It’s CHRIST CATHEDRAL! May America’s Newest Cathedral Shine with the Light of the Gospel

Last updated on: September 30, 2016 at 3:59 pm by Kathy Schiffer

It’s CHRIST CATHEDRAL! May America’s Newest Cathedral Shine with the Light of the Gospel 2016-09-30T15:59:58-05:00 Kathy Schiffer

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

And so it’s official: The grand glass edifice formerly known as the Crystal Cathedral has been renamed Christ Cathedral, it was announced this morning.

More than 1,500 people heard the Most Reverend Tod D. Brown, Bishop of the Diocese of Orange in California, make the announcement today at the close of the ordination ceremony in St. Columban Church, where he ordained four new priests who will serve the diocese.

The Crystal Cathedral was designed by architect Philip Johnson, and opened in 1980 as home to Pastor Robert Schuller’s nationally syndicated “Hour of Power” broadcast. In recent years the ministry ran into hard times, facing declining participation and internal struggles; and it finally filed for bankruptcy protection. After a court challenge and a nail-biting bidding war with Chapman University, the Roman Catholic diocese won the bid for the Crystal Cathedral and its 40-acre campus in November 2011. (I wrote about the ups and downs leading up to the sale, and about the Schuller family’s friendly relationship with the Catholic Church, last November; read about it here.)

So why, after more than 4,100 people entered a competition to choose the new name, did the Diocese choose “Christ Cathedral”? From the beginning, Bishop Tod Brown has promised to give the new edifice a name that is Christological in significance.

“We hold Reverend Schuller and his ministry in the highest esteem,” Bishop Brown noted at the conclusion of the Ordination Mass. “It was important that any change of name for the cathedral itself be respectful of its spiritual legacy while accommodating our needs to clearly define this important facility as a Catholic center of worship.”

The formal process for the naming of a Catholic Church requires that the proposed name be submitted to the Congregation of Bishops, the curia in Rome. Bishop Brown submitted Christ Cathedral as the proposed name, as required, and received approval from the curia on April 26, 2012.

As I wrote in 2011, the Crystal Cathedral under Reverend Schuller has long enjoyed a friendly relationship with the Catholic Church, inviting such notable Catholics to its pulpit as Mother Teresa and Bishop Fulton J. Sheen. That trend has continued in the months leading up to the building’s transformation to a Catholic cathedral:

On May 10, 2012, the Crystal Cathedral welcomed Kathleen Eaton, president of Birth Choice Health Clinics and a prominent California Catholic, for a free pro-life event at the church. Other keynote speakers for Birth Choice’s 31st anniversary celebration included Lila Rose, president of Live Action; Kristan Hawkins, director of Students for Life of America, and other noted pro-life speakers.
On May 13, 2012—Mother’s Day—Robert Schuller’s grandson, Reverend Bobby Schuller, returned to the pulpit as the Crystal Cathedral honored Mother Teresa, humanitarian, Nobel Peace Prize laureate and now, a Catholic saint.

The Diocese of Orange has been leasing the cathedral back to the Crystal Cathedral Ministries for $150,000 per month; but just this week, the ministry accepted an invitation to move to nearby St. Callistus Catholic Church in June 2013. The diocese has offered the use of the St. Callistus property free for one year, after which monthly rent payments would be required.

I spoke recently with Tim Busch, lead attorney for the diocese in the purchase of the property. Busch confirmed that significant changes will be required to make the Crystal Cathedral suitable for Catholic worship. The worship space will be gutted, save for the organ; a new floor will be installed. An altar, pulpit, ambo, baptismal font, pews and kneelers will be added, as well as a sacristy. Given the extensive renovations required, no date has been announced for the cathedral’s reopening.

Previous Post

June 8, 2012

On Corpus Christi--A Eucharistic Flash Mob

Next Post

June 17, 2012 HOME-STATE SHAME: Michigan Democratic Congresswomen to Perform V-Monologues on Capitol Steps

