The prototypical Jesuit church is the Gesu, the mother church of the Society in Rome. The basic plan follows the form of a Latin cross, with volumes of well-lit space dominating the design. Although adapting to local building materials and construction techniques, there is no mistaking a Jesuit church around the world. Similar distinctive buildings were constructed in Paraguay, the Philippines, Macao and anywhere else the Jesuits built churches. In design they are quite tall with unobstructed interior views.
Light dominates the design and focuses attention on the altar as a scene for sacred theater.
John Mesick and Jeffrey Baker of Albany, New York served as principal consultants on this phase of the planning of the reconstruction. They examined numerous extant colonial buildings and reviewed contemporary documents and European precedents. They envisioned the Latin cross plan as being made-up of 11 foot square interior modules. Two of these 11 foot squares defined the interior of the Nave. They argued that turning these modules into volumes of space suggested a building which was about 22 feet tall at the eaves.