How Lego pieces can help us dream the Church we want

Since his childhood, Fr. Alfonso Davila has had a special fascination with Legos. “I remember when my mother would take me to my grandmother’s house in the summer, I would bring a suitcase full of Legos and I could spend the whole morning building things,” he shares nostalgically. Over time, as with many, his interest in these little blocks waned, until a chance encounter with his cousin, a numerical engineer, rekindled his wonder.

“She showed me how, with a few pieces of Lego, you could do impressive things, which were no longer just children’s games,” says Fr. That revelation led him to do more research on the subject and he discovered a concept that could change the way the Church communicates and reflects on itself: Lego Serious Play.

Lego and the communication of the ineffable

For the Augustinian Recollect, the Lego Serious Play methodology is a tool that allows us to express what is often difficult to verbalize. ” Many times, as consecrated persons, it is difficult for us to say that we are overwhelmed, that we are tired,” he explains. However, by building with Lego, it opens doors to deep and necessary conversations within the Church.

“I think this can help us a lot in the Church, because we need to have serious conversations. Many times we remain in the superficiality of the issues,” he says. According to him, this methodology allows us to immerse ourselves in the problem and, above all, to encourage active listening.

“Lego Serious Play is a synodal model. Because it involves you and forces you to listen to the other. And not only to listen to them, but to accept their version.”

The “Lego-theachesis” and the construction of a more open Church

In his parish of Santa Rita (Madrid), Fr. Dávila has begun to implement this methodology in catechesis, which he has called “Lego-thequesis”. “I told them: let’s make a model of what makes you happiest in life,” he says. “They came up with models of soccer, of studies, of dreams.” . But the real surprise came when he proposed the reverse exercise: “Now I want you to do what scares you most in life”. The result was shocking. “These teenagers began to tell me that they were afraid of death, of not feeling accepted,” he recalls with emotion. From these constructions, deep conversations opened up about life, fear and the Christian faith.

In another session, the priest asked them to act out the First Commandment with Lego. “I was delighted to see how they understood love for God in a way they would never have known how to express in words.” For him, this experience has been a lesson:

“Many times what we offer in catechesis is fine, but it could be better if we first stop to listen.”

Building the Church of our dreams

One of the most inspiring workshops Davila has developed is “Building My Church.” “I love this workshop because we give them pieces and tell them: make me the Church you dream of.” The results have been revealing: “The Church that everyone dreams of is precious. And not only beautiful, but achievable,” he says with conviction.

Among the models created by the participants, visions have emerged of a Church that is more pluralistic, more open and more incarnated in people’s realities. “A few weeks ago, I told this to a teacher friend and she said, ‘Well, but we could do that without the Lego pieces.’ Yes, we could. But in the world we live in, we have a hard time doing that. So if the Lego pieces help us, bless them!” she concludes with a smile.