Christ Cathedral in Garden Grove: The Mother Church of the Diocese of Orange
On a 34-acre campus in Garden Grove, California, a soaring glass building designed by Philip Johnson now serves as the spiritual home of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Orange. Christ Cathedral draws more than 10,000 faithful to its eleven Sunday Masses, celebrated in English, Spanish, Vietnamese, and Chinese, with a monthly Filipino Mass as well. The parish community that gathers at the cathedral each week grew out of the former Saint Callistus parish, known for its hospitality and outreach, and that same spirit of welcome now defines the cathedral as the mother church of a diocese serving 1.3 million Catholics across Orange County.
Eleven Sunday Masses in Four Languages
The weekend begins on Saturday evening with a Vigil Mass in English at 4:30 p.m., followed by a Vietnamese Vigil at 6:30 p.m. On Sunday morning, the bells of the Crean Tower carillon call the faithful to Mass throughout the day. Vietnamese is celebrated at 6:30 a.m., Spanish at 8:00 a.m., English at 10:00 a.m. (livestreamed), and Chinese at 10:30 a.m. in the St. Callistus Chapel. Spanish returns at noon, Vietnamese is offered at 2:00 p.m. and 4:00 p.m., English at 5:45 p.m., and Spanish at 7:30 p.m.
Daily Mass is celebrated Monday through Friday at 6:30 a.m. in the St. Callistus Chapel and livestreamed. Monday through Thursday also have an 8:00 a.m. English Mass in the St. Callistus Chapel, while Friday has an 8:15 a.m. English Mass in the Cathedral. A Vietnamese Mass is offered each weekday evening at 5:30 p.m., and Spanish Mass is celebrated Thursday and Friday at 7:15 p.m. Saturday brings an 8:00 a.m. English Mass and a 9:00 a.m. Vietnamese Mass, with a special Mass at the Our Lady of La Vang Shrine on the first Saturday of each month following an 8:30 a.m. rosary.
From Drive-In Pulpit to Crystal Cathedral to Christ Cathedral
The story of the campus stretches back to 1955, when a young Reformed Church in America preacher named Robert H. Schuller began preaching from the roof of the Orange Drive-In Theater. As his drive-in congregation grew, he built the 1,400-seat Garden Grove Community Church, designed so the pastor's voice could still reach worshippers seated in their cars. Schuller's televised "Hour of Power" carried his message around the world, and by 1975 the congregation had outgrown the building that is now known as the Arboretum.
Schuller asked American architect Philip Johnson and his partner John Burgee to design a new worship space. When the model was unveiled, Schuller reportedly exclaimed, "Wow! It looks like a Crystal Cathedral!" The all-glass church, completed in 1980 at a cost of 18 million dollars, became the centerpiece of Crystal Cathedral Ministries. The 236-foot steel spire and its 52-bell carillon followed in 1990.
After the ministry filed for bankruptcy, the 34-acre campus was sold to the Roman Catholic Diocese of Orange in 2012, with the blessing and support of Schuller and his wife Arvella. The cathedral building is believed to be the first Protestant church to be converted to a Catholic place of worship. A 29-million-dollar renovation by Johnson Fain prepared the space for Catholic liturgy, and on July 17, 2019, Bishop Kevin W. Vann dedicated Christ Cathedral as the new seat and mother church of the Diocese of Orange.
The Building and the Bell Tower
The cathedral is a nine-story glass structure designed to withstand a magnitude 8 earthquake. Bishop Vann personally traveled to Verona, Italy, to select the stone and marble for the altar, cathedra, ambo, and baptismal font. The Crux Gemmata, a medieval-style cross bearing the corpus of Christ, was crafted in Omaha, Nebraska, from blackened steel. It weighs 1,000 pounds and rises 18 feet above the altar from the baldachin. Eleven thousand steel powder-coated "quatrefoils" shade the windows and walls.
The Crean Tower houses the 52-bell carillon and offers views across the campus. The Arboretum, the original 1,400-seat Garden Grove Community Church building, is now used for gatherings and large events. The 132,000-square-foot Pastoral Center, originally the Family Life Center designed by Gin Wong and Associates in 1990, now houses the diocesan offices on its third and fourth floors and Christ Cathedral Academy on the lower levels. The Tower of Hope, marked by a large cross on its roof, is home to New Hope Ministries 24-hour telephone counseling and KCEO Radio, which reaches as many as 6.8 million listeners through the Relevant Radio network. The Cultural Center contains the Freed Performing Arts Theatre.
