By Verghese V Joseph –
A new and a unique star-spangled church rose up in spirit as Delhi Archbishop Most Rev Anil Couto blessed the Morning Star Church at the eco spirituality centre Ish Vatika (the Garden of Lord) in Kair village in Najafgarh on the outskirts of Delhi on Saturday.
Adhering to the COVID-19 guidelines, only a few representatives from the community along with Archbishop Anil Couto, Archbishop Emeritus Vincent Concessao and priests participated in the ceremony.
Speaking on the occasion, Archbishop Couto said, “Mother Mary, the Morning Star, is an integral part of the church’s life. She is the guiding star bringing people to Jesus, and hence without Mother Mary, there is no Church”.
“It was the desire of Archbishop Anil to have an adoration chapel at Ish Vatika as the centre point of the centre. It is designed as a small chapel for people to spend time in prayer,” the priest-in-charge Fr Stanley Kozhichira who is also the national president of the Catholic media organization Signis India, said.
Elaborating on the architecture of the Church, Fr Kozhichira said, “Built at a cost of Rs. 1.30 crore, the Morning Star Church is designed in a six-dimension shape of a star. It appears to be star from all sides, even from the top; and from inside it looks like a tent, giving a feel of tent of meeting that’s mentioned in the Old Testament.”
“There was a desire to create something special and unique for the Eucharistic Lord. Slowly the concept of a star emerged. Then we went in for a discussion with architect Mr. Ranjit John, who was equally excited about the newness in the thinking. Then a desire to have a star-shaped chapel came about,” added Fr Kozhichira.
According to Fr Kozhichira, “The challenges were many. Designed as a six dimension star with the insides appearing like a tent that reminds faithful of the tent of meeting, it was indeed a Herculean task to design something new and unique. Neither the architect nor the team had any idea of how it was be built. The desire not to use concrete for the construction; and instead use metal and puff pane and then shingles for the roof was indeed a tough task.”
And then step by step, the concept took shape. The structure rose to 52 feet high which is equally distributed with a base span of 35/35 feet area that gave a carpet area of 1225 square feet. The Cross structure is 14 feet tall with a star and four dimensional cross, design based on the Jaipur column at the Rashtrapati Bhawan. The church’s Cross is also in shape of a star.
The altar is again star shaped but a dynamic concept which is symbolic for a priest holding the Eucharistic table. The ampo on the altar table is a star in flower design keeping the youthfulness of church in mind.
The sanctuary is with the Lamb seated on the top, depicting that it is in heaven that the Lamb is worshipped and adored. Every mass and adoration brings heaven down on earth. And the Lamb is surrounded by 12 rays and 12 stars. Shaped like a crown, the number 12 symbolises the Crown of the Virgin Mary, the 12 Apostles and 12 tribes of Israel!
Eventually, it was decided by the Curia that the church could be named as Morning Star as Mary is the beacon heralding the arrival of the Messiah.
Inspired by second encyclical of Pope Francis, Laudato Si that highlights the care for our common home, the eco spirituality centre Ish Vatika is located on two-and-half acres of lush farmland, far from the maddening city crowd and with a focus on meditative reflection, prayer, nature walks and organic farming. It is in keeping in line with the church philosophy of being one with nature, promote ecology and eco system. It is also being promoted as a Catholic destination wedding place for a small gathering.
