GARDEN GROVE, (AP) – Roman Catholics have said their first prayers in the Crystal Cathedral since the church bought the Orange County landmark.
According to press reports a prayer breakfast was held last Wednesday in the sanctuary of the former Protestant megachurch. More than 1,200 Roman Catholics filled the steel-and-glass cathedral in Garden Grove. They prayed in front of an image of Our Lady of Guadalupe that was blessed by the pope.
No Mass was said because the church hasn’t yet been sanctified for it.
The cathedral was built by the Rev. Robert H. Schuller and was the site of his “Hour of Power’’ broadcasts. T
The Diocese of Orange bought the cathedral in bankruptcy court last year for nearly $58 million and has renamed it Christ Cathedral.
Twenty some years ago while channel surfing one Sunday morining I came across a service in progress and the music held my attention. Then I heard Rev. Shuller speak and I was hooked. Several years after that I made a special trip to the Cathederal. Some day I hope to return some day to view the various changes. What first attracted me to the Cathederal was the music of the choir and the full orchestra.
The architecture of the Cathederal is outstanding and I thought at that time how it resembled the Catholic Cathederals. So it is not surprising that the Catholic Church came to make the purchase.