full immersion

By Diogenes ( articles ) | Dec 28, 2007

The Irish Jesuits have sold Sacred Heart church in Limerick, a landmark of Catholic architecture, to a developer who plans to convert the building into a health club.

The scheme, if it gets the go-ahead from the local authority, will see the church transformed into a day spa featuring a swimming pool, gym and treatment rooms.

The nave of the church will become the pool, but the main altar will be carefully preserved and visible behind a glass wall. So the swimming and sweating will take place in a building with that nice old-fashioned Catholic "look" that's so fashionable these days. The architect assures us that there will be "very little alteration to the church."

Let's see, now. You take a prized example of our Catholic heritage, convert it to a completely secular purpose, but preserve the external appearance enough to make people feel comfortable. Then you assure everyone that there really hasn't been much change. An interesting approach, although not entirely original.

Did I mention that the architect's name is John Kennedy?