St. Paul's Church is a church dedicated to St.

Paul the Apostle Paul; grc, Παῦλος, translit=Paulos; cop, ⲡⲁⲩⲗⲟⲥ; hbo, פאולוס השליח (previously called Saul of Tarsus;; ar, بولس الطرسوسي; grc, Σαῦλος Ταρσεύς, Saũlos Tarseús; tr, Tarsuslu Pavlus; ...

located in the south of

Brugherio Brugherio (; in lmo, Brughee ) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Monza and Brianza in the Italian region Lombardy, located about northeast of Milan. It was established December 9, 1866 unifying the suppressed municipalities of Ba ...

. It is part of the pastoral community Epiphany of the Lord.

History

After the building of the district of Edilnord in the south of Brugherio, there was a need for a religious outlet for the residents of the new district. So, on spacious grounds donated by the Cazzaniga family, a pastoral center was built auxiliary to the main parish of Saint Bartholomew. At first, the community gathered in a large hall where all the sacred vessels were placed and which was perceived by the faithful more and more like a real church. In 1971, with the official recognition of the community as a parish, the first parish priest, Father Michele Raffo, came. In 1991 renovations began, giving the building the appearance of a church, both inside and outside.

Architecture

When the building was renovated, the most important and significant project concerned the

chancel In church architecture, the chancel is the space around the altar, including the choir and the sanctuary (sometimes called the presbytery), at the liturgical east end of a traditional Christian church building. It may terminate in an apse. Ove ...

. French sculptor Marie-Michèle Poncet was assigned to realize its main décor such

ambon Ambon may refer to: Places * Ambon Island, an island in Indonesia ** Ambon, Maluku, a city on Ambon Island, the capital of Maluku province ** Governorate of Ambon, a colony of the Dutch East India Company from 1605 to 1796 * Ambon, Morbihan, a co ...

altar An altar is a table or platform for the presentation of religious offerings, for sacrifices, or for other ritualistic purposes. Altars are found at shrines, temples, churches, and other places of worship. They are used particularly in paga ...

tabernacle According to the Hebrew Bible, the tabernacle ( he, מִשְׁכַּן, mīškān, residence, dwelling place), also known as the Tent of the Congregation ( he, link=no, אֹהֶל מוֹעֵד, ’ōhel mō‘ēḏ, also Tent of Meeting, etc.), ...

and

baptistery In Christian architecture the baptistery or baptistry (Old French ''baptisterie''; Latin ''baptisterium''; Greek , 'bathing-place, baptistery', from , baptízein, 'to baptize') is the separate centrally planned structure surrounding the baptismal ...

. The artist created her works in pink marble from Portugal; its formal and chromatic characteristics combined harmoniously with the red-green ''macchiavecchia'', a precious material from Switzerland, widely used in Ambrosian churches and for this chancel. Poncet was inspired by the meaning of the Christian cross, which was described by

Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II ( la, Ioannes Paulus II; it, Giovanni Paolo II; pl, Jan Paweł II; born Karol Józef Wojtyła ; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 1978 until his ...

as "the beginning of everything". She placed then, at the center of the altar, a cross that appears between two bearing blocks of marble and represents the creation, as well as the origin and core of life. The ambon is designated as "place of the Word". Its main features are two characters, placed facing one another: a

prophet In religion, a prophet or prophetess is an individual who is regarded as being in contact with a divine being and is said to speak on behalf of that being, serving as an intermediary with humanity by delivering messages or teachings from the s ...

, holding the

Tables of the Law According to the Hebrew Bible, the Tablets of the Law (also Tablets of Stone, Stone Tablets, or Tablets of Testimony; Biblical Hebrew: לוּחֹת הַבְּרִית ''lûḥōt habbǝrît'' "tablets of the covenant", לֻחֹת הָאֶבֶן ...

, who figures the

Old Testament The Old Testament (often abbreviated OT) is the first division of the Christian biblical canon, which is based primarily upon the 24 books of the Hebrew Bible or Tanakh, a collection of ancient religious Hebrew writings by the Israelites. The ...

, and an

evangelist Evangelist may refer to: Religion * Four Evangelists, the authors of the canonical Christian Gospels * Evangelism, publicly preaching the Gospel with the intention of spreading the teachings of Jesus Christ * Evangelist (Anglican Church), a c ...

who is the symbol of the

New Testament The New Testament grc, Ἡ Καινὴ Διαθήκη, transl. ; la, Novum Testamentum. (NT) is the second division of the Christian biblical canon. It discusses the teachings and person of Jesus, as well as events in first-century Christ ...

, carrying a cross. The position of the arms and bodies of the two draws an X, which represents the Christian cross. The shelf below the church tabernacle recalls an angel's wing, because the

Eucharist The Eucharist (; from Greek , , ), also known as Holy Communion and the Lord's Supper, is a Christian rite that is considered a sacrament in most churches, and as an ordinance in others. According to the New Testament, the rite was instit ...

is celebrated as "the bread of angels". The

baptismal font A baptismal font is an article of church furniture used for baptism. Aspersion and affusion fonts The fonts of many Christian denominations are for baptisms using a non-immersive method, such as aspersion (sprinkling) or affusion (pouring). ...

is the last marble element made by the French artist. It is located in the chapel housed in the counterfaçade. The baptismal font brings to mind a

capital Capital may refer to: Common uses * Capital city, a municipality of primary status ** List of national capital cities * Capital letter, an upper-case letter Economics and social sciences * Capital (economics), the durable produced goods used f ...

and depicts water, fire, robe and chrism: basic symbols of the

liturgy Liturgy is the customary public ritual of worship performed by a religious group. ''Liturgy'' can also be used to refer specifically to public worship by Christians. As a religious phenomenon, liturgy represents a communal response to and partic ...

baptism Baptism (from grc-x-koine, βάπτισμα, váptisma) is a form of ritual purification—a characteristic of many religions throughout time and geography. In Christianity, it is a Christian sacrament of initiation and adoption, almost inv ...

in the Christian tradition.

References

Bibliography

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External links

* * * {{Brugherio Tourist attractions in Lombardy Churches in Brugherio Buildings and structures completed in 1974 20th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in Italy