What Do Church Buildings Teach Us?

Has anyone ever asked you why the Catholic Church has such extravagant cathedrals and basilicas? Sometimes this comes as an accusation: Why not use all that money for the poor? 

In fact, these buildings are for the poor because they are for everyone. Churches are architectural models of the cosmos as God has ordered it, with the altar and presence of our Lord at the center.

Not only by their incredible beauty do their illustrate our faith, the great church buildings of the Church also teach us by their structure, how they are organized. Each section of the buildings is designed to convey a certain meaning about either God, the Gospel or the life of the Church.

Want to learn more?

Angela Sealana interviewed Scott and Pam Carpenter, Principle Architects of the Seventh Generation Design architectural firm in San Antonio, Texas, on Catholicism Live! Wednesday, April 8, 2015.

For further learning, we invite you to read Angela’s contribution to our weekly blog The Pilgrim Log, entitled “What do Catholic church buildings teach us?”  It includes links to additional resources.