In October 2004, renovations work began on our church, Christ the King at Les Efforts East, San Fernando . By August 2005, through the grace of God the building was functionally complete and Masses were once again being celebrated on the upper floor.

The new church (front view, unfinished)

The building now has a new front entrance tower complete with working elevator. The worship space embodies the Vatican II concept of a central altar in the midst of the people and also the idea of procession from the baptismal pool to the altar – symbolic of the Christian journey from baptism to God.

Incorporating a central altar, integral to the design of a Catholic church, was quite challenging, especially when confined within an existing rectangular structure such as ours.

The pictorial shows how local architect, Mark Franco, in collaboration with Fr Matthew d'Hereaux, the building committee and contractor, was able to meet that challenge and give our church that special façade and aura reminiscent of a RC church for Christ the King!

The new church draws your attention and invites the onlooker to come closer. The Marian grotto near the front ground entrance way is symbolic of Mary calling us to Christ – “to Jesus through Mary”.

The artwork

The Vatican II document on art and liturgy emphasises that “great religious art fosters the life of prayer of contemporary assemblies who, while rooted in prior artistic traditions, hear God's unceasing call to proclaim the reign of Christ in the languages of a particular time and place Every artistic form that is at once capable of faithfully expressing sacred realities and serving the Church's liturgical action with the highest quality of the arts can find a home in the Church's house of prayer.”

The support and faith in the excellence of our local art is evident throughout this project. Trinidadian art brings a vibrant and refreshing flavour to the religious experience and allows our local peoples to put their unique cultural signature on the church as a place of spiritual reflection and encounter with God.

Local architects and artists were used exclusively in our new church design. Mark Franco provided the architectural concepts and designs for the project.

The young Trinidadian artist Anashia Ali was responsible for the large mural that greet parishioners as they enter the church. Local glass artisan Dalton Williams crafted the stained glassworks and Willi Chen is presently fabricating the metal artwork for the front wall of the church and the cross on the rooftop.

Glendon Morris' copper-work creations can be seen in the Stations of the Cross. Our Marian grotto reflects the floral talents of our church décor ministry. Parishioner Brett Ross did our landscaping. He also provided the committee with a 3D version of the architect's drawings so that we would have an idea of what the church would actually look like.

The mural

Last November at our triduum Mass celebrating the feast of Christ the King, Benedictine Abbot John Pereira formally blessed our massive mural and commissioned our baptismal font. We take this opportunity to publicly thank the Abbot.

PANEL 1: Christ before Pontius Pilate

PANEL 2: The Last Judgement

PANEL 3: Christ between the two thieves

The mural, a 14-ft three piece canvas acrylic painting, depicts scenes from the three gospel readings that commemorate the feast day of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Universal King. The artist has exercised her creative license by showing Christ in a Trinidadian setting inviting the viewer to a deeper reflection of God in our everyday life.

Panel 1 shows Christ being judged by Pontius Pilate. It presents Christ and Pilate as kings of men – albeit of different realms - but both inextricably existing together in a modern south Trinidad landscape. Pilate's kingdom is symbolised by earthly wealth and power – City Hall, government, the judiciary, oil rigs, the sugar industry, the paved roads, the energy industry.

Jesus' kingdom is represented by the Trinity Hills – symbolic of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit; the beauty of the Trinidad landscape; sunshine; God's bounty of oil, gas, pitch, aggregate, sugar cane and the earth; and God's gifts – life, love, mercy, the ingenuity and creativity of the Trinidadian people. This panel calls on us to acknowledge God as the true source of our earthly wealth and power even as we see Christ standing humble before Pilate.

Panel 2 depicts the Last Judgement in true Trini style. Christ comes with a cross and a crown of thorns reminding us that our sins bring hurt and pain. Our Saviour uses the cross like a shepherd's rod to separate the saved (sheep) from the damned (goats). He shines his light on the saved who dance and wave their rags in joy as they celebrate on the boat of Christ. The damned cower in fear in the raging fires of hell.

The people of the nations are shown as figures in the nude to remind us that Christ sees us for who we really are, stripped of all our worldly power and trappings. The righteous turn to Christ and celebrate their true selves. The sinful turn away and bow their heads in shame and hide their faces and bodies from the Lord. This painting begs the question: “If the last judgement comes now can you show your true self to the Lord?”

Panel 3 shows Christ between the two thieves in a familiar Pointe-à-Pierre setting of oil refinery and the Gulf of Paria . Jesus' cross is symbolised by a mango tree with the two thieves indulging in that idle Trinidad pastime of “thiefing mango”. One thief is kneeling in repentance before Christ. The other continues to climb the mango tree, unrepentant, mocking Jesus and reaching for more fruit.

Jesus is shown crushing the head of the serpent – symbolising his death as being the salvation of humanity. This fulfils God's word in the Garden of Eden when Adam and Eve committed the first sin. This panel calls on us to repent and choose the Jesus way – the gospel way.

Like all great works of art there are many layers of meaning to these paintings. We extend an invitation to all to view these panels by joining us for Mass at our renewed Christ the King RC Church at 5.00 p.m. on Saturdays and 7:30 a.m. on Sundays (Tel – 652-2269).