The Salvator Mundi Votive Church was designed by Lobas Architects for seventeen (or more) dioceses in North America. The theme of a votive church is one of adoration and dedication, especially during a time of specific difficulty or turmoil. One such time presented itself during the 2020 health crisis, one that we are still enduring at time of this writing.

The church references a project built after another devastating plague, survived by the Venetians in 1630, and thus memorialized in a basilica designed by architect Baldassare Longhena. This church, the Salute, was an embodiment of thanksgiving for the blessings bestowed upon the city by our Creator and by the prayers for intercession to the Virgin Mary.

I chose another water site, in my hometown of Cleveland, to serve as the location for the initial incarnation of this Votive Church. The form directly references Palladio and other Renaissance-era central-church designs, and the illumined cross atop the dome hearkens to the Orb and Cross designs of the medieval era. This Globus Crucifer symbolizes Christ’s dominion over the entire world. The is the progenitor of the church’s name, Salvator Mundi, Christ as Savior of the World.