Sedes Guest: An Architectural Journey Through Modern churches

On the afternoon of 21^st May, following lunch, we had the privilege of welcoming a distinguished Sedes Guest: don Fernando López Arias, currently a professor at the Liturgical Institute of the Holy Cross -in the Pontifical University of the Holy Cross- and holder of a doctorate in Architecture. With ten modern churches as his guiding examples, don Fernando aided us to look at contemporary architectural works with fresh eyes and a more informed sensibility.

In his presentation don Fernando insisted that it is unwise to pass aesthetic judgment on any architectural work without first understanding the intention behind it. Drawing on each of his ten examples taken from different parts of the world -like the Cathedral church of the diocese of Brasilia and the Church of the Holy Family in Barcelona- don Fernando demonstrated how the meaning, coherence, and even the beauty of a building can only be properly appreciated once one grasps what its architect was striving to achieve. It was a timely reminder that architecture, and sacred architecture in particular, is never merely a visual experience, but a deeply intentional act of communication between the builder, the space, that particular community of believers and their relationship with God.