ABOUT

THE PARTNERSHIP FOR CATHOLIC SACRED ARCHITECTURE

The Partnership for Catholic Sacred Architecture (PCSA) exists to organize the Living Presence symposium series. It was created in 2009, in advance of the 2010 inaugural symposium entitled: “A Living Presence: Extending and Transforming the Tradition of Catholic Sacred Architecture.” Original founding members Michael Patrick, Duncan Stroik, George Martin and Eric Anderson worked with the Schools of Architecture at The Catholic University of America and the University of Notre Dame to create an interdisciplinary and broad-based event that attracted more than 125 participants from countries around the world. New leaders Michael Patrick, Andrew de Sa, Tim McDonnell and Fr. Ed Hathaway, with the help of past members as Advisors, and in close and important collaboration with the School of Theology and Religious Studies, the School of Philosophy, the School of Architecture and Planning, and the Benjamin T. Rome School of Music, Drama and Art at The Catholic University of America are continuing the work, as they prepare for the next Living Presence Symposium and the Festival Series leading up to it.

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VISION OF THE LIVING PRESENCE SYMPOSIUM SERIES

The Vision of the Living Presence symposium series is for a regularly scheduled Symposium on Catholic church architecture, rooted in the documents, teachings and tradition of the Catholic Church; to be dedicated to the development of church buildings and renovations that are worthy of the mission entrusted to them by the Church.  

INCARNATIONAL NATURE OF THE CHURCH

As a touchstone for all efforts regarding the symposium, we take as essential the incarnational nature of the Catholic Faith. The incarnation of Christ, Our Lord, into His human nature is fundamental to our Faith, and to our understanding of the Eucharist, which we celebrate as He commanded. The Eucharist is the heart of the Mass, and our efforts as artists are well-ordered when they center on embodying this understanding in Catholic church Architecture. Since our work on church design takes shape in the material world, the fruits of our labors, while not Sacraments in the strict sense of the word, are sacramental in the sense that they should be visible signs of the invisible realities of our Faith. 

INTERDISCIPLINARY WORK

While Architecture provides the overall backdrop of the setting for the Mass, the Visual Arts and Sacred Music play interdependent crucial roles in the liturgies of the Church, in both Eastern and Western Rites. Today, artists in these disciplines continue a rich legacy of serving the Church. Their work is used for Catholic worship, to edify the faithful, and to foster their piety and their religious formation. The 2010 Symposium invited all “architects, theologians, philosophers, teachers, artists, liturgical consultants, clergy ...” to attend, and Sacred Music and the Arts were represented in major lunch presentations. 

The 2022 Symposium will be grounded even more fully in the coordinated effort of the disciplines, as the Schools of Theology and Religious Studies, Philosophy, Architecture and Planning, and Music, Drama and the Arts at The Catholic University of America are now Co-Sponsors of the event. With this support, the symposium will be able to reach a larger and more diverse audience, and speak more meaningfully to the several aspects of Catholic Church design.

OPEN TO ALL EXPRESSION

In keeping with the direction of the Church, we understand that there is no one “style” or Architecture, Art of Music that belongs to the Church, and that no style in itself is excluded per se. Our exploration is open to all forms of expression, modern, traditional, “transitional,” or other. Our intent is to “test everything and keep what is good,” to paraphrase St. Paul.

FOUNDATIONS IN CHURCH DOCUMENTS

Every building design should respond closely to the Owner’s program of needs. For Catholic Church buildings, the most fundamental program need is to respond to the requirements for the celebration of the Holy Mass, other Sacraments, and personal devotion proper to a church building. These requirements are both practical and ideological. Both are derived directly from the Catholic Church’s beliefs about the actions that are the Sacraments and prayers, and are articulated by numerous documents and teachings promulgated by the Church, and understood within her tradition. In all of these, the Mass is the Sacrament experienced with greatest frequency and regularity in a church building in the life of Catholics, and as such will tend to dominate the discussion, without excluding the other important activities. 

The Living Presence symposium presupposes that an understanding of the above Church documents, teachings and tradition as regards the design of the church building is fundamental to good church design. Therefore, the 2022 symposium has gratefully accepted the offer of the The Catholic University of America’s School of Theology and Religious Studies to consider preparing seminar style presentations on these topics at the beginning of the Symposium, to create a foundation for the more designerly activities of the rest of the event. 

PCSA LEADERSHIP

The leadership of the PCSA reflects our interdisciplinary approach, representing each of the disciplines of Theology, Philosophy, Architecture, Art and Music.

ARCHITECTURE

Architectural design establishes the character of a church building, organizes how people move and gather in (and around) the building, and creates a spatial and visual hierarchy which orients occupants to what is important. The Architecture of a church must avoid banality and ugliness, and be graceful, beautiful, and attractive, creating a sense of joy and awe, compelling all to stay and contemplate the physical surroundings as a sign pointing to God as the true perfect object of contemplation. It must integrate with and support a cohesive program of art, but also have an independent clarity that allows art to change as devotions change with each generation. It must have a serious and exalted character that is consistent with the best Sacred Music, and support qualities of sound appropriate to that music. Architecture is both an important part of the Liturgy and a supporting framework that allows all aspects of the Liturgy to be expressed fully.