Confession, Adoration, and a Perpetual Chapel
Confession booths inside the Cathedral are staffed in English, Spanish, and Vietnamese throughout the week. Wednesday offers sessions from 7:05 to 7:50 a.m. in English and Spanish, and from 6:15 to 7:00 p.m. in English and Vietnamese. Friday brings an evening hour from 6:00 to 7:00 p.m. in all three languages, and Saturday morning from 8:30 to 9:30 a.m. Reconciliation is also available by appointment through the parish office.
Eucharistic Adoration is held Monday through Friday from 6:00 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. in the Blessed Sacrament Chapel, with additional hours from 7:00 to 8:00 a.m. in the St. Callistus Chapel, 5:00 to 5:30 p.m. in the Cathedral, and 6:30 to 7:00 p.m. in the Cathedral on Thursdays. On the second Tuesday of every month, adoration extends for a full 24 hours inside the Cathedral. A new Perpetual Adoration Chapel was blessed by Bishop Vann, making continuous adoration available to the faithful through a sign-up ministry.
The Sacraments of a Cathedral Parish
As the mother church of a diocese of 64 parishes, Christ Cathedral is a center for the celebration of every sacrament. Group Baptisms for infants and children up to six years of age are held in English on the fourth Saturday of each month, in Spanish on the first and third Saturdays (and the fifth when the calendar allows), and in Vietnamese on the second Saturday. Preparation classes are required for parents, godparents, and Christian witnesses, and Baptism Class Certificates from any parish are accepted as long as they were completed within the previous two years. The Mass and Rite of Baptism, Confirmation, and First Communion for adults take place at the Easter Vigil.
Marriage preparation, Confirmation for high school students, Holy Orders, and the Anointing of the Sick are all coordinated through the parish. The Anointing of the Sick is available around the clock by calling (714) 532-9489. Funerals are arranged through the parish office, and Cathedral Memorial Gardens provides a place of burial on the same campus for Catholics and non-Catholics alike, honoring the multidenominational roots of the property. The cemetery is the resting place of Robert and Arvella Schuller, restaurateur Marie Callender, and pianist Roger Williams.
Faith Formation in English, Spanish, and Vietnamese
Children's Faith Formation is offered in two tracks. The Saturday Program welcomes English-speaking and Spanish-speaking families, with a Spanish-language parent session from 11:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. and an English-language parent session from 2:30 to 4:00 p.m. The Sunday Program is conducted in Vietnamese and includes faith formation, Vietnamese language classes, lunch, and Eucharistic Youth activities running through the 4:00 p.m. Mass. Costs and registration details are published each summer.
High School Confirmation meets weekly on Sunday afternoons at Christ Cathedral Academy, with a required Mass at 5:45 p.m. as part of the session. The Order of Christian Initiation of Adults (OCIA) is offered in English, Spanish, and Vietnamese for adults seeking Baptism, Confirmation, or First Communion, as well as for Catholics who wish to complete their sacramental initiation. Year One of the English OCIA begins in early September, and Year Two mid-September. Children aged seven and above who have not been baptized are welcomed into a special initiation track coordinated by the Faith Formation and Evangelization Coordinator.
Clergy, Deacons, and the People of the Parish
Bishop Kevin W. Vann, the fourth Bishop of Orange, leads the diocese with Auxiliary Bishops Timothy Freyer and Thanh Thai Nguyen. Very Reverend Bao Thai has served as rector of Christ Cathedral since July 2022, the fourth Vietnamese-American rector of a cathedral in the United States. A native of Saigon who came to the United States with his family in 1993, Father Bao was ordained in 2003 and has served parishes across the Diocese of Orange, including San Francisco Solano, St. Anthony Claret, Holy Family Cathedral, Our Lady of La Vang, La Purisima, and St. Cecilia, where he was pastor before being named rector.
Three parochial vicars assist at the cathedral. Reverend Ian Gaston, Reverend Khoi Phan, and Reverend Carlos Luy serve alongside six permanent deacons: Modesto Cordero, Joseph Khiet Nguyen, Huy Nguyen, Louis Liu, Manuel Espitia, and Jose Estevez. Father Ian publishes a weekly podcast of his homilies on Apple Podcasts and Spotify, released each Tuesday.
Music, Concerts, and the Cathedral Choir
The Christ Cathedral Music program supports choral and concert performances throughout the year, with an annual concert season that draws visiting ensembles and sacred music to the Cathedral. The Hazel Wright Organ, one of the great instruments of the region, was refurbished as part of the cathedral renovation and is featured in recitals and liturgies. The Freed Performing Arts Theatre, located in the Cultural Center, hosts smaller performances, conferences, and educational events.
