Competition for the construction of a vast church in the Sanctuary of Fátima

It was an invitation-only competition held in two stages. A small group of architects made it to the second round: Vittorio Gregotti, Mario Botta, two charming Portuguese architects, and a German specialist in ecclesiastical buildings (who would eventually win the competition, although the project was later carried out by another architect).

Designing an emotional temple for 9,000 seated worshippers proved difficult. Good visibility, accessibility for the disabled, and evacuation regulations made the building resemble a large sports arena — something, in truth, not very mystical. I designed the immense hall as a semi-buried Greek theatre, with a roof accessible for the mass celebrations that were planned. Looking at it now, it seems monumental but not intrusive.

But my best idea was to make the Virgin appear not as a statue, but as a hologram, just as she supposedly appeared to the shepherd children on the 13th of each month in 1917. I proposed that the hologram be created by Bill Viola.

A brilliant prayer unanswered.