Priest to be honored for efforts to improve art and architecture

Fifty years ago, in recognition of the growing interest in art, architecture and worship spaces in churches throughout the country, The College of Saint Rose in Albany hosted a national conference on the liturgical arts.

Rev. Thomas Phelan, a priest of the Albany Diocese, was the driving force behind that seminal event. On August 16, the diocesan Architecture and Building Commission will salute his half-century of efforts by sponsoring "Living Stones: Holy Places for Holy People" at the Hubbard Sanctuary at Saint Rose.

The keynote address -- "New Wine in Old Skins: Breathing New Life Into Our Church Buildings" -- will be given by Rev. Lawrence J. Madden, SJ, director of the Georgetown Center for Liturgy and the Arts in Washington, D.C.

Art and worship

Father Madden, who has been involved in the "form and reform" movement regarding art and architecture for 30 years, told The Evangelist that his experiences as a campus minister and pastor were instrumental in his becoming involved in this field.

"I was director of campus ministry at Georgetown University in 1971, when the college decided to renovate the chapel. This was a very important and interesting work at the time," he said.

Later, as pastor of Holy Trinity parish, where the oldest Catholic Church building in the Washington area is located, he was involved in another extensive renovation process.

New movement

During that time, he said, the "form and reform" movement was gaining momentum on a national scale.

"A lot of thought was given to worship space after the Second Vatican Council" in the 1960s, Father Madden explained. "All of a sudden, altars were facing the congregation; and, for the first time, people were actually involved in the liturgy and were not just spectators. The idea [of the movement] was that those who participate in liturgy will come away from that spiritual experience transformed and satisfied.

"It is important that we can enter into liturgical activity completely. The liturgy is our first school of spirituality, the center of our worship. The space that is our place of worship is extremely important because it represents our faith experience, what we believe and how we experience community."

Taken into account

Father Madden noted that the "form and reform" movement takes into account not only the ancient symbols of Catholicism but also such considerations as lighting, acoustics, energy conservation and surroundings.

"These are all important and necessary to optimum participation and to what the individual will take away from that worship experience," he said.

In addition to his keynote, Father Madden will lead workshops on how the General Instruction of the Roman Missal affects worship settings.

(Rev. Thomas Phelan, now retired, was long associated with Christ Sun of Justice parish on the campus of RPI in Troy, and the Chapel and Cultural Center there. He was also a dean at the college.)

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