On Thursday, February 2nd, 2023, our team gathered for the private dedication of the new St. Charles Borromeo Catholic Church in Visalia, CA. The Most Reverend Joseph V. Brennan, D.D., Bishop of the Diocese of Fresno, led this long-awaited celebration.
Liturgical Designer Rolf Rohn was brought on early in the project to design the programming, schematic design, and art for what is now the largest Catholic parish church in North America, with seating for up to 3,200. His challenge was to define the goals of the four different church groups that would be consolidated into one parish, with collective imagery that is meaningful to all. Artists, supervised by Rolf, worked with Father Alex Chávez, pastor; Monsignor Patrick McCormick; and the building committee over several months, tweaking the hand-drawn images numerous times just to get them right. After almost 390 renderings and a 3D model of a retablo, this new sacred space now combines Mission-style simplicity with Renaissance art to which each parish can connect.
The 50’ x 40’ retablo with life-size saints spanning time, countries, and lineage conveys important layers of actions expressing God's time in human history. There is a story behind each image in this sacred art, with close attention given to their facial expression, age, posture, garment, and even relationship to the entire composition. The curved wall of the sanctuary presented many challenges, requiring the perspectives and positions of the images to be changed several times during the development process. At the mural’s center is a powerful image of the Trinity, illustrated by one of our artists based on Rolf’s concept. A world-renowned Spanish sculptor then used this drawing to realize the details. Above the tabernacle, Latin words from Psalm 19 encompass the heart of the painting and church. They translate to “The Heavens show forth the glory of God, and the firmament declares the work of his hands.”
A vibrant dome featuring 10’ Evangelists and their symbols from the Book of Revelations set against the starry cosmos also reflects the vision of the parish. Angels herald the Latin words Sanctum, Unum, Catholicum, and Apostolicum, the treasured attributes of our universal Church: she is one, she is holy, she is Catholic, she is Apostolic. The dome, mural, and tabernacle paintings depict a particularly unique image of the heavens from the Hubble Telescope.
The narthex, the transition of the outer world into this sacred dwelling of God, contains four paintings representing the parish communities and their patron saints that merged to form the new church: Holy Family, The Nativity of Mary, St. Thomas the Apostle, and St. Charles Borromeo.
Rolf also designed all of the furniture to complement the interior and artwork, including the altar, ambo, tabernacle, tabernacle throne, and baptismal font. Italian stone artisans crafted the latter while the rest of the furniture was carved in Mexico with local Cantera stone. The altar, with a reliquary situated beneath it, also has five crosses to represent Christ’s sacrifice. The altar’s four pillars feature the three apostles to first offer mass and who were present at the Last Supper. Heaven meets earth in the tabernacle, or the Lamb of God. From the Ambo—marked with the Chi Ro symbol (Christ and the Incarnate Word), Greek Alpha and Omega letters (the beginning and the end), and two angels (God's messengers with trumpets)—the Word of God is declared. The baptismal font echoes the cruciform shape of the church. The upper basin contains five gold crosses symbolizing the wounds of Christ and the grace he obtained for us. The lower basin depicts the Holy Spirit, who descends in Baptism from God to dwell in our hearts.
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