Sanctuary Makeover

at Our Lady of Grace

Our project began with the recognition that the goal was not to accomplish an extensive sanctuary renovation, but rather a sanctuary makeover which is limited to altering or adding specific elements to our current sanctuary to enhance the sacredness of the space and its ability to communicate the nature of the Mass. In this way, we would avoid the high cost, significant investment of time, and extensive impact on the use of the church space that a full-scale renovation would demand. Still, we hope that a full renovation might happen in the future.

Our primary goal was to create a sanctuary whose elements are proportionate, balanced, and seamlessly fit with current design features of the church. You will notice that many elements from the woodwork around the windows, the altar, the ambo, and the arch on the sanctuary wall are integrated into the new features.

In addition, great attention was paid to the functional use of the space, being sure that it will accommodate the liturgical movements of the Mass and other sacraments, provide space for decorating, and satisfy other practical needs.

The altar is the focal point of the action that is the Eucharistic celebration. The priest, in the name of Jesus, our great high priest, prays from the altar, which reminds us that Jesus offered the perfect sacrifice, himself, to reconcile us with the Father. This altar, sometimes referred to as the table, also recalls that Jesus instituted a divine meal that unites and nourishes his disciples.

The altar will be brought to the actual center of the sanctuary so that it might “occupy a place where it is truly the center toward which the attention of the whole congregation of the faithful naturally turns” (GIRM, paragraph 299).

The surface of the current altar will be both widened and made more shallow.

In addition, we will seek to incorporate several suitable relics in the altar, which will come from saints whose lives have particular meaning or application to all of the communities represented in our diverse parish.

- General Instruction to the Roman Missal, §296

All groups need leadership (e.g. coaches for teams, conductors for orchestras). In a somewhat similar way, the priest draws the assembly into a single action of praise and worship to God, each minister, prayer, and action contributing to the sublime whole. The configuration of the worship space highlights each role including that of the priest.

Proposed changes of the seating would bring the priest’s chair from behind the ambo to the opposite side of the altar and angled to the center. This positions the priest to easily adjust his posture when addressing the assembly as designated in the rubrics but also allow him to visibly shift his focus to the ambo when the Word is proclaimed, indicating that all should redirect their attention as well. The present arrangement of having servers sit next to the priest is now discouraged and we propose to have servers sit against the back wall, on either side of the sanctuary, according to the role they will serve. These changes allow for a smoother flow between the liturgical movements of the priest and others serving in the sanctuary.

- General Instruction to the Roman Missal, §310

The Eucharist is the greatest treasure of the Church. It is the real presence of the Lord Jesus, body, blood, soul, and divinity. At Mass, the Real Presence of Christ in the Sacrament integrates us into his sacrifice, nourishes our souls with the Bread of Life, and binds us more closely into unity with one another.

However, the reservation of the Eucharist serves another purpose: it permits the practice of adoration, which draws people into a fuller celebration of the Mass itself (Redemptionis Sacramentum 129).

With the sanctuary makeover, the tabernacle will be placed in in the sanctuary, following the directives from current liturgical documents (e.g. that it be “readily visible to everyone entering the church” [Sacramentum Caritatis 69]) and the judgment of our diocesan bishop (cf. GIRM 315). The exact placement within the sanctuary was discussed extensively. For both practical and theological reasons, the committee agreed that placing the tabernacle in the middle of the sanctuary, atop an altar of repose that is worthy of the dignity of the Eucharist, would be most functional and appropriate for the space.

- General Instruction to the Roman Missal, §314

A larger cross, we hope, will effectively draw the assembly into the celebration of the sacrifice of the Lord on the cross, which is made present again in the Mass. In addition, the corpus that was chosen for the cross depicts a living Christ, with his gaze turned toward heaven in a look of acceptance and prayer.

Since the altar of repose and tabernacle will take the place of the current processional cross in the middle of the sanctuary wall, it will no longer be possible to have a large cross in the center of the sanctuary that doubles as a processional cross. Instead, a stationary cross with the image of Jesus crucified will be affixed to the sanctuary wall, above the altar of repose and tabernacle and below the rose window. A smaller processional cross, which is able to be carried more easily by an altar server, will be used in place of the current processional cross. A suitable place on campus will be found to display the processional cross that has been utilized at our parish for decades and has become dear to the hearts of many parishioners.

- General Instruction to the Roman Missal, §308

Above all, since in the Mass, we are drawn up to heaven and participate in the one heavenly liturgy, where the angels and saints adore the Father, with Jesus himself acting as high priest, the images of the saints in the sanctuary remind us that we are “surrounded by a great cloud of witnesses [the saints]” (Hebrews 12:1) whenever we attend Mass. Our desire is to enhance the sanctuary so that it may direct the hearts and minds of the faithful to the heavenly liturgy each and every time they gather in praise and glory of the Father, Son, and Spirit.

In order to foster the veneration of the faithful, the committee has proposed to place the images of Mary and Joseph in the sanctuary in keeping with recommendations set forth in the church’s documents, “being particularly careful to see that the sacred furnishings worthily and beautifully serve the dignity of worship” (Sacrosanctum Concilium 122).

- General Instruction to the Roman Missal, §318

Moving the tabernacle from the current Blessed Sacrament chapel to the main sanctuary has, as an unfortunate side-effect, the loss of an intimate place of prayer with Jesus in the Eucharist. In order to address this concern and to offer a private and quiet place of prayer with the Eucharistic Lord, we plan to move the tabernacle from the Blessed Sacrament Chapel to the Annunciation Chapel, adding a second place of reservation of the Blessed Sacrament on our campus (though apart from the main church).

Details of this plan involve the following: the vault-style tabernacle we currently own will be encased with oak, instead of the current marble casing, and placed atop a tabernacle pedestal in the middle of the chapel. In addition, since the current crucifix in the chapel would interfere with the placement of the tabernacle, it needs either to be moved or replaced; the doors of the Annunciation chapel would need to be kept closed to maintain reverence and quiet. Finally, per safe environment protocols, windows would need to be added to the chapel entry doors.

- Eucharisticum Mysterium, §2