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By David GibsonReligion News Service (RNS) Even by the depressed metrics of Southern California's real estate market, the Roman Catholic Diocese of Orange negotiated a pretty sweet deal when it purchased the iconic ...
(RNS) Even by the depressed metrics of Southern California's real estate market, the Roman Catholic Diocese of Orange negotiated a pretty sweet deal when it purchased the iconic Crystal Cathedral, the longtime pulpit of the Rev. Robert H. Schuller and backdrop to his popular "Hour of Power" television broadcasts.
Not only did Catholics get a national landmark designed by the renowned architect Philip Johnson, but Bishop Tod D. Brown wasn't even the highest bidder: Schuller and the board of the proudly Protestant megachurch, opted to take Brown's $57.5 million offer over a $59 million pitch from Chapman University because the bishop would keep the campus as a place of worship.
But divine intervention -- or at least "an exceptionally gifted architect," as one anxious churchman put it -- will now be needed to transform this temple of suburban evangelicalism into a Catholic sanctuary that will make the cathedral a real bargain and not a liturgical white elephant.
That won't be an easy task, given the disparity between traditional Catholic worship requirements and modern Protestant sensibilities. The challenge of redesigning the Crystal Cathedral's interior was central to the cost-benefit analysis that was driving the Orange diocese's calculations throughout the process, according to church officials familiar with the deal.
In fact, Brown was initially cool to the idea of buying the Crystal Cathedral, which was $50 million in debt when it filed for bankruptcy last year. Brown, who wanted to leave a new cathedral as part of his legacy, was only gradually won over by aides and business advisers.
Some of the bishop's hesitation stemmed from the fact that while the 2,800-seat Crystal Cathedral was a relative bargain, the diocese does not have much cash on hand. The diocese will need to launch a major fundraising effort that could total $100 million, and would entail the sale of other property in order to cover the $57.5 million price tag, as well as several million more that will be needed for renovations and hefty maintenance costs.
For one thing, the Crystal Cathedral's price tag was a lot less than it would have cost to build a new cathedral from the ground up. The Diocese of Orange -- now the 10th largest in the nation, with 1.2 million Catholic souls -- was facing construction costs approaching $200 million on a lot half the size of the Crystal Cathedral's 31-acre campus.
And for those who may wince at the assertive modernism of the Crystal Cathedral's glass design, the reality is that any new cathedral would likely have followed a similar style. Just look up the coast to Oakland's glass-and-steel Cathedral of Christ the Light, which was dedicated in 2008.
Similarly, lingering concerns over the cost and size of the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels in Los Angeles -- nicknamed the "Taj Mahony" after its visionary, retired Los Angeles Cardinal Roger Mahony -- also played into the decision to make the Crystal Cathedral deal work.
"This was a no-brainer from a business perspective," said a churchman familiar with the purchase, who also declined to be named as negotiations continue.
But even after the deal was sealed, there was another hurdle looming: the Vatican had to sign off on the deal, and it was far from a foregone conclusion. Just as the deal was coming together, it was revealed that Pope Benedict XVI was setting up a new Vatican office to vet the construction or purchase of major new churches around the world.
That posed a special challenge because the goal of the commission is to ensure that new cathedrals, unlike some recent designs, are not "buildings composed of cement cubes, glass boxes, crazy shapes and confused spaces (that) remind people of anything but the mystery and sacredness of a church," as Vatican watcher Andrea Tornielli put it in his story on the new body.
To some, the Crystal Cathedral, which was completed in 1980, would fit that unflattering description. But after a series of exchanges with the Orange diocese, Rome finally gave its approval -- two weeks after Brown had won the bidding war.
Now comes the hard part: transforming the Crystal Cathedral from a theaterlike atrium complete with Sony Jumbotron screens into a Catholic cathedral where priests will celebrate Mass with incense and reverence.
Brown already said he has "no intention to change the exterior" of the famous building, but he also conceded that it would require "critical design upgrades" inside to make it "suitable for a Catholic place of worship."
In a blog post at U.S. Catholic magazine, journalist Megan Sweas questioned whether any renovation could sufficiently sever the cathedral's ties to Schuller's feel-good, made-for-television approach to ministry.
"The space could benefit from a sprucing up, but I hope the diocese goes further than that," Sweas wrote, adding: "How can the Catholic Church make the space its own while respecting what came before?"
One local priest who supports the purchase of the Crystal Cathedral said he is hoping for the best -- but also preparing for the worst: "This could be a liturgical home run," he said, "or a complete disaster."
By David Gibson Religion News Service (RNS) Even by the depressed metrics of Southern California's real estate market, the Roman Catholic Diocese of Orange negotiated a pretty sweet deal when it p...
By David Gibson Religion News Service (RNS) Even by the depressed metrics of Southern California's real estate market, the Roman Catholic Diocese of Orange negotiated a pretty sweet deal when it p...
SANTA ANA, Calif. ? The sale of the Crystal Cathedral to the Catholic church could mark an end to the storied televangelist ministry broadcast around...
SANTA ANA, Calif. -- A federal bankruptcy court hearing aimed at settling the future of the financially ailing Crystal Cathedral turned into a bidding match...
