The London Oratory Schola Cantorum Boys Choir became the first visiting choir to perform in a concert at the newly dedicated Christ Cathedral in Southern California on 21 July.
Formerly known as “Crystal Cathedral”, the Southern Californian landmark building was dedicated on 17 July as Christ Cathedral, the new seat of the seventh-largest Catholic Church diocese in the United States.
Once the home of evangelical pastor Robert Schuller of the Reformed Church in America and the backdrop to the nation’s most popular religious television programme, the “Hour of Power”, the building was purchased by the Diocese of Orange in 2012 after Schuller’s ministry went bankrupt.
The 78,000-square-foot cathedral has since been subject to a $77 million renovation by the Diocese of Orange including the installation of 11,000 sail-shaped quatrefoil window shades; a Carrara marble altar from Italy and a 1,000-lb crucifix forged from blackened steel and encrusted with jewels.
The Oratory’s liturgical choir on Sunday performed a programme of sacred music from the English and Spanish renaissance, marking the launch of the Schola’s latest recording, “Sacred Treasures of Spain”, which was released in June.
Christ Cathedral, built in 1980 at the cost of $18 million, contains 135 pews on the main floor and three balconies. The building has a 236-foot steel spire and a 52-bell carillon that were completed in 1990. The recent renovation required 11 million pieces of scaffolding to be erected.
"I would hope that when people see that steeple they will think, “God is here!’ and he’s drawing us toward himself and one another through the ministry and presence of Christ Cathedral, and the presence of God is growing," Bishop Vann of the Diocese of Orange said in a recent interview with Crux news.
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