Between the Sacred and the Profane: The Story Behind the Church of the Sacred Heart of Jesus in Lisbon
As a landmark of contemporary religious architecture in Portugal, the Church of the Sacred Heart of Jesus stands in contrast to traditional models, representing a work free from historicist stigmas. Resulting from a design competition organized in 1960, the church is notable for its civic dimension, urban role, and its anti-monumental and social significance. Integrated into the regular grid of the Avenidas Novas neighborhood, this example of the Movement for the Renewal of Sacred Art is part of a larger parish complex that often goes unnoticed by passersby. Its external street creates an unexpected public space, inviting people to enter and engage in a courtyard where architecture and the city merge. Finely crafted in terms of spatiality, detail, and light, the church holds many surprises for those who venture inside.
![Between the Sacred and the Profane: The Story Behind the Church of the Sacred Heart of Jesus in Lisbon](https://images.adsttc.com/media/images/66cf/8c64/f999/c678/8eb7/9d68/medium_jpg/antimonumentalidade-e-vocacao-social-a-igreja-do-sagrado-coracao-de-jesus-no-contexto-urbano-de-lisboa_7.jpg?1724877982#)
![Church of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, Lisbon © Rui Cavaleiro Church of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, Lisbon © Rui Cavaleiro](https://images.adsttc.com/media/images/66cf/8c64/f999/c678/8eb7/9d68/medium_jpg/antimonumentalidade-e-vocacao-social-a-igreja-do-sagrado-coracao-de-jesus-no-contexto-urbano-de-lisboa_7.jpg?1724877982)
As a landmark of contemporary religious architecture in Portugal, the Church of the Sacred Heart of Jesus stands in contrast to traditional models, representing a work free from historicist stigmas. Resulting from a design competition organized in 1960, the church is notable for its civic dimension, urban role, and its anti-monumental and social significance. Integrated into the regular grid of the Avenidas Novas neighborhood, this example of the Movement for the Renewal of Sacred Art is part of a larger parish complex that often goes unnoticed by passersby. Its external street creates an unexpected public space, inviting people to enter and engage in a courtyard where architecture and the city merge. Finely crafted in terms of spatiality, detail, and light, the church holds many surprises for those who venture inside.