The 27 monstrances of the Eucharistic Congress, a conceptual and chromatic vision of the Christian community of Chile.

NATIONAL EUCHARISTIC CONGRESS OF CHILE 2018

This year, on the occasion of the celebration of the National Eucharistic Congress of Chile 2018we received a special assignment through the Latens Foundation : the design and production of 27 silver ostensories to be used by the 27 dioceses that make up the Church in Chile could celebrate this event united around Christ in the Eucharist..

This Eucharistic Congress was born so that the Christian community of Chile could publicly manifest its faith in the presence of Christ in the Sacrament and deepen and live the Eucharistic Mystery.

27 CUSTODIANSHIPS, ONE FOR EACH DIOCESE.

Our designers were commissioned to de to design a model of monstrance that would reflect the symbolism of the Eucharistic Congress and, in general, the feelings of the Christian community in Chile.The purpose of the congress was to create a collection of 27 pieces, one for each diocese, that would remain, after the congress, as permanent mark of the congregation of all Chileans around Jesus in the Sacrament of the Blessed Sacrament.

This was the design developed by our planners. a silver custody 78 cm high and 16 cm diameter drum, embellished with elements in blue and red, taken from the flag of Chile.

THE ENGRAVED BASE

The base The 27 cm diameter silver plate is engraved with the memorandum of the congress and the name of each diocese. It also carries engraved and cold enameled in red the phrase: What would Christ do in my place?a phrase pronounced by Pope Francis during his meeting with young people at the Shrine of Maipú, which is also the official motto of the congress.

2. THE SHAFT, THE DRUM AND THE GUSTS.

The shaft forms the base of the cross of Chileon which the drum, divided into 27 enameled sections also in red. From the drum come the head and arms of the cross, and 27 silver bursts ending in 27 stars, for each of the 27 dioceses that make up the Church of Chile.

SYMBOLOGY

This piece of goldsmith's work intended for Eucharistic worship also includes the Chile's geographic particularities, which provide it with a great natural richnessThe country's main attractions include deserts, mountains, volcanoes, lakes and glaciers, and a 4,000-kilometer coastline. Thus, on the silver shaft, the map of Chile is cut out The cross has a blue interior; each of the arms of the cross represents, in the upper part, the Chilean sky (with the Star of the flag, representing the Virgin Mary), and on the side arms the Andes Mountainson the one hand, and the Pacific Oceanon the other. They all share the same deep blue background provided by the lapis lazuli and achieve stylistic unity thanks to the schematization of the lines in all the motifs.

Another element that, perhaps, goes more unnoticed is the use of two geometric shapes at the beginning and end of the shaftwhich have inverse forms - positive and negative - perfectly capable of forming a unit. These two elements have been used to express the concept of "encounter" and "communion" of the Chilean ChristiansThe ergonomics and grip of the workpiece have been improved.