Wreckovation

File:Desacralization of Augustinian Church in Würzburg, Germany.png

The Interior of the Augustinian Church in Würzburg, Germany as it was prior to the Second World War, in the 1970s, and in the 2010s.

Wreckovation is a portmanteau term coined by Catholics to describe the style of renovations which some Catholic cathedrals, churches, and oratories have undergone since the Second Vatican Council.

Background

In the Tridentine Mass, the altar is a high altar and is assumed to be ad orientem (towards the East) even when it is versus populum (facing the people): "Si altare sit ad orientem, versus populum, celebrans versa facie ad populum, non vertit humeros ad altare, cum dicturus est Dóminus vobiscum, Oráte, fratres, Ite, missa est, vel daturus benedictionem" (If the altar is ad orientem, towards the people, the celebrant, facing the people, does not turn his back to the altar when about to say Dominus vobiscum ["The Lord be with you"], Orate, fratres [the introduction to the prayer over the offerings of bread and wine], and Ite, missa est [the dismissal at the conclusion of the Mass], or about to give the blessing). The wording remained unchanged in all later editions of the Tridentine Missal, even the last. The tabernacle containing the consecrated Eucharist was commonly placed on the main altar of a church (this also was not envisaged in the 1570 Roman Missal and only later became normal).

Following the Second Vatican Council, in the U.S., much architectural change was driven by the 1977 book Environment and Art in Catholic Worship published by NCCB when then-Archbishop Bernardin was president. It extolled the "virtue of simplicity and commonness" and called for "contemporary art forms", "cloth hangings" and "banners". Although not binding, it was followed by church redesigners such as Richard S. Vosko.

Pope Benedict XVI thought the reforms following the Second Vatican Council went too far, and advocated for what has been called "reform of the reform", as he believed the some had gone astray from the intentions of the Council, stating in his motu proprio in 2011 Quaerit semper, "focus mainly on giving a fresh impetus to promoting the Sacred Liturgy in the Church, in accordance with the renewal that the Second Vatican Council desired". The following month, he supported Antonio Cañizares Llovera, Prefect of the Congregation for Divine Worship, to establish a "Liturgical Art and Sacred Music Commission" which would be responsible for evaluating both new construction and renovation projects as well as music used during the celebration of Mass to ensure that they comply with Church guidelines. Pope Benedict considered the commission's task "very urgent." However, with the election of Pope Francis, nothing further was heard about the commission, and in his apostolic letter of 2017 called Magnum principium, Pope Francis removed some of the authority of the CDW over the liturgy.

Criticism

Opponents of wreckovation also charge that such changes are iconoclastic and produce results that look more like Protestant churches, theaters, airport terminals, or barns rather than Catholic churches. A major concern is that the design of renovated churches downplays the sense of the sacred in favor of focus on the congregation. Critics see this as inconsistent with the traditional Catholic understanding of communal worship. Meanwhile, more liberal Catholics have referred to the renovations as necessary steps in order to emphasize the role of the congregation in worship, in accord with the wishes of the Second Vatican Council. Conservative Catholics charge that this is a misinterpretation of the documents of Vatican II.

Some churches, such as St. Columban in Chillicothe, Missouri and St. Mark in Peoria, Illinois, are reversing prior renovations and "restoring" the historical Catholic liturgical setup.

In popular culture

In the 2022 apocalyptic novel White Smoke, Black Fire!, one of the protagonists blames the sex abuse scandal and wreckovation for the rot within the Catholic Church.

Related renovation controversies

• Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels (Los Angeles) § Criticism
• Cathedral of St. John the Evangelist (Milwaukee) § Renovation and controversy

Further reading

• U.S. Catholic's "Who Moved the Tabernacle?" article
• US Conference of Catholic Bishops write on Environment and Art in Catholic Worship
• Rose, Michael S. (2001). Ugly as sin: why they changed our churches from sacred places to meeting spaces - and how we can change them back again. Sophia Institute Press. ISBN 1-928832-36-9. OCLC 463107712. Search this book on

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