ARTICLES

"Where Else Would You Have it Be?"

Bay-Area Catholics Speak Out on Tabernacle Placement

By Joe Marti & Brian O'Neel

At last November's meeting of the National Conference of Catholic Bishops, American prelates discussed a draft of Domus Dei, a document on church architecture and design. Of the 31 bishops who spoke, none of them defended the removal of the tabernacle from central view in the church. Several reporters for the Faith conducted a survey of Northern California laity asking about the placement of the tabernacle in the center of the main altar.

Is the bishops' decision a good one?

I believe it should be in the center of the church so people can notice it more. Because the whole purpose of the Mass is basically about the Eucharist and so it should be placed as a focal point. I mean, it's the tabernacle, and once you move it to the side, it becomes less important.
  ~ Emily Halpin, San Francisco

I prefer it to be in the middle as the focus, the central point, really, as it should be for the Mass. Movements to put it in other positions are missing the point or are devious in their little tricks.
  ~ Vince Ryan, San Francisco

I think the tabernacle should remain where it traditionally has been in the center of the altar, so that when people enter the church they know exactly what the church is all about.
  ~ Dr. Raymond Dennehy, San Francisco

I believe the tabernacle should be in the center because the Eucharist is the center of the Mass, and therefore everything should fall around the center.
  ~ Stephanie Miles, San Francisco

I believe the tabernacle should be in the center, directly behind the altar in Catholic churches because I think it's just a reverent place and it keeps the sacredness of the church and the Eucharist in perspective for the people who are in the pews. If it's off to the side or somewhere else, it takes away from the Eucharist as a central point of our faith. If you move it to the right, for instance, you're putting it on equal terms with the rest of the things in the church.
  ~ Mike Manley, San Francisco

On the altar at the center of the Church. Traditionally it has always been in the center of the church, and after all, it contains the actual center of our church. If the Eucharist is Christ, and we are centered around Christ, then being in the center only makes sense.
  ~ Steve Ambuul, San Francisco

Where else would you have it be? It should be the center of everyone's attention when they walk in the church, and remain their focus for the duration of Mass or any other time they're in church. Basically the altar can be seen as a stage, and Christ is the center of the stage. If you take him off, it's sort of like 'Exit-stage left.'
  ~ Erika Stewart, San Francisco

God is entitled to have proper worship and respect and honor, and he has rights. He has always ordained that proper worship be ordered around the tabernacle, so the church itself should be built around the tabernacle.
  ~ Cathy Worley, Fremont

It should be placed on the altar so everybody can see it. It's the tradition of the church and I feel strongly that we need to know where it is so we don't have to hunt for it and try to find it.
  ~ Brian O'Hara, San Francisco

I believe the tabernacle should be placed up front and to the right, because I sit on the right-hand side, and that would be easier for me to see it.
  ~ Ann Brucker, San Jose

I believe the tabernacle should be placed in the center of the altar, because it would be the center of attention, because the Church is all about God anyhow. If it's anywhere else, then it's not really centered on Christ anymore. It's centered more on the people or what they're doing.
  ~ Jonathan Tam, San Jose

In the center of the altar, because it should be the center of attention as you walk inside the church and that's where Christ is at. If you put it anywhere else, it's hidden. The whole purpose of coming into a church is to pay respect to Our Lord who is present in the tabernacle, so he should be the center. It should be what you see when you walk in.
  ~ Michelle Martinez, San Jose

It should be in the center of the altar as an obvious sign that this is the reason why everyone is here. Putting it anywhere else demystifies Christ's presence and leads to a confusion as to why you're there in the first place. If it is the sake for which we enter a church, then it's placement ought to reflect that.
  ~ Paul Keating, San Francisco

If it truly is the center of our faith and worship, then it should naturally occupy a spot that reflects that. Putting it in other places could be construed as a symbolic homogenizing of everything inside the church, and that can lead to confusion and a lack of proper respect for Christ in His house.
  ~ Richard Kunz, San Francisco

I think the Eucharist is what the Church is all about. The church is not a theater; we have our home for that, to be a sort of theater if we want it to be.
  ~ Romano Nuti, Healdsburg

It's ridiculous as far as I'm concerned. It's a trite, fine point. That's not why we come to church. Jesus would turn over in His grave if He knew about this.
  ~ Joyce Scramaglia, Healdsburg

I don't know.
  ~ Mark Fraize, Healdsburg

It's a great idea, because that's the true history of the Church. It should be visible for everyone, not isolated off to the side somewhere. It's historical [to do it that way] and we're an historical Church.
  ~ Jackie Fraize, Healdsburg

If you don't have the Presence of God before you, you don't kneel, you don't genuflect because it's not in front of you. You only recognize the Real Presence when you actually see it.
  ~ Mike Fraize, Healdsburg.

I'm indifferent. I'm a traditionalist, so my preference is the center. It should be in the center; we should have never switched it. Or we can be democratic about it and let each parish decide.
  ~ Paul Horan, San Francisco.

Christ is no less really and truly present in the tabernacle as in the host during and after consecration at Mass. It is that same Christ who remains really, truly and sacramentally with us after Mass is complete. Otherwise, it seems as if we are paying less respect to Him by placing Him off to the side.
  ~ Nick Cammarota, Sacramento

People who concern themselves with the question of where the tabernacle should be need to ask themselves, what is the importance of the eucharistic in the Church throughout time and what prominence does the Blessed Sacrament have in our lives? If the answer is very little, then the wrong people have been given the task of deciding what place God will have in His house. After all it is His body, is it not? Generations to follow shall learn about Jesus by our example. I would like to hear a convincing argument explaining the merits of placing the tabernacle "off to the side." I have yet to hear one.
  ~ Greg Labarthe, Concord

The way these new churches are set up, you can't even tell they're Catholic. What's in the tabernacle is the most important thing in the church, so it should in no way be put to the side or hidden from view in any way.
  ~ John Malone, San Francisco

Mass is principally a prayer to God by which the laypeople can participate in Christ's sacrifice at Calvary. Through the Mass, the congregation offers Christ's sacrifice -- as if it were their own -- to God. By keeping the tabernacle at the center, the congregation is reminded that they should direct their prayers to God.

Keeping the tabernacle at the center is especially important for raising children. As parents, my wife and I want our children to understand the significance and purpose of Mass. The tabernacle is an important sign that the Mass is central to, not separate from, our prayers to God. Having the tabernacle on the side separates God from the Mass, as if the Mass is more of a gathering of people relating to each other. Keeping the focus on God in the tabernacle reminds the congregation, especially children first learning about the Mass, about the purpose of the Mass.
  ~ Raymond J. Tittmann, Walnut Creek

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