Architecture is represented by:

Michael started church design as a career passion after having completed twenty years as design director and practice leader for Gensler, Leo A Daly, and other international design firms, across a broad range of large-scale projects from university buildings and libraries to commercial office buildings, government centers, hospitals and airports. Several teaching visits to Rome with his father, Dr. James Patrick, then founder and chancellor of The College of St. Thomas More in Ft. Worth, Texas, inspired him to leave the commercial world and start a firm with Eric Anderson dedicated to church and residential architecture. In 2014 Michael joined BVA, bringing the church practice with him, and continues that work as a Principal and Owner of the firm today.

SACRED ART

Within the context of the church building, sacred art turns men's minds devoutly toward God by presenting to them the truth of our faith in a language accessible to the senses. The foremost role of sacred art is to enrich the liturgy, specifically the liturgy of the eucharist, which is the source and summit of Christian life. The visual art of the liturgy is informed by the Incarnation, in which the invisible word of God became visible flesh, and the Paschal Mystery, in which Christ accomplishes the work of Salvation in a visible manner. Liturgical art signifies the presence of Christ and his Paschal Mystery to all who participate in the liturgy. Additionally, liturgical art provides a foretaste of the heavenly liturgy by representing our Blessed Mother, the angels and the saints who themselves reflect the beauty of Christ. Liturgical art communicates these spiritual realities using the materials and symbolic language of creation.

"The complete absence of images is incompatible with faith in the Incarnation of God. God has acted in history and entered into our ´sensible´ world, so that it may become transparent to him. Images of beauty, in which the mystery of the invisible God becomes visible, are an ´essential´ part of Christian worship".

- Pope Benedict XVI, The Spirit of the Liturgy

SACRED MUSIC

The relationship between sacred architecture and sacred music is foundational for the liturgical experience.  Sacred architecture, for its part, carves out from the City of Man, the City of God – a place set apart and sacred to the Lord.  Music, in kind, animates the space, giving voice to the very liturgical action itself.  Through these modes, time and space converge to frame the porta caeli, the gate of heaven.  Sacred music also helps to organize time within the sacred space, prompting the motion of the faithful, each according to the ritual order of the Church.  In this way, sacred music choreographs the Body of Christ in the living act of redemption, commemorated and realized in the sacred mysteries–especially in the Eucharistic Sacrifice.  Art, architecture, and music endow the created order with intimations of the transcendent.  Their ideals reach toward eternity – their spires, their crescendi – pointing us toward the new heaven and the new earth, where we will be redeemed by divine grace and transformed to share in the very life of the Trinity.

“The musical tradition of the universal Church is a treasure of inestimable value, greater even than that of any other art. The main reason for this pre-eminence is that, as sacred song united to the words, it forms a necessary or integral part of the solemn liturgy.”

- Pope Paul VI, Sacrosanctum Concilium: Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy

Timothy McDonnell is the Director of Sacred Music at Hillsdale College in Michigan.  He previously served as the Director of Choral Studies and the Institute of Sacred Music at The Catholic University of America, and the Director of Choral Activities at Ave Maria University.  Mr. McDonnell specializes in the performance of choral music both in concert and liturgical contexts, and is active as a composer.  His work has been recognized nationally, receiving awards in both choral conducting and composition from the American Prize Competition on several occasions.  As a professor, Dr. McDonnell is committed to providing students with the tools and vision to pursue beauty in their churches, schools, and communities.

THEOLOGY

“Matter matters” in the working out of Salvation on this earth.  As we know, the Sacraments of the Church each have a specific physical form, which is an outward sign of an unseen grace given to us by God.  It is also the case that every aspect of the physical environment of a Catholic church building has an obligation and opportunity to convey spiritual realities to our souls through our senses.  The Architects, Artists, and Musicians, and those entrusted with the development of the Liturgy of the Holy Mass, are all called by the Church to use their gifts to allow this tangible environment to guide us toward our hearts’ desire, everlasting life in the presence of God in heaven.

Since 2015, Father Edward C. Hathaway has served as the Rector of the Basilica of Saint Mary in Alexandria, Virginia. He attended Saint Charles Borromeo Seminary in Wynnewood, Pennsylvania, and was ordained May 18, 1991, by Arlington Bishop John R. Keating. His first assignment was as parochial vicar of Saint Michael Church in Annandale (1991-1995).

Father Hathaway also served as parochial vicar of Saint Andrew the Apostle Church in Clifton (1995-1999) and the Cathedral of Saint Thomas More in Arlington (1999-2000). He was pastor of Saint John the Beloved Church in McLean (2000-2005); Saint John the Baptist Church in Front Royal (2005-2007); and Saint Veronica Church in Chantilly (2007-2015).

PCSA STARS

The PCSA and its events would not be possible without the great help of a group of Graduate Students and Young Professionals from the School of Architecture at the Catholic University of America. The following, listed in alphabetical order, have helped create the web site, announcements, and other content of the PCSA, as well as assisted with social media and email outreach, and technical and organizational aspects of organizing the events:

Isabella DiBenedetti

David Lanetti

Elizabeth McCarthy

Sam Merklein

Patrick Suarez

Sebastian VanDerbeck

EMERITUS MEMBERS

The PCSA would like to recognize the following past members who have played a significant role in the development of the organization:

Eric Anderson

George Martin

Duncan Stroik