LOS ANGELES — The former Crystal Cathedral will close to the public as it undergoes a transformation from a space built as a television studio as much as a sanctuary into the spiritual home for the Orange County Catholic community of more than 1.2 million people.
Beginning Sunday, the newly named Christ Cathedral will be closed for construction as crews launch a $29 million effort to restore the more than 75,000-square-foot space.
The Diocese of Orange has been working with liturgical consultants and architects to modify the church built in the vision of the Rev. Robert Schuller into one that meets the requirements of a Catholic cathedral.
“The beauty and inspiration evoked by the cathedral grounds and its architecture are only surpassed by the extraordinary communities of faith that now call this campus home,” Bishop Kevin Vann said. “The cathedral will be an international center of faith and evangelization, a vessel for the love of God, a beacon of faith, a home for neighbor and traveler.”
Catholic scholars said the church has converted the temples of other faiths, and even secular spaces, into cathedrals. But in more modern times, the project stands as a rarity, as it is believed to be the first Protestant megachurch to become a Catholic cathedral, the primary church within a diocese.
Pipe organ
One of the first steps in the renovation will be to remove the pipe organ — reportedly one of the largest in the world — so it can be shipped to Italy and refurbished in time for the cathedral’s reopening, set for 2016.
The renovation process of the 34-acre campus began in July, when the diocese took possession of the grounds from Schuller’s ministries, which had fallen into bankruptcy.
The renovations started with the Arboretum, where the congregation of St. Callistus Catholic Church began gathering earlier this year when its Garden Grove church became home to the former Crystal Cathedral ministry.
The Arboretum was the first sanctuary built by Schuller and had a unique design that allowed him to preach to a congregation inside as well as to people who sat outside in their cars, much like the Orange drive-in theater where his ministry began.
The building was designed in the late 1970s by noted architect Philip Johnson. It took more than two years to build, and stood 12 stories tall, with an exterior of more than 10,000 panes of mirrored glass.
