Tennessee church with Kosovo roots

Roughly 25 miles south of Nashville, on the rolling green hills of a former horse farm, the Diocese of Nashville saw a great opportunity to provide a new parish home for a growing number of Catholic families in the suburb of Nolensville. PRISM worked with BAUER ASKEW Architecture and Jackson & Ryan Architects to develop an animation for the fundraising campaign now underway for Mother Teresa Catholic Church.

The new church will be one part of a large campus, which will include a K-8 school and high school. Nolensville is one of the fastest-growing areas of Tennessee. The 166-acre site sits in the middle of a triangle between Highways 65, 24, and 840, making it a convenient draw for families from every direction. BAUER ASKEW Architecture together with Jackson & Ryan won the request for proposals to design the project.

Drawing inspiration from around the world, and specifically from the Church of the Black Madonna in Kosovo, where Mother Teresa received her calling, Mother Teresa Catholic Church will be in the traditional Romanesque style. Inside, Mother Teresa’s influence will be represented in three arches near the altar, highlighted with blue lines to mimic the sari she wore. Another unique feature, a 5,000 s.f. gathering space called a galilee, will allow people to gather and prepare themselves before entering the narthex. When complete, the church will accommodate 1,400 people, making it one of the largest in the diocese.