Towards pastoral application of contemporary art spaces: Chapel of Disclosure (Belgium) facilitators’ views

Abstrakt

The Catholic Chapel of Disclosure is a contemporary art space established in 2011, responding to the decline of religious practices in Catholic schools in Belgium. The Chapel’s pastoral process is structured and organized. It offers perspectives on how pastoral activities may be implemented in other contemporary art spaces and ways to engage with nonbelievers and individuals who have left the Church. Between 2016 and 2022, in-depth interviews with the Chapel’s creators and facilitators examined the process, the significance of “emptiness” and silence, and the range of emotions experienced by participants. The study identified three main elements that contributed to the pastoral approach: participants’ openness to transcendence, lack of active indoctrination during facilitation, and importance of shared communal faith in relating participants’ life stories to Biblical narratives.