VATICAN - Planning and building God’s house. Contribution by Bishop Mauro Piacenza, President of the Pontifical Commission for the Cultural Heritage of the Church. “A place for liturgy”

Vatican City (Fides Service) - When Jesus asked his disciples to prepare for the last paschal supper he said: he [a man] will show you a large upper room furnished and ready. Make the preparations for us there.” (Mk 14, 15). For the institution of the Eucharist Jesus chooses the best room in a wealthy house. The rooms for worship made available by the more wealthy members of the first Christian communities were spacious, well lit halls on the upper floor, as we learn from the Acts of the Apostles (1, 13s; 5, 42 e 20, 7s) and archaeological monuments (domus ecclesiae on the Celio Hill in Rome).
After the Constantine peace, buildings for Christian worship with passing time reflected the Church’s self-awareness with regard to the outside world (cathedrals like fulcrum citizens, hermits in the desert, the parish a place for rural congregating etc.); similarly the internal arrangement of space was the image of her theological and spiritual self-understanding, with regard to the relation between liturgy and devotion, ordained ministers and the people of God, the inter-relation between sacramental poles, specially those for the celebration of the Eucharist, baptism and penance.
Above all liturgical space was planned in function of the centrality of the Eucharist and the presence of the assembly. Since the Church is the place where man encounters the divine Presence, every element must be symbolically connoted so it becomes “mystagogic” and may further understanding of the Mystery: the altar, the tabernacle, the lecturn , the baptistry, the priest’s chair, the confessional, through the chosen material, form and position can be bearers of a significance which transcends them (celebration of the Eucharistic sacrifice and Eucharistic meal, real permanent presence of the Lord, proclamation of the Word, immersion in the death and resurrection of Christ etc.) the same is true for space in relation to light and to the assembly it holds. These elements become “places” or spaces which are “liveable” and related to each other, just as the sacraments and liturgical actions celebrated in them are related to each other.
In this perspective also images present in church, on the walls or on furniture are not only of decorative value, they have a liturgical function. Therefore we can speak of mystagogic images for the presbyterium, which synthetically present the mystery of Christ (incarnation, passion, resurrection and second coming); didactical images for the hall of biblical subject and lastly devotional images (the Stations of the Cross, images of Christ, the Blessed Virgin Mary and the saints).
The ecclesiology of Vatican II, describes the Church as an assembly born from listening to the Word of God and built up by the Holy Spirit who confirms believers in Christ through the sacraments, an assembly which allows communion, is nourished in prayer and presents itself to the world as a sign of the salvation brought by Christ. Consequently the church building must be shaped by these principles.
First of all, since the Church is a body with many members, the church building must render visible both its articulation and its unity. The articulation of the People of God, constituted by the common priesthood and the ministerial priesthood, is explained with an opportune distinction between presbyterium and hall, meant not to separate but instead to express the different riches of the one priesthood of Christ; unity is underlined by connecting the presbyterium and the hall from where also the laity may enter.
Secondly since the liturgy is an action of the whole people of God, the arrangement of space should foster participation, so people may come and go, see and hear, move around inside especially in processions and in other ways foreseen in the liturgy. These requisites will affect the shape of the doorway, the plan of the hall and the arrangement of chairs for the assembly etc. Hence the need for appropriate spaces for processions and some moments of the celebration of the sacraments and sacramentals in spaces outside the presbyterium (baptism, matrimony, funerals etc.).  Mauro Piacenza, President Pontifical Commission for the Cultural Heritage of the Church, President of the Pontifical Commission for Sacred Archaeology. (Agenzia Fides 15/3/2006 - Righe 48, parole 647)