Behind the scenes, you'll find liturgical design consultants
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Church construction, renovations require teamwork, expertise of design consultants
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A crucifix towers above the altar of St. Rita Church in Racine as Archbishop Timothy M. Dolan presides at the church's dedication last year. "The crucifix is ... associated with the altar and often placement at the back of the sanctuary provides this association,” said Holy Cross Fr. Richard Bullene, a liturgical design consultant who is assistant dean of the School of Architecture at the University of Notre Dame. (Catholic Herald photos by Sam Lucero) |
One way to find out whether or not a parish community has a pulse is to speak to them about renovating their church. Most likely, the responses will be many, loud and diverse.
On the surface, renovation seems clean, revitalizing — a breath of fresh air, similar to a fresh coat of paint on a dingy living room wall. However, according to Dean Daniels, director of the Office of Prayer, Worship and Evangelization for the Milwaukee Archdiocese, even painting the living room can cause disturbances.
“Let’s say a husband and wife decide to change the color of their front room,” he said. “Is that project ever without conversation and compromise? This is how families live together and it is the same with our faith community. We have to compromise and some get what they want and some don’t.”
Despite the probability of some unrest, with the merging of parishes and the desire to improve older structures for handicapped accessibility, church leaders increasingly find themselves in situations where they need to renovate or to rebuild in order to accommodate their growing faith communities, and look to do so as painlessly as possible.
Projects must comply
with church guidelines
In all instances, the building projects must comply with the U.S. bishops’ guidelines for building and renovating churches, “Built of Living Stones,” which provide a basis for a diocese’s guidelines and directives. In addition, churches in the Milwaukee Archdiocese are required to abide by “Building a Home, Gathering the Assembly,” the norms for building and renovating churches.
Following the approval of the archbishop, and the creation of a building team, parishes work with Daniels, who oversees all of the ecclesiastical architecture in order to make sure the renovations fulfill that the church’s and Archbishop Dolan’s wishes are satisfied. Additionally, parishes are required to enlist the assistance of a qualified liturgical design consultant for the construction or renovation project.
According to Daniels, the role of the consultant is crucial to merging the tradition of church with individual expectations into what is best for the community and the mission of the faith community.
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Two vessels used to sprinkle holy water sit atop the baptismal font near the entrance of St. Rita Church in Racine during the church’s dedication last year. Historically, the ancient location of the baptistery is at the entrance of the church, said Holy Cross Fr. Richard Bullene, a liturgical design consultant who is assistant dean of the School of Architecture at the University of Notre Dame. (Catholic Herald photo by Sam Lucero)
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“Their main role is to lead the parish community through a process of formation so that the community knows what the church requires of our sacred architecture, what liturgy requires, where liturgical items may be placed,” Daniels stated. “Secondly, they will work with the archdiocese to render final designs which bring community desires and church requirements together. Thirdly, their job is to walk with the community for a while in the new space to help them use the space well.”
Most difficult in a renovation project is agreeing on the architectural style; some parishioners feel a more modern face is appropriate and some feel preserving the older, more European styles is more in alignment with canon law. Surprising to many may be the revelation that the church has never sanctioned a certain art form or architectural style in any of its documents.
“It never was said that Gothic is the norm or neoclassical was the norm,” Daniels said. “Actually, earlier communities began to use the Gothic term as a pejorative term to put down people, but then it became the norm in that period of history to have the Gothic architectural style. But the church has never said that one style of architecture is what we want. It is a cultural point of view. If we move beyond what we think liturgy or architecture should be and how the mission should be carried forth, it is for the betterment of the community.”
Projects begin with
day of reflection
Bringing the faith community forward with the mission of the church, which is to proclaim the Good News, is of primary importance in any building project. The church is not merely the architecture, it is the people, and when liturgical design consultant Ronald Zawilla of Gallery Genesis in Chicago begins to work with a parish, the first step is a parish-wide day of reflection to prayerfully consider how best to serve God while renovating the facility.
“All parish members are invited to pray and set a tone to remind everybody that ultimately it isn’t about the nuts and bolts, it is about prayer and that it should be a prayerful, spiritual experience,” he said. “What I try to do is to focus on a few aspects of the Church Universal and what the Second Vatican Council said about the mystery and universal community and then secondly, on the local parish.”
Realizing each parish is unique, Zawilla uses the parish mission statement as a foundation for the project, focusing upon the history, characteristics and accoutrements of the building. He listens to what is important to the people — their values, and from there covers topics regarding the bishops’ and archdiocesan requirements.
“Finally, we look at slides of old and new churches to acquaint the people of the range of what is being done on a national level and then focus on a local level,” he said. “We end with a tour of churches in the vicinity of the parish and then conclude with a written survey about their likes and dislikes.”
The thorough, prayerful discussions have allowed Zawilla to work comfortably with parishes with only a minimal amount of unrest.
“When this process is followed and the building committee is attentive to the people, we wind up with a situation where people are generally satisfied with the results,” he said, adding, “I have never been involved in a project that wound up with bloodshed.”
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