California-based megachurch Crystal Cathedral has made what churchgoers find to be a strange request: Drop off meals for its founder Robert Schuller's pneumonia-stricken wife, Arvella,...
By Adelle M. Banks Religion News Service (RNS) Crystal Cathedral officials have endorsed an offer from a nearby California university to purchase the glass-walled megachurch...
SANTA ANA, Calif. ? The sale of the Crystal Cathedral to the Catholic church could mark an end to the storied televangelist ministry broadcast around...
SANTA ANA, Calif. -- A federal bankruptcy court hearing aimed at settling the future of the financially ailing Crystal Cathedral turned into a bidding match...
California-based megachurch Crystal Cathedral has made what churchgoers find to be a strange request: Drop off meals for its founder Robert Schuller's pneumonia-stricken wife, Arvella,...
By Adelle M. Banks Religion News Service (RNS) Crystal Cathedral officials have endorsed an offer from a nearby California university to purchase the glass-walled megachurch...
By Jason Kandel and Alex Dobuzinskis LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - The bankruptcy sale of Crystal Cathedral, the glass-walled Orange County church known for its "Hour...
By Adelle M. Banks Religion News Service (RNS) The Crystal Cathedral, which has put its iconic campus up for sale to end a bankruptcy crisis,...
Mayhill Fowler Mayhill Fowler: Burning Jesus: Religion in the Shadow of American Society Skye Jethani Skye Jethani: Megachurches: When Will The Bubble Burst? Tim Suttle Tim Suttle: The Failure of the Megachurch Cathleen Falsani Cathleen Falsani: Colossal Cathedrals: Building for God or Ourselves? Tony Campolo Tony Campolo: Why Throw Stones at the Crystal Cathedral?
Religious belief, even though it is a prime mover of humanity, has become an area of knowledge and experience where media fears to tread. This is a major shortfall.
But buried in the positive stats about megachurches may be signs of challenges ahead. Could a bubble be forming? And when it finally bursts will the mega-model be abandoned or severely reengineered?
If the church is the body of Christ, then the mega-church is a body on steroids... For a church to become that abnormally large it has to make use of such artificial means that it actually ceases to be a healthy church model.
"The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth," Acts 17:24 reminds us, "and does not live in temples built by hands."
As the news of the financial woes of the Crystal Cathedral is heralded across the country and around the world, a host of critical voices have been raised. This criticism must be addressed.
But buried in the positive stats about megachurches may be signs of challenges ahead. Could a bubble be forming? And when it finally bursts will the mega-model be abandoned or severely reengineered?
If the church is the body of Christ, then the mega-church is a body on steroids... For a church to become that abnormally large it has to make use of such artificial means that it actually ceases to be a healthy church model.
"The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth," Acts 17:24 reminds us, "and does not live in temples built by hands."
As the news of the financial woes of the Crystal Cathedral is heralded across the country and around the world, a host of critical voices have been raised. This criticism must be addressed.
catholiclawyer Since diocese was going to build a butt-ugly new cathedral anyway,just as well it saved money buying Crystal Cathedral. http://t.
LovelyLioness23 Buying The Crystal Cathedral: Great Deal Or Big Gamble?: By David GibsonReligion News Service(RNS) Even by the d... http://t.
HamdyTiansyah Buying The Crystal Cathedral: Great Deal Or Big Gamble?: By David GibsonReligion News Service(RNS) Even by the d... http://t.
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01:50 PM on 12/15/2011 After forking over billions in the abuse scandals, this is how the hierarchy decides how to use more of the church funds. I can see a South Park episode being written now.
05:02 PM on 12/14/2011 This purchase is a home run. The diocese bought a campus that would cost $400-500M to replicate for only $57.5M. Even just a cathedral on existing diocesan property would have cost more than $100M. I was also very concerned about the type of structure Bp. Brown would commission given the recent structures in Los Angeles and Oakland, CA. The only way the Diocese of Orange could screw-up now would be to execute a lousy and expensive remodel of the interior of the cathedral. Please Bp. Brown, leave the remodeling to your successor! For those that feel the need to use the tired "feed the homeless" attack anytime the Church does anything they dislike I will leave them with this Scripture:
MARK 14:3-7: "When he was in Bethany reclining at table in the house of Simon the leper, a woman came with an alabaster jar of perfumed oil, costly genuine spikenard. She broke the alabaster jar and poured it on his head. There were some who were indignant. Why has there been this waste of perfumed oil? It could have been sold for more than three hundred days' wages and the money given to the poor. They were infuriated with her. Jesus said, Let her alone. Why do you make trouble for her? She has done a good thing for me. The poor you will always have with you, and whenever you wish you can do good to them, but you will not always have me."
09:33 AM on 12/14/2011 One reason I left the catholic church is because of things like this. Money that could have been spent on the poor being spent to acquire property that benefits no one. The Church is so hypocritical.
05:04 PM on 12/14/2011 You should read Mark 14:3-7 and actually pray on it. You suggest "to acquire property that benefits no one" yet you couldn't be more wrong. You should be ashamed of yourself for spewing the tired and erroneous "Money that could have been spent on the poor" crap...
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