A new church for the New Church…
Church of the Squashed Mushroom?
St. James the Apostle Parish in Ferrara, Italy
Don’t be deceived: The outside of the church is the pretty part!
It’s time again for one of those “ugly Novus Ordo church building” posts. Thanks to the “Great Renewal” of the Vatican II Sect, there is a sheer endless supply of material.
Today we shall look at the parish of St. James the Apostle (San Giacomo Apostolo) in the Archdiocese of Ferrara-Comacchio, Italy. The diocese is currently led by Archlayman Gian Carlo Perego, chosen for this role by “Pope” Francis in 2017.
In 2010, the Italian Novus Ordo Bishops’ Conference commissioned the architectural firm of Miralles Tagliabue EMBT for the design of a new church building on the outskirts of Ferrara. Construction began in 2016, and what you see above is the finished product.
According to the web site Arquitectura Viva (“Living Architecture”), this “new place of worship radially unfurls a series of parabolic vaults and makes them converge in a skylight set high above the altar, over which also looms an enormous horizontal cross made of pieces of timber….” That’s a very exciting way to put it. Photos of the church interior tell a more somber story.
Before we get to the actual images, please be forewarned: What you are about to see, you will not be able to “un-see”. So, proceed at your own risk. (Unless otherwise noted, all images are screenshots taken from YouTube.)
Here we go:
(above image credit: Wikimedia Commons/Emilio2005/CC BY-SA 4.0)
(above image credit: Wikimedia Commons/Emilio2005/CC BY-SA 4.0)
It’s always amusing to see them add flowers to make it look pretty, no?
If that is what “living” architecture looks like, one would hate to see the dead kind.
But hey! Don’t be so quick to judge now. The “high altar” (that’s the boulder in the pictures) faces east, so Jimmy Akin or Dave Armstrong would tell you it’s actually a traditional setup.
Lots more pictures, which we cannot reproduce here for copyright reasons, can be found at the following links:
- Church of San Giacomo Apostolo (Architectural Record)
- San Giacomo Apostolo a Ferrara: pronta la chiesa progettata da Benedetta Tagliabue (Artribune)
- Brutalism: Ferrara Has A New “Church” (Gloria TV)
Oh, and then of course comes the sacred art. Or, as in this case, the “sacred art.” If this is sacred, there’s nothing left to be profane:
(above image credit: Wikimedia Commons/Emilio2005/CC BY-SA 4.0)
As far as what this “art” is supposed to depict, it’s probably best not to inquire. In any case, your guess is going to be as good as anyone else’s.
The official dedication ceremony took place on Oct. 16, 2021. It was approximately two-and-a-half hours long and can be watched in all its glory here (the fun begins at 1:19:05 into the video). “Abp.” Perego himself presided:
Are you depressed now? Don’t be. Instead, look at the bright side of things: Although the above images and the video clip are revolting and depressing, one can certainly use them for good. For example, trying to identify the various paraphernalia inside the church can make for a fun game for children and adults on a rainy Sunday afternoon. Challenging questions such as, “Is it art, or is it construction debris?” will keep even teenagers intrigued and entertained for hours. Opportunities for education also won’t be lacking. Anyone who may be wondering, “Why do they have to make bomb shelters so ugly?”, will find the answer quickly: They are modeled after Novus Ordo churches in order to provide the overwhelmingly “Catholic” population with familiar spiritual surroundings in the event of an air raid. An extra bonus: Any young adults in the family will gladly toss out their horror flicks after they’ve watched the dedication ceremony in the video above! What’s not to like?!
By the way, one of the architects clarified: “We were trying as much as possible not to imitate a church.”
Clearly, they succeeded.
Title image source: Wikimedia Commons (Emilio2005)
License: CC BY-SA 4.0
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