Ritual Void or Ritual Muddle? Deconsecration Rites of Roman Catholic Church Buildings

Kim De Wildt

doi:10.3390/rel11100517

Abstract

The decrease in people who regularly celebrate liturgy in western Europe has led to the question of what to do with so-called obsolete church buildings. This question not only refers to whether or not a church building will be converted, reused or demolished, but also to the question of whether or not such a building needs to be deconsecrated, and if so, what does deconsecration of a church building actually entail? In this contribution, I will consider the role deconsecration rites play in the Roman Catholic church when a church building is taken out of liturgical use. In Roman Catholic liturgy, there are no prescribed, official deconsecration rites that are mandatory for a church building that is to be taken out of liturgical use. The actual deconsecration of a church building is, according to canon law, established by a decree that is issued by the responsible diocesan bishop. In the case of a church being taken out of liturgical use, however, there seems to be a shift from having a ritual void with regard to deconsecration rites, and also a focus on the “legitimate” way (in the sense of canon law) to deconsecrate a church building (object orientation), towards, in recent decades, paying more attention to a growing pastoral need (subject orientation) for deconsecration rites. These new ritual initiatives can be regarded as forms of pastoral care intended to help parishioners cope with the loss of their church building. I will show that different interpretations of canon law articles complicate straightforward answers to the question of which arguments are legitimate to deconsecrate a church. Furthermore, I will address the “ritual muddle”, the mixture of the actual deconsecration act in the sense of canon law and deconsecration rites that, from the perspective of canon law, do not effect church deconsecration. I will also address the differentiation between desecration and deconsecration, address historical forms of deconsecration rites and pay attention to the making and unmaking of sacred space. Finally, I will focus on contemporary deconsecration rites against the background of the complex reality in which such rites are situated.

Highlights

Against the background of a decline in number of people who partake in regular liturgical celebrations, as well as a decline in church finances, the question of what to do with the surplus of church buildings has become a pressing matter for several decades in western Europe (De Wildt and Plum 2019)
I will focus on the deconsecration of Roman Catholic church buildings in the context of canon law (CIC/1983), with reference to the making and unmaking of sacred space, before I
When a Roman Catholic church is taken out of liturgical use, whether or not it is to be reused, or in fewer cases, demolished, usually the church building is desacralized by a formal act of deconsecration or profanation

Summary

Introduction

Against the background of a decline in number of people who partake in regular liturgical celebrations, as well as a decline in church finances, the question of what to do with the surplus of church buildings has become a pressing matter for several decades in western Europe (De Wildt and Plum 2019). When a Roman Catholic church is taken out of liturgical use, whether or not it is to be reused, or in fewer cases, demolished, usually the church building is desacralized by a formal act of deconsecration or profanation This specific aspect of “changing” the status of a sacred space into that of a profane or secular space can be read against the background of the recent transformations of sacred space that take place in western Europe (De Wildt et al 2019). In my contacts with people in the field, predominantly in West Germany, who are confronted with the prospect of their church being reused and who are responsible for the process of taking a church out of liturgical use, many of the questions they ask are about deconsecration In these conversations, a need to know how to deconsecrate a church, in the sense of canon law, is still expressed. In order to answer the question how to undo the sacredness of a church building, we first have to redirect our attention to the question: how does a church building become sacred according to canon law?

The “Sacredness” of Church Buildings

The “Sacredness” of the Altar

The “Unmaking” of Sacred Space

Procedures and Reality

Deconsecration Rites