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Views from the Choir Loft

Lighting Up Façades

Fr. David Friel · December 13, 2015

EVERAL WEEKS AGO, following the terrorist attacks in Paris, people began various efforts to show solidarity with the victims and with the French people. Americans were in a unique position to sympathize, having experienced for ourselves the devastating effects of terrorism in our country.

One such display took place at the Lits Building here in Philadelphia. A classic example of Renaissance revival architecture, the building first housed the Lit Brothers department store in 1891. It has changed hands over time, but the façade of the building remains essentially unchanged (and quite beautiful).

To support the people of Paris, the building was lit up in blue, white, and red. Similar displays occurred on landmarks throughout the world, including the Eiffel Tower, Jerusalem’s Old City walls, the Tokyo Skytree, London Bridge, the Cristo Redentor statue in Brazil, and at least 30 or so other places. Even many Facebook profile pictures were tinted blue, white, and red.

These displays were, in my estimation, a good idea—gestures of affirmation and compassion in the wake of a terrible tragedy.

UITE DIFFERENT was the light show displayed recently on the façade of St. Peter’s Basilica. I agree with the position of my fellow blogger, Andrew Leung, that this was a wholly inappropriate usage of a sacred space.

What harm does something like this do, one might ask? First, it helps to erode our corporate understanding of the distinction between sacred and secular. This is not an insignificant point in an age that is so given to secularism.

Secondly, while it is true that nothing we do can “hurt” God, it is equally true that we are very capable of offending God. If anyone doubts this, simply recite the Act of Contrition or read the passage about Jesus clearing out the Temple (Matthew 21:12-17).

If the cleansing of the Temple is too familiar or seems too cliché, then read Daniel, chapter 5 to see how the Lord reacted to the way King Belshazzar used the gold & silver that his father, Nebuchadnezzar, had looted from the Temple in Jerusalem (Cliff’s notes version = it resulted in the unceremonious fall of his kingdom). The Bible is quite clear that the reservation of sacred things for that which is sacred is a serious matter.

It is worth mentioning that the recent light show at the Vatican is not the first occasion on which a church building has been misused. Far more egregious than the display on St. Peter’s was the light & sound show that was staged for many years inside the Notre-Dame Basilica in Montréal, one of the most stunning church buildings I have ever seen. The light display was called “And Then There Was Light.” The performances there ceased in August 2014, but apparently only because the creators are working on a new version of the show.

I love lights and I love theater. In fact, I ran spotlight and light boards for two years in high school as a member of the stage crew, before I decided to join the cast for the next two years. The difference is that our high school shows were in an auditorium designed for performances. None of this type of thing—no matter how well intentioned—belongs in a church building.

T ISSUE HERE is a fundamental misunderstanding of what a church building is. Church buildings, for Catholics, are never merely meetinghouses; they are not simply bricks & mortar; they are not lecture halls or concert halls or fellowship halls. A fuller treatment of the nature & purpose of church buildings can be seen here.

A Catholic church building is always an image of the living Body of Christ. Catholic churches exist as places wherein the sacrifice of Christ may be renewed. They ought not to be treated as houses of entertainment, but as houses of prayer. They ought not to be treated as projection screens, but as places where the veil between heaven & earth is drawn back.

Lighting up the Lits Building to show solidarity with France was a good thing. Showing a movie on St. Peter’s Basilica was not.

Opinions by blog authors do not necessarily represent the views of Corpus Christi Watershed.

Filed Under: Articles Tagged With: Sacred Architecture, Secular vs Sacred Music at Mass Last Updated: January 1, 2020

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About Fr. David Friel

Ordained in 2011, Father Friel is a priest of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia and serves as Director of Liturgy at Saint Charles Borromeo Seminary. —(Read full biography).

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Corpus Christi Watershed

President’s Corner

    Luis Martínez Must Go!
    Sevilla Cathedral (entry dated 13 December 1564): The chapter orders Luis Martínez, a cathedral chaplain, to stay away from the choirbook-stand when the rest of the singers gather around it to sing polyphony—the reason being that “he throws the others out of tune.” [Excerpt from “The Life of Father Francisco Guerrero.”]
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    Urgent! • We Desperately Need Funds!
    A few days ago, the president of Corpus Christi Watershed posted this urgent appeal for funds. Please help us make sure we’re never forced to place our content behind a paywall. We feel it’s crucial that 100% of our content remains free to everyone. We’re a tiny 501(c)3 public charity, entirely dependent upon the generosity of small donors. We have no endowment and no major donors. We run no advertisements and have no savings. We beg you to consider donating $4.00 per month. Thank you!
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    “Booklet of Eucharistic Hymns” (16 pages)
    I was asked to create a booklet for my parish to use during our CORPUS CHRISTI PROCESSION on 22 June 2025. Would you be willing to look over the DRAFT BOOKLET (16 pages) I came up with? I tried to include a variety of hymns: some have a refrain; some are in major, others in minor; some are metered, others are plainsong; some are in Spanish, some are in Latin, but most are in English. Normally, we’d use the Brébeuf Hymnal—but we can’t risk having our congregation carry those heavy books all over the city to various churches.
    —Jeff Ostrowski

Quick Thoughts

    Pope Pius XII Hymnal?
    Have you ever heard of the Pope Pius XII Hymnal? It’s a real book, published in the United States in 1959. Here’s a sample page so you can verify with your own eyes it existed.
    —Corpus Christi Watershed
    “Hybrid” Chant Notation?
    Over the years, many have tried to ‘simplify’ plainsong notation. The O’Fallon Propers attempted to simplify the notation—but ended up making matters worse. Dr. Karl Weinmann tried to do the same in the time of Pope Saint Pius X by replacing each porrectus. You can examine a specimen from his edition and see whether you agree he complicated matters. In particular, look at what he did with éxsules fílii Hévae.
    —Corpus Christi Watershed
    Antiphons Don’t Match?
    A reader wants to know why the Entrance and Communion antiphons in certain publications deviate from what’s prescribed by the GRADUALE ROMANUM published after Vatican II. Click here to read our answer. The short answer is: the Adalbert Propers were never intended to be sung. They were intended for private Masses only (or Masses without music). The “Graduale Parvum,” published by the John Henry Newman Institute of Liturgical Music in 2023, mostly uses the Adalbert Propers—but sometimes uses the GRADUALE text: e.g. Solemnity of Saints Peter and Paul (29 June).
    —Corpus Christi Watershed

Random Quote

“The only really effective apologia for Christianity comes down to two arguments: namely, the _saints_ the Church has produced and the _art_ which has grown in her womb.”

— Josef Cardinal Ratzinger (Interview, 1985)

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Corpus Christi Watershed is a 501(c)3 public charity dedicated to exploring and embodying as our calling the relationship of religion, culture, and the arts. This non-profit organization employs the creative media in service of theology, the Church, and Christian culture for the enrichment and enjoyment of the public.

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