‘Catholic Branding’ , 20 Dec 2016

In our ‘Catholic Branding’ trip we were able to observe the way the Catholic religion claimed space and how some of these ‘catholic’ spaces are reused and reinterpreted in a different way.

The Oudenbosch Basilica
: a 150 year old copy to a scale 1:2 of the St. Pieter basilic in the Vatican in Rome.

We couldn’t have had a better guide for this church! The guide told us about the history of this building and shared interesting details, one of his family members’ face would’ve been painted inside the dome. He actually participated in building this church by moving Belgian bricks to the church. Thanks to his passion for this church, I memorize this space very lively and special rather than only the replica building of a Basilica.

Maria Grotto in St. Willebrord (copy of the original religious site in Lourdes, France)

This Grotto is also a replica, but it represents the real believes and wishes of the local people.I didn’t think it was the most beautiful replica I’ve ever seen but I see the value it has for people that find this place meaningful.
Mission Museum Steyl

In this museum, you can see all kinds of animals and props from different cultures collected by missionaries. It was a surprising collection!
Selexyz Maastricht and Het Kruisherenhotel in Maastricht

In Maastricht we visited 2 churches that are being reused for a different purpose. The first one is now a beautiful bookshop, called Selexyz Maastricht. You can still see the original elements of the church. You can feel a very special atmosphere caused by the combination of the different functions of the building. Church and bookshop, both represented in the same space.

After that we visited a design hotel located in an old church, called ‘Het Kruisherenhotel’. The brass entrance was really impressive. The manager showed us around. The 15th century gothic church it used to be got transformed into a unique design hotel. This hotel preserved the original structure and elements of the church. The building felt very luxurious and special. At the end of the tour, we got coffee and traditional fruits pie.

It was interesting to visit the two transformed churches. Both are trying to keep the original structure and both reused the buildings in a different way.
Hans van der Laan’s St.-Benedictusberg monastery.

After a short visit to Maastricht’s Chistmas market, we visited the St.-Benedictusberg monastery for the Latin mass and for the building of Dutch monk and architect van der Laan. We were aloud to visit the crypt of the monastery before the mass. I thought the monastery would be a Gothic, old small church, but it looked totally different. It was a very modern and simple building. There weren’t any exaggerated ornaments or huge elements, but only neutral colored structures and minimalized furniture (also designed by vd Laan). But still, you could feel a kind of sublime, religious feeling and calmness. I thought it was beautiful. I wanted to know more about vd Laan’s architecture and ways to pray.Finally, we attended the Latin mass in the abbey of the monastery. Here is the link for vd Laan’s architecture and philosophy (available in English) http://www.vanderlaanstichting.nl/en/domhansvanderlaan/approachanddiscoveries.