Liturgical Environs PC is pleased to announce the recent dedication of the new parish church of St. Clare of Assisi in Surprise Arizona, which was dedicated on 11 April 2010 by The Most Reverend Thomas J. Olmstead, Bishop of Phoenix.

Steven Schloeder was the liturgical design architect, working in close association with CCBG Architects in Phoenix Arizona.  Liturgical Environs PC was responsible for the transformation of the existing conceptual floor plan, which was a “theater in the round” model with the altar in the center, into a directional wide nave with the altar and sanctuary properly at the east side.

The church has many allusions to the Tuscan and Roman architectural heritage as appropriate for a church dedicated to St. Clare, such as the monumental dome modeled on Brunelleschi’s dome at the cathedral in Florence, the fine travertine liturgical furnishings and shrines, the Italianate style of the new crucifix, and the tabernacle which is modeled on Bramante’s “Tempiettto” in Rome and the tabernacle in the Eucharistic chapel at St. Peter’s in the Vatican, designed by Bernini.