Cathedral of Christ the Light

The Cathedral of Christ the Light and also called the Oakland Cathedral, is the cathedral of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Oakland in Oakland, California. It is the seat of the Bishop of Oakland. Christ the Light, the first cathedral built in the twenty-first century, replaces the Cathedral of Saint Francis de Sales, irreparably damaged in the Loma Prieta earthquake of 1989"Cathedral In The News".

Christ the Light, as a larger Cathedral Center, is composed of the cathedral church, chancery offices of the bishop's curia, diocesean conference center, rectory (priest residence), health services center (which provides free diagnostic services to people without health insurance), and a mausoleum. The mausoleum features twelve crypts reserved for the bishops of Oakland and burial sites available to the members of the diocese for a comparable price to the other Catholic cemeteries in the Diocese. The Cathedral Center also houses a cafe and bookstore, as well as a public plaza and gardenThe Cathedral of Christ the Light.

Christ the Light is designed by architect Craig W. Hartman, FAIA of Skidmore, Owings and MerrillBiography, Craig W. Hartman, FAIA. The Catholic Cathedral Corporation of the East Bay, the incorporated owner of the cathedralWebcor Builders - Current and Recent Projects, chose Webcor Builders as the general contractor of cathedral construction. Originally planned in 2000 under the direction of Bishop John Stephen CumminsThe Cathedral of Christ the Light and broken ground on May 21, 2005, Christ the Light was consecrated and dedicated by Bishop Allen Henry Vigneron on September 25, 2008The Cathedral of Christ the Light. On All Souls' Day November 2, the mausoleum will be dedicated and the first Bishop of Oakland, Floyd Lawrence Begin, will be reburied in one of its crypts.

Located at 2121 Harrison Street in Oakland, the cathedral serves as mother church of approximately 530,000 professed CatholicsOakland (Diocese) [Catholic-Hierarchy] in the Counties of Alameda and Contra CostaParish Directory.

Design

The Catholic Cathedral Corporation of the East Bay instituted a design competition for Christ the Light. Various designs were judged and the corporation announced Santiago Calatrava, of Valencia, Spain as the winner. He designed the post-September 11 World Trade Center Port Authority Trans-Hudson station in New York City. Calatrava's design for Christ the Light was chosen before a site was appropriated for the project. By the time a site was chosen, a parking lot formerly dedicated to the construction of the tallest building in Oakland, Calatrava's design fell out of favor and instead replaced by a design of competition runner-up Craig W. Hartman, FAIA of Skidmore, Owings and Merrill offices in San Francisco.

Hartman, designer of the international terminal at San Francisco International Airport, created a 20th century abstract building from the family of styles developed by architects like Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, famous for creating steel shapes filled with glass. Hartman's vision for Christ the Light was likened to the image of a bishop's mitreOakland Cathedral design project - Domiane Forte, shaped by steel and filled with glass fritThe Cathedral of Christ the Light.

The worship space in Christ the Light is a vesica pisces shape (translated into English means fish bladder), the shape formed by the intersection of two circles. The walls are composed of overlapping panels of wood and glass rising skyward to form the vault, much like the scales of a fish. The design is inspired by the miracle of the loaves and the fishes in Christian tradition, among other motifs. The Oakland Tribune wrote of the Hartman's description of light, "The design allows light to filter in, reminiscent of how light filters through a canopy of tall redwood trees in a wooded glade, Hartman said".

Like the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels which serves the Archdiocese of Los Angeles, Christ the Light is built with protective measures against earthquake damage.

A small garden on Christ the Light's grounds is intended to serve as a place of healing for survivors of clergy sexual abuse. Designed by a survivors' group in collaboration with the Oakland Diocese, the garden will feature a basalt sculpture and a plaque inscribed "We remember, and we affirm: never again."Catholic Voice

Orgues Létourneau Limitée Organ Opus 118 was intalled on both side of the Vesica.

Costs

The Catholic Cathedral Corporation of the East Bay was an outgrowth of a February 2000 meeting of representatives from parishes of the Diocese of Oakland. The summit reached consensus to proceed with the planning of a new cathedral. The newly incorporated Catholic Cathedral Corporation of the East Bay, a non-profit organization independent of the chancery of the Diocese of Oakland, began soliciting donations for its Cathedral Campaign.

Despite considerable support, the Cathedral Campaign gained critics concerned with the chosen modern design and its price-tag for construction, estimated at USD 191 million in donations. There was debate as to whether or not traditional church architecture was more appropriate than Hartman's modern architecture.

Each year Catholics and Catholic organizations contribute over USD 386 million in social services and education to people of all faiths in Alameda and Contra Costa Counties; the cost to build Christ the Light would be equivalent to 7% of that contribution over the seven years of the cathedral design and construction. Suggestions were made to use the donations for other projects instead, like those administered by the diocese to help the poor.

Gallery

Cathedral interior

Crypt interior

Notes

External links

• Cathedral of Christ the Light
• Cathedrals of California
• Oakland Convention & Visitors Bureau

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