Sector 5 Church Sector 5 Church , also commonly referred to as Aerith ' s Church , is a presumably deserted church in " Final Fantasy VII " located is in Sector 5 of Midgar Slums . Aerith Gainsborough has succeeded in growing flowers in the church , a remarkable feat considering the local Mako Reactor s leave the soil barren . Flowers also grow near Aerith ' s house , so the church is not the only place in the slums where soil is fertile . It is unknown which religion the church is part of , though the architecture appears to be based on Christian churches . Story . " Crisis Core - Final Fantasy VII - " . Zack Fair , SOLDIER First Class , falls from an unfinished section of the Sector 5 plate into the church . He awakens and meets Aerith asking to repay her with a date for saving him , although a puzzled Aerith asserts she did nothing but called out to him until he came to . Zack continues to visit the church to spend time with her up until he is sent on the mission to Nibelheim . Zack is impressed by the flowers and deems they would be seen as a luxury item in Midgar , offering to build her a flower wagon to help her sell them . After Zack ' s mentor Angeal Hewley passes away , a devastated Zack is comforted by Aerith in the church . One day , Zack and Aerith witness an Angeal Copy , a winged wolf - creature , in the church defending the duo from Shinra Electric Power Company ' s battle robots . Deeming the creature not dangerous , Aerith and Zack let it rest in the church . It is implied the creature stayed at the church as Aerith uses it to send her final letter to Zack . " Before Crisis - Final Fantasy VII - " . Informed by their Shinra contact of the existence of a Cetra descendant named Aerith Gainsborough , AVALANCHE attempts to capture her to protect the location of the Promised Land . The Player Turk lost in the slums has found his / her way to Elmyra Gainsborough ' s house where they come across Aerith who flees . As AVALANCHE arrives Aerith returns and is protected by the Turk much to her surprise . Hiding in the Sector 5 slums Aerith loses her White Materia , and as the Player Turk goes to retrieve it , Shears locates them and disposes of the Player Turk , taking Aerith to the Sector 5 Church where Fuhito and Elfé await . As they attempt to convince Aerith to divulge the location of the Promised Land , Aerith notes an ancient voice emanating from within Elfé is in pain . Elfé is confused by this revelation , and Fuhito becomes flustered and attempts to divert the subject . When Shears notices the Player Turk eavesdropping a fight breaks out but Aerith prevents Shears and Fuhito from killing the Turk , claiming she is defending her flower bed from further harm . During the commotion something seems to pain Elfé , who withdraws along with the rest of AVALANCHE . As the Player Turk and Aerith leave the church , Tseng , who has been assigned for some time to capture Aerith , arrives in another attempt to convince her to work with Shinra . Misunderstanding , the Player Turk prevents Tseng from seeing Aerith as she runs back home . " Final Fantasy VII " . Cloud falls from the Sector 5 Reactor down into the church and is found by Aeris , who remarks on Cloud ' s similarities with Zack . When Reno , a member of the Turks leading a group of Shinra soldiers , attempts to kidnap Aeris , she requests Cloud to be her bodyguard . In return for the favor , Cloud says he will in exchange for payment , to which Aeris replies " How about if I go out with you once ? " . Accepting the deal , the pair exits through an opening in the roof , as the Turks try to capture Aeris . In Aeris ' s absence , two children take care of the flowers . Upon the party ' s return to Midgar following finding the Sector 5 Key at the Bone Village , the church can be explored and a " ghost " of Aeris seen , but disappears when approached . The church serves a pivotal role in curing the Geostigma disease . Even after Aerith ' s death , the flowers continue blooming thanks to the Lifestream flowing beneath the flower bed . Cloud stays at the church during his exile and search for forgiveness , and stores Materia in a chest in the church for some time before this . Tifa engages Loz in the church when she and Marlene go looking for Cloud . She is defeated , and Cloud later finds her lying unconscious on the flower bed . Later , Aerith ' s Limit Break , Great Gospel , is activated in the church during Cloud ' s battle with Kadaj , curing Cloud ' s Geostigma . Cloud demonstrates the healing powers of the water pooled in the church by curing Denzel of his Geostigma in a baptismal - like ceremony , after which several other children jump into the pool . Cloud spots Aerith crouching by some other children , similar to the aforementioned ghost . As she stands and walks to the doorway , she turns back to ensure Cloud will be alright , and steps into a white light with Zack . Cloud nods and responds he will be fine , as he is not alone anymore . Locations . " Final Fantasy VII " . Chapel . Entered from the Sector 5 Slums - Church Entrance , the Chapel contains many rows of benches leading up to a group of flowers in the center , allowed to grow thanks to a small light that shines on them due to a missile crash . Cloud also lands in this area after falling from the outside of the Sector 5 Reactor . This is the only area of the church that can be revisited . Staircase . In a room at the back , just behind the chapel , this room is mostly a set of wooden stairs , though it is in ruins after a missile crashed in the middle of it . This is the room in which Aeris must escape from Shinra . There are many wooden pillars at the very top of this room , which transition to become their own area when Aeris reaches Cloud ' s level . Roof . After Aeris reaches Cloud ' s level , the pillars at the top become the Roof area . Here , Cloud and Aeris run across the small pillars to escape through the hole in the roof . They then access the Sector 5 Slums - Rooftops . Quests . " Final Fantasy VII " . Escape with Aeris using barrels . As Cloud and Aeris escape the church , Aeris joins the party as a playable character . During the fight with the Shinra soldiers Cloud can push several barrels on top of the church , knocking the enemies down from above to reduce the number of enemy encounters Aeris must face . This affects Aeris ' s affection value with Cloud , a factor determining an outcome of an event later on in the game . The player needs to push the barrels in the right order : The upper left barrel first , the upper right barrel second , and the lower right barrel last . If the player waits too long with pushing a barrel or Aeris is forced into battle . If the player pushes the wrong barrel Aeris must battle an enemy anyway , and Cloud can also prompt Aeris to fight without pushing any barrels . Aeris ' s ghost . After coming back to Midgar in Part 2 onwards , the player can find an apparition of Aeris on the flower bed . It only appears once , and once triggered can never been seen again , but numerous glitches surround this area and can be confused with this " ghost " . Musical themes . The music that plays in " Final Fantasy VII " is titled " Flowers Blooming in the Church " , and is an arrangement of " Aerith ' s Theme " . " Crisis Core - Final Fantasy VII - " has an entirely new arrangement , titled " The Burdened " . During the ending of " Final Fantasy VII : Advent Children " , which takes place in the church , the song " Cloud Smiles " plays . Other appearances . " Theatrhythm Final Fantasy Curtain Call " . The church ' s flower field from " Final Fantasy VII : Advent Children " appears in a Field Music Sequence for " Cloud Smiles " from " Final Fantasy VII : Advent Children " and " A Flower Blooming in the Slums ( from FFVII " Aerith ' s Theme " ) " for " Crisis Core - Final Fantasy VII - " . It also appears in a Battle Music Sequence .