SAINTE BERNADETTE DU BANLAY CHURCH BY CLAUDE PARENT & PAUL VIRILIO
the SAINTE BERNADETTE DU BANLAY church in nevers, france, which was built in 1966 and made from raw concrete, was designed by CHAPTER006 contributor CLAUDE PARENT and CHAPTER004 contributor Paul Virilio.
In an exclusive interview in CHAPTER006, PARENT says
[...Sainte Bernadette du Banlay church in Nevers was my first work with Paul Virilio. It raised every possible abuse, but now it is appreciated. I went to a mass there just before the holiday; it was the anniversary of the death of the priest who helped us to make it come true, against his hierarchy. We had everyone against us, people from the town, people from the church, no one wanted it— until this priest, who was to become the abbot of the parish, in a poor area of Nevers, understood what we were getting at.
Instead of building a church like is usually done, with the emphasis on length, we did it with width. that’s something I had thought of since the days I used to go to church. As I was always late, there was no more room and I had to watch the mass from the back entrance. Even when there was a lot of room at the front no one dared go through the church in the middle of mass to sit there. I thought it was completely silly. And the priest’s body language was restricted; I used to say his movements were like those of a conjurer, a magician, because no one could see them. When people go to the altar and then from the altar to where the host is distributed there needs to be a movement in width for all the faithful to see it.
The slopes we used— they allowed people to see what was going on along the altar as well as within the crowd. When you’re surrounded by a crowd, you only see the 10 people around you, you feel confined, overwhelmed, and you don’t feel part of a community. Whereas when you’re on a slope, whether downward or upward, people are staggered and you see that you belong to an inclusive event, which brings you together with people. The bishop was known for being very strict and austere, still wearing the cassock. One day I brought him mail to the diocese, and as I left I asked him, ‘My Lord, what of our proposed church? You don’t mention it anymore’, and he said, ‘don’t worry too much about it’. That’s all he said! There were two churches in the plans and I later found out that he had demanded that our church be built first...]
/ photography by LUKE MAYES
A PREVIEW OF the feature is ONLINE / ENTIRE ARTICLE ONLY IN THE PRINTED EDITION OF SOME/THINGS MAGAZINE CHAPTER006 / THE DARK LABYRINTH
In an exclusive interview in CHAPTER006, PARENT says
[...Sainte Bernadette du Banlay church in Nevers was my first work with Paul Virilio. It raised every possible abuse, but now it is appreciated. I went to a mass there just before the holiday; it was the anniversary of the death of the priest who helped us to make it come true, against his hierarchy. We had everyone against us, people from the town, people from the church, no one wanted it— until this priest, who was to become the abbot of the parish, in a poor area of Nevers, understood what we were getting at.
Instead of building a church like is usually done, with the emphasis on length, we did it with width. that’s something I had thought of since the days I used to go to church. As I was always late, there was no more room and I had to watch the mass from the back entrance. Even when there was a lot of room at the front no one dared go through the church in the middle of mass to sit there. I thought it was completely silly. And the priest’s body language was restricted; I used to say his movements were like those of a conjurer, a magician, because no one could see them. When people go to the altar and then from the altar to where the host is distributed there needs to be a movement in width for all the faithful to see it.
The slopes we used— they allowed people to see what was going on along the altar as well as within the crowd. When you’re surrounded by a crowd, you only see the 10 people around you, you feel confined, overwhelmed, and you don’t feel part of a community. Whereas when you’re on a slope, whether downward or upward, people are staggered and you see that you belong to an inclusive event, which brings you together with people. The bishop was known for being very strict and austere, still wearing the cassock. One day I brought him mail to the diocese, and as I left I asked him, ‘My Lord, what of our proposed church? You don’t mention it anymore’, and he said, ‘don’t worry too much about it’. That’s all he said! There were two churches in the plans and I later found out that he had demanded that our church be built first...]
/ photography by LUKE MAYES
A PREVIEW OF the feature is ONLINE / ENTIRE ARTICLE ONLY IN THE PRINTED EDITION OF SOME/THINGS MAGAZINE CHAPTER006 / THE DARK LABYRINTH