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The population of the diocese of Lyon grew by 400,000 between 1900 and 1959 and 62% of this total population were now city-dwellers. In order to respond to this evolution, the archbishop of Lyon created the O.D.P.N. (Office diocésain des paroisses nouvelles, Diocesan Office of New Parishes). It planned the creation of 120 new parish centres by 1964. The first buildings were fairly classical, often with monumental bell towers. Only the use of untreated reinforced concrete suggested a sensitivity to the trends of modern architecture. After 1960, however, parish priests began to commission buildings from innovative architects who began to design new forms, but which did not really mark the landscape. Inside, the design reflected the modernist tendencies and prescriptions of the Vatican 2 Council. After 1973, there were no new churches built in the city, and some existing churches were even closed down. This situation draws attention to the fragility of the contemporary religious heritage of Lyon, which has its own originality but which is broadly representative of national tendencies.