This book serves to shed some light on several controversial questions about contemporary interventions on religious heritage buildings. In the mid-1960s, a process of renewal of Catholic churches began, which sought to respond to the liturgical modifications implemented during the Vatican II (1962-65). Fifty years later, this process continues to be problematic in buildings with a high heritage or historical value. From an operational point of view, it is stimulating to revisit the most relevant architectures at the international level, those high-impact works that were generated thanks to an open and serene dialogue between principals, architects, users, artists and patrimonial leaders. Thus, it is essential to know the criteria that have supported interventions, whether legal (both ecclesiastical and civil), architectural, artistic, liturgical or pastoral. In this sense, what references could be used at a time like ours? How can we reform what has already been reformed?

This book introduces important reflections on understanding the meaning of cultural-religious heritage in an international context and their relationship with issues of sustainability at the local community level. Through a holistic approach, the book charts new courses in analyzing different cultural policies and methods for preserving and enhancing cultural heritage. Stemming from an intercultural seminar promoted by the International Scientific Committee Places of Religion and Ritual (ICOMOS PRERICO) under the theme of “Reuse and regenerations of cultural-religious heritage in the world: Comparison among cultures,” the book examines the scientific diplomacy and cultural strategies promoted by countries in dialogue with the UN 2030 Agenda, as well as Agenda 21 for Culture. The book seeks to reinforce the value of local cultural policies for supporting and enhancing cultural-religious heritage through specific programs and collaborations in dialogue with government policies. This collection is relevant to scholars working in areas relating to cultural heritage, religious heritage, architectural restoration, protection of the local inheritances, law, and management of the cultural sites.

Introduction: Thinking about religious space : an introduction to approaches / Jeanne Halgren Kilde -- Conceptualizing space and place : genealogies of change in the study of religion / Juan E. Campo -- Hermeneutics of space : sacred space / Michael J. Crosbie -- Urbanism and religious space / Paul-François Tremlett -- Shared space, or mixed? / Robert M. Hayden -- Decommissioning and reuse of liturgical architectures : historical processes and temporal dimensions / Andrea Longhi -- The impermanence of religious space : three approaches to change in the American religioscape / Jeanne Halgren Kilde -- Planetary identities : globalization, climate change and meaning-making practices / Whitney A. Bauman -- Whose place is it? Layers of community and meaning in the land of Shinto and power spots / Caleb Carter -- Religious place/space in premodern China / Wei-Cheng Lin -- National treasures vs. alien species : religious spaces, raccoons, and national identity in contemporary Japan / Barbara R. Ambros -- Visualizing Himalayan Buddhist sacred sites in 3D/VR : pedagogy and partnership / Lauren Leve and Bradley Erickson -- Form and function in the ancient synagogue : evidence from the second to seventh centuries in Palestine and the diaspora / Marilyn J. Chiat -- A little bit of evil : Masjid Kufa in Early Twelver Shi'ism / Najam Haider -- Mediated spaces of collective ritual : sacred selfies at the Hajj / Nadia Caidi and Mariam Karim -- (In)visible priorities : epigraphic power and identity at a Jordanian state mosque / David Simonowitz -- Exploration of religious spaces in Western Africa : combining approaches to understand spaces / Daniel Dei -- Religious spaces as tourist sites in Ghana / Alice Matilda Nsiah -- Sacred space in 19th century Cape Town : mosque, city, landscape and a radical empiricism of the spatial / Ozayr Saloojee -- Mapping the spiritual Baptist universe : black Atlantic cosmography and the spatiality of spirit in Trinidad and Tobago / Brendan Jamal Thornton -- The spaces of Roman religion and Christianity in late antiquity / Béatrice Caseau Chevallier -- Presence and performance : Orthodox spaces of the Eastern Roman Empire / Amy Papalexandrou -- Remnants of Israel : Jewish spaces and landscapes in medieval and early modern Europe / Jessica Renee Streit and Barry L. Stiefel -- the religious landscape and its architecture in contemporary Europe / Esteban Fernández-Cobián -- Pre-Columbian and indigenous religious spaces in Mesoamerica / Brent K.S. Woodfill -- Protestant architecture in Latin America / Rodrigo Vidal Rojas -- Roman Catholic sacred space / Leonard Norman Primiano -- Protestant spaces in North America / David R. Bains -- Eastern Orthodox spaces in America / Nicholas Denysenko -- Diasporic sacred spaces : the case of boundary making at an American Sufi shrine / Merin Shobhana Xavier -- Women's mosques : spaces to rethink gender and religious authority / Irum Shiekh -- Sites of miracles and other holy places : the Santuario de Chimayó as case study / Brett Hendrickson -- Situating the dead : cemeteries as material, symbolic, and relational space / Avril Madrell and Brenda Mathijssen -- Fundament and abyss : public religion at the Berlin Holocaust Memorial / David Lê.

In So What’s New about Scholasticism? thirteen international scholars gauge the extraordinary impact of a religiously inspired conceptual framework in a modern society. The essays that are brought together in this volume reveal that Neo-Thomism became part of contingent social contexts and varying intellectual domains. Rather than an ecclesiastic project of like-minded believers, Neo-Thomism was put into place as a source of inspiration for various concepts of modernization and progress. This volume reconstructs how Neo-Thomism sought to resolve disparities, annul contradictions and reconcile incongruent, new developments. It asks the question why Neo-Thomist ideas and arguments were put into play and how they were transferred across various scientific disciplines and artistic media, growing into one of the most influential master-narratives of the twentieth century. Edward Baring, Dries Bosschaert, James Chappel, Adi Efal-Lautenschläger, Rajesh Heynickx, Sigrid Leyssen, Christopher Morrissey, Annette Mülberger, Jaume Navarro, Herman Paul, Karim Schelkens, Wim Weymans and John Carter Wood reconstruct a bewildering, yet decipherable thought-structure that has left a deep mark on twentieth century politics, philosophy, science and religion.