Our Lady of La Vang Shrine and the Marian Gardens
On the eastern edge of the campus stands the Our Lady of La Vang Shrine, a contemporary outdoor display with a canopy-like design meant to evoke the rainforest setting of the 1798 Marian apparition to a group of Vietnamese Catholics. The shrine was dedicated in July 2021, and a monthly Mass in Vietnamese is celebrated there on the first Saturday of each month. Behind the shrine, the Marian Gardens are open to the public for praying the rosary in the open air. The Vietnamese community also gathers on the campus each year for Marian Days, one of the largest Vietnamese Catholic gatherings in the United States.
Tours, Visitor Guidelines, and the Gift Shop
Cathedral Tours are offered Monday through Thursday at 1:00 p.m. and 2:00 p.m., and Campus Tours are offered Friday at 10:00 a.m. and 1:00 p.m. Tours last about an hour to an hour and a half and are free, with donations appreciated. They begin in the lobby of the Tower of Hope, and visitors are asked to park in lots P5 or P7. Tour guides are available in English, Spanish, Vietnamese, Chinese, Korean, and Tagalog, with at least two weeks' notice recommended for non-English tours. All tours are wheelchair accessible, and children are welcome when accompanied by an adult. The campus is open daily from 6:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m., with buildings closing at 9:30 p.m. Monday through Friday and at 9:00 p.m. on weekends. The Christ Cathedral Shop is open Monday through Thursday from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., Friday from 10:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m., and weekends from 9:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m.
Visitor guidelines ask guests to dress modestly, refrain from alcohol, respect landscaped areas, and follow the directions of campus staff. Provocative behavior, yelling, or clothing with obscene language or graphics is not permitted, and groups that attract negative attention will be asked by security to leave. Fire lanes must be kept clear at all times. The cathedral has hosted a 360-degree Shroud of Turin exhibit in the Cultural Center that combines 4D recreations with the history of the artifact.
Community Outreach and the Cantlay Food Distribution Center
The Christ Cathedral Parish Community Outreach operates the Cantlay Food Distribution Center at 2020 W. Chestnut Avenue in Santa Ana, open Thursday mornings from 7:30 a.m. to noon as a drive-through service. Volunteers distribute food to families in need from across the region. The ministry carries on a long tradition of Catholic charity in Orange County and welcomes new volunteers through the parish office.
Special Masses and a Year-Round Calendar
Beyond the regular weekly schedule, the cathedral hosts signature Masses that bring together professionals and communities from across the diocese. The Blue Mass for law enforcement, the Red Mass for the legal community, and the White Mass for healthcare and mental health providers are celebrated annually. Holy Hour for Vocations invites young adult discerners to the Tower of Hope for an hour of silence before the Blessed Sacrament on the second and fourth Fridays of each month. A Solemn Vespers, the blessing of a statue of Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen, and the veneration of his relics are part of the broader diocesan celebration of Sheen's beatification, since Sheen himself once preached on the same campus.
Christ Cathedral Academy and the Parish School
Christ Cathedral Academy serves children in pre-kindergarten through eighth grade in the lower floors of the Pastoral Center, sharing the building with the diocesan offices. The academy is a state-of-the-art educational facility and an extension of the parish's commitment to forming young Catholics. The parish also offers children's faith formation, high school confirmation, and adult OCIA, with separate coordinators for each language community.
The Cathedral Memorial Gardens
Cathedral Memorial Gardens is the fourth active cemetery within the Diocese of Orange and the only ecumenical burial ground in the diocese. Open to both Catholics and non-Catholics, the cemetery is set below the plane of the campus in a quiet landscape near the church. It is a rare operating cemetery adjacent to a church, a living link to the multidenominational history of the property. A virtual tour of the gardens is available, and arrangements for funeral services and burial are coordinated through the parish office.
Living the Jubilee Year of the Diocese of Orange
The Diocese of Orange marks its Golden Jubilee in 2026, fifty years after Pope Paul VI established the diocese on March 24, 1976. The anniversary is a moment of thanksgiving for the growth of Catholic life in Orange County, where 64 parishes and pastoral centers, 37 Catholic schools, and 1.3 million Catholics now make up the local Church. Christ Cathedral stands at the center of that life. Eleven Sunday Masses in four languages, a perpetual adoration chapel, a 52-bell carillon, a glass cathedral large enough to seat a small city's worth of worshippers, and a parish community rooted in the hospitality of the former Saint Callistus congregation all come together on the same Garden Grove campus. Bishop Vann, Father Thai, the parochial vicars, deacons, staff, and volunteers welcome anyone who wishes to step inside the Cathedral, even for a brief moment of prayer.