ON OCT. 14, THE Feast Day of St. Callistus, Bishop Kevin Vann dedicated and blessed Christ Cathedral’s new St. Callistus Chapel and Crypts. Built in a stunning Romano Byzantine style, the chapel in the cathedral undercroft includes burial spaces for generations of Diocese of Orange bishops, as well as niches for all the faithful.
The dedication also served as a day to celebrate the completed transformation of the Crystal Cathedral into Christ Cathedral, an elaborate process that began soon after the purchase of the 34-acre campus was completed in 2012. That saga included extensively renovating the cathedral to accommodate Catholic worship, expanding the property’s cemetery and building the Our Lady of La Vang Shrine.
BISHOP KEVIN VANN ANOINTS THE CHAPEL ALTAR WITH CHRISM OIL DURING A SPECIAL DEDICATION MASS CELEBRATED ON OCT. 14. PHOTO BY EVERETT JOHNSON/DIOCESE OF ORANGE
The dedication Mass featured the placing of a relic of Pope St. Callistus I, who reigned from circa 218 to 222, inside the chapel’s reliquary. In the hours before the Mass, the relic, which was originally at St. Callistus parish after being brought from there from Rome, was venerated by the faithful.
Bishop Vann also anointed the chapel altar with chrism oil. The chapel’s elaborate tabernacle, inspired by 12-century medieval goldsmithing, was blessed, as was its refurbished pipe organ.
BISHOP TIMOTHY FREYER, BISHOP KEVIN VANN AND BISHOP THANH THAI NGUYEN ARE PICTURED INSIDE CHRIST CATHEDRAL’S NEW ST. CALLISTUS CHAPEL AND CRYPTS WHICH WAS DEDICATED ON OCT. 14. PHOTO BY IAN TRAN/DIOCESE OF ORANGE
The roughly 11,000-square-foot chapel was named after St. Callistus Catholic Church, a parish in Garden Grove that closed in 2013 as part of the Crystal Cathedral sale. St. Callistus parishioners became the initial congregation of the campus, and Bishop Vann promised to remember their trust and sacrifice by naming the chapel after them.
“From the very beginning, it was determined that St. Callistus parish, the community out of which Christ Cathedral was born, would be forever honored by the presence of a chapel in the undercroft of the cathedral,” said the Very Rev. Christopher Smith, rector emeritus of Christ Cathedral, during the dedication Mass. “This chapel would be forever known as the St. Callistus chapel and, as we said over the years, that through the presence of this chapel the name St. Callistus now will always be part of the name Christ Cathedral.”
Notable within the St. Callistus chapel is a painting of Dr. Robert and Arvella Schuller, founders of the Crystal Cathedral. Their son, Robert A. Schuller, also of the Reformed Church in America, and his wife Donna were present at the chapel’s dedication Mass. They placed a wreath of flowers in front of the painting.
ROBERT A. SCHULLER, SON OF CRYSTAL CATHEDRAL FOUNDERS ROBERT H. SCHULLER AND ARVELLA SCHULLER, AND HIS WIFE DONNA WERE IN ATTENDANCE FOR THE DEDICATION OF CHRIST CATHEDRAL’S ST. CALLISTUS CHAPEL AND CRYPTS. PHOTO BY IAN TRAN/DIOCESE OF ORANGE
“We are here today in this sacred encounter with Christ the Lord in the continuing story and mission of the Crystal Cathedral and Christ Cathedral,” said Bishop Vann, who also noted two nods to Crystal Cathedral history: quartz on the cathedral’s crux gemmata crucifix and the crystal draw knobs of the chapel organ console.
“The dedication of Christ Cathedral celebrated the profound faith of people who inspired the legacy of Dr. Robert H. Schuller and the Crystal Cathedral,” Bishop Vann continued, “which is echoed in small part today … and even more so by the portraits of Robert and Arvella Schuller.”
The St. Callistus Chapel and Crypts is now open daily. It will be used as an additional worship space for the cathedral campus, able to host Masses, weddings, funerals, lectures and other gatherings.
Paige Brooks also contributed to this story.