The perfect gift! A specially priced, beautifully designed hardcover edition of The Joy of the Gospel with a foreword by Robert Barron and an afterword by James Martin, SJ. “The joy of the gospel fills the hearts and lives of all who encounter Jesus… In this Exhortation I wish to encourage the Christian faithful to embark upon a new chapter of evangelization marked by this joy, while pointing out new paths for the Church’s journey in years to come.” – Pope Francis This special edition of Pope Francis's popular message of hope explores themes that are important for believers in the 21st century. Examining the many obstacles to faith and what can be done to overcome those hurdles, he emphasizes the importance of service to God and all his creation. Advocating for “the homeless, the addicted, refugees, indigenous peoples, the elderly who are increasingly isolated and abandoned,” the Holy Father shows us how to respond to poverty and current economic challenges that affect us locally and globally. Ultimately, Pope Francis demonstrates how to develop a more personal relationship with Jesus Christ, “to recognize the traces of God’s Spirit in events great and small.” Profound in its insight, yet warm and accessible in its tone, The Joy of the Gospel is a call to action to live a life motivated by divine love and, in turn, to experience heaven on earth. Includes a foreword by Robert Barron, author of Catholicism: A Journey to the Heart of the Faith and James Martin, SJ, author of Jesus: A Pilgrimage

Meeting House Essays in a series of papers reflecting on the mystery, beauty and practicalities of the place of worship. This popular series was begun in 1991, and each resource focuses on a particular aspect of space, design or materials and how they relate to the liturgy.

Fifty years after the Second Vatican Council, architectural historian Robert Proctor examines the transformations in British Roman Catholic church architecture that took place in the two decades surrounding this crucial event. Inspired by new thinking in theology and changing practices of worship, and by a growing acceptance of modern art and architecture, architects designed radical new forms of church building in a campaign of new buildings for new urban contexts. A focussed study of mid-twentieth century church architecture, Building the Modern Church considers how architects and clergy constructed the image and reality of the Church as an institution through its buildings. The author examines changing conceptions of tradition and modernity, and the development of a modern church architecture that drew from the ideas of the liturgical movement. The role of Catholic clergy as patrons of modern architecture and art and the changing attitudes of the Church and its architects to modernity are examined, explaining how different strands of post-war architecture were adopted in the field of ecclesiastical buildings. The church building’s social role in defining communities through rituals and symbols is also considered, together with the relationships between churches and modernist urban planning in new towns and suburbs. Case studies analysed in detail include significant buildings and architects that have remained little known until now. Based on meticulous historical research in primary sources, theoretically informed, fully referenced, and thoroughly illustrated, this book will be of interest to anyone concerned with the church architecture, art and theology of this period.

“In the heart of this world, the Lord of life, who loves us so much, is always present. He does not abandon us, he does not leave us alone, for he has united himself definitively to our earth, and his love constantly impels us to find new ways forward. Praise be to him!” – Pope Francis, Laudato Si’ In his second encyclical, Laudato Si’: On the Care of Our Common Home, Pope Francis draws all Christians into a dialogue with every person on the planet about our common home. We as human beings are united by the concern for our planet, and every living thing that dwells on it, especially the poorest and most vulnerable. Pope Francis’ letter joins the body of the Church’s social and moral teaching, draws on the best scientific research, providing the foundation for “the ethical and spiritual itinerary that follows.” Laudato Si’ outlines: The current state of our “common home” The Gospel message as seen through creation The human causes of the ecological crisis Ecology and the common good Pope Francis’ call to action for each of us Our Sunday Visitor has included discussion questions, making it perfect for individual or group study, leading all Catholics and Christians into a deeper understanding of the importance of this teaching.

The fifth volume of The Oxford History of British & Irish Catholicism—covering the period from the Great War, through the Second World War and the Second Vatican Council—surveys the transformed ecclesial landscape between the papacies of Benedict XV and Pope Francis. It explores the efforts of bishops, priests and people in Ireland and Scotland, Wales and England to respond to modern challenges and reintegrate the experiences and expertise of the laity into the ministry of the Church. Alongside the twentieth century's designation as an era of technological innovation, war, peace, globalization, decolonization and liberation, this period has also been designated 'the People's Century'. Viewed through the lens of the Catholic church in Britain and Ireland, these same dynamics are explored within thematic, synoptic chapters by leading scholars. As a century characterized by the rise, or better renewal of the apostolate of the laity, this edited collection traces the struggles to reconcile tradition, re-evaluate hierarchical authority, adapt to social and educational mobility, as well as to adjudicate serious challenges from outside and within—including inflammatory biopolitics and clerical sexual abuse—to religious belief and the legitimacy of the Church as an institution.

Sacrosanctum Concilium opened the door to all Christians to understand the contemporary challenge to their life and health, and it started with the reform of the liturgy. In the words of Paul VI the liturgy is the 'first source of life communicated to us, the first school of our spiritual life, the first gift we can give to Christian people by our believing and praying, and the first invitation to the world.' That is surely true for all of us.