POPE FRANCIS AND LITURGICAL ARCHITECTURE

POPE FRANCIS AND LITURGICAL ARCHITECTURE

Did you see this story on Vatican News Pope: Design of sacred architecture must flow from Church’s liturgy – Vatican News:

Pope: Design of sacred architecture must flow from Church’s liturgy – As the Pontifical Academies held their 26th Public Session on Tuesday, Pope Francis reflected on the importance of sacred architecture, which formed the theme for this edition of the Public Session.

Among other things, we read: “Sacred architecture, said Pope Francis, “must seek to rediscover “symbolic language and be able to interpret it. … To have lost the capacity to grasp the symbolic value of the body and of every creature renders the symbolic language of the Liturgy almost inaccessible to the modern mentality,” he said, citing his Apostolic Letter. “And yet there can be no question of renouncing such language. It cannot be renounced because it is how the Holy Trinity chose to reach us through the flesh of the Word. It is rather a question of recovering the capacity to use and understand the symbols of the Liturgy.”

The story then names the 2022 winners for liturgical architecture: The gold medal was awarded to “OPPS Architettura” studio in Florence for its work to renovate a chapel in Rome belonging to the Foundation of Sts. Francis of Assisi and Catherine of Siena. The silver medal went to the architect Federica Frino for her project for a new church dedicated to St. Thomas in the central Italian city of Pontedera.

Are you curious yet about the 2022 masterpieces? Do you think the Pope has seen these? Might he have written a different message?

Click below to see images of the gold and silver prizes for liturgical architecture as awarded by the Pontifical Academies. Scroll down a bit to where it says: Alcune immagini del progetto dello studio OPPS Architettura – medaglia d’oro (Several images of the project of OPPS Architecture studios – the gold medal), Those 4 images are followed by photos of the silver medal by Federica Frino: Premio delle Pontificie Accademie 2022: a vincere è lo studio OPPS Architettura di Firenze – medaglia d’argento all’architetto Federica Frino (professionearchitetto.it)

I know! I was stunned as well!

WE ARE ALL CALLED TO BE APOSTLES!

I was delighted to learn that a friend, Archbishop Fortunatus Nwachukwu, will return to Rome after an absence of several years as an apostolic nuncio to a number of different countries. Pope Francis today named him the new Secretary of the Dicastery for Evangelization, as part of the Section for First Evangelization and the New Particular Churches.

We first met in late 2007 when he began serving in the Vatican as the Chief of Protocol of the Secretariat of State. In 2012, Benedict XVI had named him nuncio to Nicaragua and in ensuing years he served as nuncio to Trinidad and Tobago, Barbados, Dominica, Jamaica, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Vincent and Grenadines, and Guyana, Saint Lucia, Grenada, Bahamas, Suriname, and Belize.

The Nigerian-born prelate speaks English, Italian, German, French, Spanish, and Arabic. These languages definitely served him well in the protocol office where he met leaders from many nations around the world.

WE ARE ALL CALLED TO BE APOSTLES!

Pope Francis, at today’s general audience, held in St. Peter’s Square for the second week in a row, told the pilgrims in the square, “In our continuing catechesis on missionary zeal, we now consider the apostolic dimension of evangelization. In the Creed, we profess that the Church is ‘apostolic’.”

He explained that, “an ‘apostle’ is literally one who is ‘sent’. In the Scriptures, we read that Jesus chose the twelve Apostles, called them to himself and then sent them forth to proclaim the Gospel. After his resurrection, he appeared to the Twelve and said: ‘As the Father has sent me, so now I send you’, breathing upon them the Holy Spirit for the forgiveness of sins.”

Francis asked, “But are we aware that being apostles concerns every Christian? Are we aware that it concerns each one of us? Indeed, we are required to be apostles – that is, envoys – in a Church that, in the Creed, we profess as apostolic.”

“The experience of the Twelve apostles and the testimony of Paul also challenges us today,” continued the Holy Father. “They invite us to verify our attitudes, to verify our choices, our decisions, on the basis of these fixed points: everything depends on a gratuitous call from God; God also chooses us for services that at times seem to exceed our capacities or do not correspond to our expectations; the call received as a gratuitous gift must be answered gratuitously.”

He then explained that the Christian vocation “is a great thing because, although by the will of Christ some are in an important position, perhaps, doctors, ‘pastors and dispensers of mysteries on behalf of others, yet all share a true equality with regard to the dignity and to the activity common to all the faithful for the building up of the Body of Christ’.”

Francis, in concluding remarks, said, “Those who are ordained have received the mission of teaching, governing and sanctifying in Jesus’ name and authority, yet all the members of the faithful, as sharers in the Lord’s priestly, prophetic and regal office, are called to be missionary disciples, ‘apostles in an apostolic Church’. May the recognition of our common dignity and equality inspire us to ever greater unity and cooperation in proclaiming, by word and example, the good news of our salvation in Christ.”