45 Chapels in Emergency

"Let’s rebuild Chile with Christ"

Abstract

In the earthquake of 8.8 intensity on the Richter scale that struck Chile on February 27, 2010, 47% of the country’s Catholic churches were damaged, and 80% of the temples of the worst affected areas, destroyed. About a million faithful could no longer congregate in its usual form. Given this, the AIS Foundation (Ayuda a la Iglesia que Sufre) launched a campaign entitled «Chapels in Emergency: let’s rebuild Chile with Christ», which was to build forty-five chapels in the devastated areas. The design, inspired by the Mantle of Mary, is a steel structure and stretched canvas which meets the requirements for the proper development of liturgical celebrations. Each chapel has an area of 185 m2 and a capacity for one hundred seats.