2. Sacral structures are not only acts of man's religiousness, but an expression of many factors, dependent on the place and time of their erection. Temples are cultural phenomena that integrate tradition with modernity. Further discussion of this issue in relation to the architecture of Catholic churches leads to the recognition of three - distinguishing - complementary attributes of this nature: duality, universalism, continuity. They constitute a specific character of modern Catholic churches - and enable their identification out of diverse sacral structures of other Christian creeds as well as their comprasion with the architecture of different religions. The duality of the Catholic churches architecture stems from the interwining elements of matter and transcendetalism found in their space - the reality of profanum with the reality of sacrum.Such ontological dualism is embedded in the archetypes of worship sites, determining the shape of the evolution of the sacral architecture of Christianity and setting its place in modern-postmodernist-cultural conditions. The universalism of the Catholic churches architecture is rooted in the essence of the message that Christianity has brought into our civilization. This is expressed by symbolic meanings attributed to the elements of the spatial structure of churches: the foundations, walls, pillars, roofs, spires and the light - which is the metaphysical creator of architecture. In the intricate mosaic of diverse concepts of the churches erected in the last half a century - starting with examples inspired by modernism, through structures built directly before the Second Vatican Council's reforms, to the temples erected at the turn of the millenium - it is difficult to indicate leading tendencies, not to mention more coherent stylistic trends. Their common features may only be detected from the perspective given by the perception of modern churches as integral elements of our cultural space. Excerpt from the article published in the journal: Zeszyty Naukowe. Architektura / Politechnika Śląska autor - J. Rabiej, Department of Architectural Design and Fine Arts, SilesianUniversity of Technology
5. Jubilee Church Dio Padre Misericordioso in Rome, Italy has a very dramaticarchitectural formconsisting of three concrete shells reminiscent of the sails of a ship.
6. Parish of the Blessed Virgin Mary - Mother of the Church Bialystok, Poland
7. Church of the Sacred Heart of Jesus in Kluczbork; Poland
38. Church of the Sacred Heart - Munich, Germany One Building inside the another building - a real church is located inside the housing,beyond the hugegate
43. Church of the Ascension on Ursynow, Warsaw, Poland The simplicity of the form goes together with significant symbolism.The cross just above the main entrancecreates evocative gates to the house of prayer.