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category #Synod14 Abortion Abstinence Abuse Addiction Adoption Advent Adventure Advertising Aging Agnosticism All Saints Day All Souls Day Amish Anathema Angels Anglican Animals Annulment Annunciation Apocalypse Apologetics Apostles Apostleship of the Sea Apparitions Archangels Archbishop Cordileone Archbishop Dolan Archbishop Vigneron Archeology Architecture Art Art Buchwald Ash Wednesday Assisted Suicide Astronauts Atheism Athletes Babies Baptism Beatification Beauty Bible Biochemistry Bioethics Birds Bishop Lori Bishops Blasphemy Books Canon Law Canonization Capital Punishment Cardinal Burke Cardinal Dolan Cardinal George Caritas Catechesis Catechism of the Catholic Church Catholic Catholic Education Catholic Higher Education Catholic Social Teaching Celibacy Cemeteries Character Charity Chastity Cheapskate Christian Unity Christmas Churches Civil Rights Cloning Comedy Communion of Saints Community Kitchens Confession Confirmation Conscience Consequences Consistory Constitution Contraception Conversion Cooking Councils of the Church Creativity Criminal Justice Cristero War Crucifixion Crystal Cathedral Culture Death Death and Dying Death Penalty Department of Health and Human Services Diaconate Dictatorship of Relativism Dignity Disability Discrimination Dissidence Divorce Doctors of the Church Early Church Fathers Easter Economics Ecumenism Education Encyclicals Environmentalism Episcopal Church Eucharist Euthanasia Evangelism Evangelists Evangelization Evolution Excuses Facebook Faith Families Family Fashion Fasting Fatherhood Federal Government Feminism Fiction Film First Amendment First Communion For Greater Glory Forgiveness Free Speech Friends Friendship Gender Discrimination Germany Gnosticism Good Friday Government Grace Greed Gregorian Calendar Happiness Health Heaven Heresy History Holidays Holiness Hollywood Holy Land Holy Saturday Holy Spirit Holy Week Holy Year Home Sweet Home Homosexuality Hope Humanism Humility Humor Imagination Immaculate Conception Immigration Impulsivity In Vitro Fertilization Incarnation Indulgences Infallibility Internet Islam Italy Jerusalem Jesus Judaism Justice Kathleen Sebelius Labor Movement LCWR Lent Life Literature Liturgy Lourdes Love Magi Marketing Marriage Martyrdom Martyrs Mary Mass Media Medical Ethics Mexico Michigan Miracles Missionaries Modernism Modesty Monks Monothelitism Motherhood Movies Mushrooms Music Muslim Mystery Mysticism Mythology Nativity Natural Law Nature New Evangelization New Media New Year New Year's Resolutions Nostalgia Obscenity Occult Old Testament Origen Orthodox Orvieto Pallium Papacy Parenting Patience Patriarch Bartholomew Patriotism Peace Peace and Justice Penitence Pentecost People Persecution Philosophy Poetry Political activism Political Correctness Politics Polls Pop Culture Pope Benedict XVI Pope Francis Pope John Paul II Pope John XXIII Pope Paul VI Pope St. Pius X Pope Urban VII Population Prayer Preaching Prejudice Pride Priesthood Pro-Life Protestantism Psychology Purgatory Queenship of Mary Racism Rape Real Presence Reconciliation Reformation Relics Religious Religious Liberty Reliquary Renewal Reproductive Technology Resurrection Rights Romance Rome Royalty Sacraments Sacred Heart Saints Satanism Science Science Fiction Scripture Seal of Confession Secularism Seniors September 11 Seventy Times Seven Sexuality Sharks Sin Smoking Social Communications Social Justice Social Networking Social Sciences Space Exploration Spirituality Sports St. Luke St. Patrick's Day St. Paul St. Peter St. Teresa of Avila Stations of the Cross Steve Jobs Superstition Supreme Court Symbolism Synod Technology Teen Rebellion Television Terrorism Thankfulness Thanksgiving Theology Think This, Not That Tobit Toilets Toys Tradition Traditions Transplants Travel Trinity Twitter U.S. Air Force Uncategorized United Nations USCCB Valentine Vatican Vatican Archives Vatican Blogfest Virtue Vocations Where We Pray White Heart Women World Day of Social Communications World Meeting of Families World News World Youth Day Worship Writing Year of Consecrated Life Year of Faith Year of Mercy Youth

Select a Month December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012 October 2012 September 2012 August 2012 July 2012 June 2012 May 2012 April 2012 March 2012 February 2012 January 2012 December 2011 November 2011 October 2011 September 2011 August 2011 July 2011 June 2011 May 2011 April 2011 March 2011 February 2011 January 2011 December 2010 November 2010 October 2010

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

I am patient and kind. I do not envy or boast. I never fail and endure all things. What am I?

Select your answer to see how you score.

Hope Grace Love Faith