Who in today’s modern western society would choose to become a
priest? That is the question that the non-believer Lucia Ganieva asked
herself. She was particularly curious to know ‘why’. She wanted to
know what it means for a trainee priest to live in two totally different
worlds: that of the Catholic church and that of Dutch civilian society.
The portraits reveal how the students see themselves as they prepare
for priesthood. In combination with the photographs of the interiors,
the conflicting forces at play between the church and the civilian world
become clearly visible.
The Tiltenberg at Vogelenzang is the Great Seminary of the Haarlem
diocese (the Netherlands) where students are trained for priesthood.
Lucia Ganieva was inspired by the serene atmosphere in the seminary,
and this is reflected in her images. The students portrayed allowed her
to enter their world and talk about what literally possessed them to
choose this life. Ganieva has made a wonderful and respectful portrait
of a world that is not her own...