Religion is a big business
Ever wondered what the best way to decorate that church in the back garden is? Or maybe your belfry needs a new bell? Perhaps your chalice could do with an upgrade or maybe your religious vestments are no longer attracting admiring glances from the hip young things at the local seminary.
If so, then the Polish town of Kielce was the place for you last week, as it played host to SacroExpo, Europe's largest religious trade fair. With 235 vendors from 11 countries, there are few in the religious community who wouldn't find something to tempt their sacred taste buds.
Officially dubbed the International Exhibition of Church Construction, Church Fittings and Furnishings and Religious Art, the fair should meet all your material Christian needs, be it a fresh peal of bells, a spanking new organ, a smattering of saints statues or the latest stations of the cross. Should it all get too much, you can always stock up on communion wine or relax with the latest leather-bound edition of the New Testament. Last year saw more than 3,000 pilgrims make their way to the event, and organizers are adamant that the "commercial part of the fair intertwines with spiritual and aesthetic contents. With the fair's offer, one can build and furnish a church from vault to steeple."
It's not just about the interior, though, with a host of architectural plans and builders' designs on display.
The fair also featured a conference entitled 'What churches here and now', which focused on the use and arrangement of church space, its construction, furnishing and use.
The late Pope John Paul II was also proving a major draw. The fair was dedicated to his memory and a number of the convention's events revolved around the late Pontiff, including a staging of a play penned by Karol Wojtyła entitled In Front of the Jeweler's Shop.
If so, then the Polish town of Kielce was the place for you last week, as it played host to SacroExpo, Europe's largest religious trade fair. With 235 vendors from 11 countries, there are few in the religious community who wouldn't find something to tempt their sacred taste buds.
Officially dubbed the International Exhibition of Church Construction, Church Fittings and Furnishings and Religious Art, the fair should meet all your material Christian needs, be it a fresh peal of bells, a spanking new organ, a smattering of saints statues or the latest stations of the cross. Should it all get too much, you can always stock up on communion wine or relax with the latest leather-bound edition of the New Testament. Last year saw more than 3,000 pilgrims make their way to the event, and organizers are adamant that the "commercial part of the fair intertwines with spiritual and aesthetic contents. With the fair's offer, one can build and furnish a church from vault to steeple."
It's not just about the interior, though, with a host of architectural plans and builders' designs on display.
The fair also featured a conference entitled 'What churches here and now', which focused on the use and arrangement of church space, its construction, furnishing and use.
The late Pope John Paul II was also proving a major draw. The fair was dedicated to his memory and a number of the convention's events revolved around the late Pontiff, including a staging of a play penned by Karol Wojtyła entitled In Front of the Jeweler's Shop.
