ST. PETER'S ABBEY - Muenster, Saskatchewan

Gaboury's association with St. Peter's Abbey began in the 1960s, when he was invited to make a presentation on liturgical architecture. Returning in 1988 to present his architectural philosophy and design concepts for the construction of a new church, Gaboury found inspiration in a recitation during high mass of St. John's Revelations, verses 15-21, describing the City of God: "it was square as wide as it was long; in fact it was in the form of a cube, for its height was exactly the same as its other dimensions."

This simple geometric beauty became the template for the new Abbey, for as Gaboury attests, "the richness of the square, and by extension, the cube, is that it embodies within it the full range of geometric expressions: the circle, the triangle, the tetrahedron and the golden rule." Accordingly, the interior of the church represents a progression of cubic forms: the height of the side walls equal to the width, the nave constituting two squares, the roof the diagonal of the square, and the cube finally splintered into a tetrahedron, "the time-honoured symbol of God." Complementing the biblical structural motif is Gaboury's design for the stained glass windows, which portray the River of Life in New Jerusalem. The theme evolves in composition and colour from the rear of the church to the front, culminating in "fully glorified angels" hovering above the sanctuary.

Completed in 1991, the abbey is designed to provide an intimate atmosphere for the cloistered life of the monks while being adaptable to larger gatherings and alternate uses.

* * *