Sacred architecture must both satisfy the criteria for sacred art and fulfill practical functions, i.e., its functionality has to be informed by liturgical demands. The construction of a church has to be ordered towards the altar-which represents Christ and on which the sacrifice of Jesus Christ is made present in Holy Mass-as well as towards the tabernacle as the place of his presence. Likewise it has to serve the faithful as a place of gathering, prayer, and devotion.
"Even if sacred architecture may take on new forms, it must never conform to a profane way of building, but always has to be faithful to its task; this task asks for a specific kind of house of God and of prayer."(52)
Just as from of old, church buildings have been regarded as representations of the Heavenly Jerusalem, so today too, a church needs to embody a "representative sense." In its very form, it needs to express its distinctive feature as place of the mysterium fidei and remain faithful to its essential sacred task in the new style of construction as well.
The function and meaning of individual liturgical places have repercussions on the architectural form and design of these places. Therefore, architecture needs to involve and coordinate the other arts from the very start. The sacred element must not be an inorganic appendage; rather, it has to be the essential element and the informing soul of the whole edifice. The liturgical garments and implements, too, must be determined by these principles.
"The sacred pastors are to see to it that, with the construction or renovation of churches, the forms passed on and affirmed by Christian tradition are preserved and that the laws of ecclesiastical art are observed. Nothing inordinate, nothing that is arranged wrongly or thoughtlessly, nothing profane or unbecoming must be displayed... besides, a new church building should be characterized by a pleasant simplicity of beautiful lineation, rejecting inauthentic adornments; likewise anything suggesting a certain disrespect for art or for the work itself has to be avoided."(53)