Building from Belief

Imagine what Sundays in a parish could be if worshiping communities are assured that the liturgy in their spaces might be a foretaste of the heavenly liturgy. Or what town-hall meetings could also be in a place where parish committees are inspired to know that they can be the instruments of truth and beauty. The essays in Building from Belief focus on Catholic church architecture and invite those who are involved in the creation of worship space to be "the world's memory of what beauty looks like, and what sanctity feels like."

In Building from Belief, Michael DeSanctis treats a variety of topics that concern the creation and use of liturgical space. He brings the historical development of both the Church and its architecture into clear view and focuses on the need for catechesis and conversion. DeSanctis calls for a change of heart on the part of the worshiping community, the building committee, professionals involved in the design process, and of the Church. By keeping the theological concepts of grace and sacramentality in mind, he offers rich insights to these fundamental Christian realities and provides hope and excitement about using the gifts of beauty, grace, and holiness.

The essays in Building from Belief are an invitation to build the promised kingdom, allowing the grace of God into our hearts and in our spaces. DeSanctis encourages those who embark on the journey of building to ask the same question that the Fathers of Vatican II asked: how to be Church in a modern world. He shows that the worship that rises from our communities is indeed a true expression of that belief.

Chapters under Part I are “Beauty, Holiness and Liturgical Space,” “Catholic Sacramentality and the Reform of Sacred Architecture,” “The Pastoral Dimension of Church Renovation,” “Let’s Stop Renovating Church Buildings (And Start Renovating the Church),” and “Coming to Terms with Modern Design.” Chapters under Part II are “Worshiping in ‘Noplace’: Casual Observations on Liturgy in the Second Machine Age,” “Images By Which We Live and Build,” and “The Quest for ‘Noble Simplicity.’” Includes eight pages of full-color photographs with black-and-white photographs and illustrations throughout. Imagine what Sundays in a parish could be if worshiping communities are assured that the liturgy in their spaces might be a foretaste of the heavenly liturgy. Or what town-hall meetings could also be in a place where parish committees are inspired to know that they can be the instruments of truth and beauty. The essays in Building from Belief focus on Catholic church architecture and invite those who are involved in the creation of worship space to be “the world’s memory of what beauty looks like, and what sanctity feels like.”

In Building from Belief, Michael DeSanctis treats a variety of topics that concern the creation and use of liturgical space. He brings the historical development of both the Church and its architecture into clear view and focuses on the need for catechesis and conversion. DeSanctis calls for a change of heart on the part of the worshiping community, the building committee, professionals involved in the design process, and of the Church. By keeping the theological concepts of grace and sacramentality in mind, he offers rich insights to these fundamental Christian realities and provides hope and excitement about using the gifts of beauty, grace, and holiness.

The essays in Building from Belief are an invitation to build the promised kingdom, allowing the grace of God into our hearts and in our spaces. DeSanctis encourages those who embark on the journey of building to ask the same question that the Fathers of Vatican II asked: how to be Church in a modern world. He shows that the worship that rises from our communities is indeed a true expression of that belief.

Chapters under Part I are “Beauty, Holiness and Liturgical Space,” “Catholic Sacramentality and the Reform of Sacred Architecture,” “The Pastoral Dimension of Church Renovation,” “Let’s Stop Renovating Church Buildings (And Start Renovating the Church),” and “Coming to Terms with Modern Design.” Chapters under Part II are “Worshiping in ‘Noplace’: Casual Observations on Liturgy in the Second Machine Age,” “Images By Which We Live and Build,” and “The Quest for ‘Noble Simplicity.’” Includes eight pages of full-color photographs with black-and-white photographs and illustrations throughout.

Michael E. DeSanctis, PhD, is a liturgical design consultant, author, and associate professor of fine arts at Gannon University in Erie, Pennsylvania.