Letter 15: To the most holy Caesarius, my dear brother,

To the most holy Caesarius, my dear brother, The building of the cathedral at Cahors has been not just an administrative project but a theological education. In the process of thinking about what the building should be and do, I have had to articulate more clearly than before what I believe a church building is for. A church is not merely a meeting place or a shelter for liturgy. It is, in some real sense, an image of the heavenly Jerusalem — a space that has been set apart for God's presence and that shapes those who enter it through its proportions, its light, its imagery, its orientation. When people enter a well-built church and feel a sense of reverence and peace, that is not accidental; it is the building doing what a building can do to prepare the soul for worship. This has practical implications for what I am building. The building should be oriented correctly. The light should fall in ways that enhance the sacred atmosphere rather than disrupting it. The imagery should teach and inspire — the figure of Christ in majesty, the stories of the saints, the symbols of the faith that a literate person will recognize and an illiterate person will grasp through repeated exposure. I want the people of Cahors to feel, every time they enter this building, that they are in a place where heaven and earth meet. That is an aspiration that guides every decision we make. Your brother who is also an amateur architect, Desiderius