IIIThe building

Modern lines, blended into the landscape

12,000 m² of building on a 33,000 m² site, on three terraces or blocks facing the lake.
Pietra serena from the quarries of Fiorenzuola, near Florence, which blends in very well with the surrounding nature.
Design by Kiko Argüello with the architects Mattia del Prete, Antonio Ávalos, Alberto Durante and Guillermo Soler.
Site management by the architect Dan Mochly, of Haifa, with Fr Daniel Cevilan, the engineer Fr Ewald Randl and the architect José Vicente Sandino.

The spaces

The spaces of the project. Click one to go straight there.

01Sanctuary of the WordSearching the Scriptures in prayer→
02The Aula MagnaMore than 300 people, with simultaneous translation→
03The courtyard and the servicesDining hall, meeting rooms, entrance hall→
04The ChurchEucharistic celebrations and Blessed Sacrament chapel→
05The LibraryBiblical studies, opened in 2005→
06The entrance and the roomsA hundred rooms overlooking the lake→

Sanctuary of the Word

A distinctive element of this building: it serves all who come to this house to search the Scriptures in a climate of prayer and contemplation. In the Sanctuary area there are 80 thrones and, on the back wall, a two-level Tabernacle: one with the presence of the Blessed Sacrament and the other with the presence of Scripture, as taught by Dei Verbum.

In front of the Tabernacle, three arches recall the Holy Trinity. The brightly coloured stained glass recalls Creation and the Garden of Eden, where man walked and talked with God.

80: thrones
2: presences in the Tabernacle
3: arches, the Holy Trinity

Aula Magna

The first terrace, the highest above the lake, contains the Aula Magna, with simultaneous translation and room for more than 300 people. It is the place of the house’s great gatherings:

Meetings of bishops
Meetings of priests
Meetings with the Neocatechumenal communities
Meetings with the itinerants
Meetings with the symphony orchestra

+ 300: people

The Domus reception with the fountain and sofas — Reception

Cloister arches casting shadows on the lawn — Cloister

The cloister with the pool in the middle of the lawn — Cloister courtyard

The courtyard and the services

Then come all the other services of the house: dining hall, meeting rooms, entrance hall, kitchen and waiting rooms. The whole building is clad in pietra serena from the quarries of Fiorenzuola, near Florence, a material that blends in very well with the surrounding nature.

The Church full during a Eucharist, beneath the great icon

Chapel of the Blessed Sacrament with the tabernacle

The stylised chalice of the vault seen from below

Church

The complex also houses the Church for Eucharistic celebrations and a Blessed Sacrament chapel with a stylised chalice in the vault referring to the Passion of Christ: “My Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as thou wilt” (Mt 26:39).

Presiding over the Church is a large icon painted by Kiko Argüello together with a team of painters who work with him.

200: people in the church

The library with shelves full of books around the glass hemisphere

The Torah scroll in close-up, with its embroidered mantle

Library

At the entrance to the library stands a great glass hemisphere, with a starry sky above the vault. Inside it, at the centre of the library, lies a complete Torah scroll written three hundred years ago: in this way the centrality of the Word of God is also symbolised architecturally.

“How ever-relevant is the Sermon on the Mount, inscribed in the Universe!”
Letter of John Paul II for the inauguration of the Library of the Domus Galilaeae Monastery, 31 March 2005. It was one of the last official acts of his pontificate.

The library specialises in the Sermon on the Mount, to offer bishops, priests and seminarians the opportunity to deepen their study and meditation of this text. It was inaugurated on 31 March 2005.

2005: opening

Aerial view of the Domus Galilaeae Monastery with the terraces of rooms

The entrance and the rooms

On the two lower terraces there are one hundred rooms, each with two beds, bathroom, air conditioning and independent heating. All overlook the lake and can serve as places of meditation and rest. Over a year, with stays of 5 to 15 days, the complex can welcome 10,000 to 20,000 pilgrims.

How to visit the house

Gallery

· click a photo to enlarge it

Tower and dome of the Aula Magna under a blue sky

Iron menorah before the window at sunset

Sculpture of Jesus teaching the twelve on the terrace

Passage between stone walls open to the lake

Menorah and burning bush before the window

Next IVMission Who lives here and whom it welcomes