St. Callistus Catholic Church moves to Crystal Cathedral site

[rug]

St. Callistus families celebrate Mass on the former Crystal Cathedral grounds, embracing a new home nearly four times the size of their former place of worship.

By Anh Do
June 29, 2013, 9:59 p.m.

On the plaza of the future Christ Cathedral, 3,000 chairs and 7,000 water bottles awaited the faithful. On Saturday, before Mass welcomed families from St. Callistus Church to their new home, an organizer said into the microphone: "Those sitting in the sun will get more blessings from God."

The service on the grounds once belonging to the Crystal Cathedral started on time at 4 p.m., as a parade of priests led by Bishop Kevin Vann let their words — English, sprinkled with Spanish, Tagalog and Vietnamese — embrace the multicultural crowd.

"No matter the weather, we must be here," said Rosa Maria Rosales, a 26-year member of the Garden Grove Catholic church. After lunch, she had attended the parish's farewell service at the old church, then continued on to this gathering with her friend Mary Sanchez, who cradled a 5-month-old baby.

"Hello and goodbye. Of course, we don't like to leave the old place, but look at this new place!" Sanchez exclaimed, gesturing at the wide expanse of 35 acres — nearly four times the size of the former place of worship less than a mile away.

http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-ff-0630-crystal-cathedral-mass-20130630,0,4379398.story

[IrishAyes]

1. May the building be put to better use now

It was a castle of corruption before. Don't get me started on that, please.

[No Vested Interest]

2. I visited that place about 35 yrs ago - not for a service, but

just a weekday look-see with a bunch of out-of-state ladies.

I just remember that it's huge.
I hope it's not high/expensive maintenance.

[rug]

3. I found this part encouraging.

"This will be a place of welcome for people of all faiths or no faith," said Father Christopher Smith, rector at Christ Cathedral. "We want it to be a shiny example of what it means to do outreach to the poor or the marginalized."

[No Vested Interest]

5. It's good that he said that, but that should be a given.

Think of all the acreage it has - probably a good percentage of it parking spaces.
But still, very valuable property in Orange Co.

An aside - my brother is living in Orange Co., in Yorba Linda - home of the Nixon Library!
He and his lady take in the various speakers there; the latest was D. Rumsfeld, promoting his latest book.
I think it would be much easier for me to adapt to the Crystal Cathedral than to those Nixonian speakers, but chague a son gout.

[hunter]

4. They have to wait 'til 2015 to go inside?

Mass will be celebrated at the arboretum on the campus but not inside the former Crystal Cathedral until architectural and Catholic liturgical alterations are finished, officials said. That probably will be sometime in 2015.

Far speedier than is usual for the Catholic Church, I suppose...

But let's be thankful Disney didn't buy the place and start their own religion.