ON JUNE 29, 2013, Fr. Tuyen Nguyen, then pastor of St. Callistus Catholic Church, was among the dozens of priests, parishioners and staff members who walked the long city block down Lewis Street to what eventually would become a new permanent home for the parish at Christ Cathedral.
DR. ELYSABETH NGUYEN SPEAKS DURING THE DEDICATION AND BLESSING OF THE NEW ST. CALLISTUS CHAPEL AND CRYPTS CELEBRATED ON OCT. 14. PHOTOS BY EVERETT JOHNSON/DIOCESE OF ORANGE
The procession marked the beginning of a long and, for many, challenging journey that officially ended on Oct. 14, 2024, with the dedication and blessing of St. Callistus Chapel and Crypts.
St. Callistus parishioners can thank members of the OLLV Foundation – as well as diocesan leaders, who were committed to building them a new home – for helping them get to the finish line.
Bishop Kevin Vann had this to say regarding the foundation’s efforts:
“It has taken years to achieve this moment of completing our beautiful Christ Cathedral campus, and certainly our friends at the OLLV Foundation played their part in achieving this milestone. Their years of fundraising, first for the Our Lady of La Vang Shrine and Marian Gardens, and now the St. Callistus Chapel and Crypts, have been instrumental to our success. Moreover, the foundation and its donors reflect our rich diversity and heritage in the Diocese of Orange. Their generosity will bless the faithful of today and those long into the future.”
OLLV, an independent nonprofit, has raised millions of dollars in an ongoing campaign to cover the cost of the new chapel and crypts, located in the undercroft of Christ Cathedral.
KAREN ROTE, FR. TUYEN NGUYEN, DR. ELYSABETH NGUYEN, NANETTE ABITRIA AND JOSEFINA PENNING ARE PICTURED INSIDE CHRIST CATHEDRAL’S NEW ST. CALLISTUS CHAPEL AND CRYPTS. PHOTO COURTESY OF DR. ELYSABETH NGUYEN
The opening of the chapel and crypts marked the 14-year completion of Christ Cathedral’s transformation from the Crystal Cathedral campus.
‘CHANGING PEOPLE’S LIVES’
The former St. Callistus was closed in 2013 as part of the Diocese’s purchase of the 34-acre campus from the late Dr. Robert H Schuller’s Crystal Cathedral Protestant megachurch in 2012.
For many parishioners of the multiethnic but predominantly Vietnamese parish, it was wrenching to say goodbye to the only church they had ever known and wait for years for the new one to materialize.
Now, they’re embracing their new home.
“I go there every day to pray and see how the new chapel is serving a lot of different people in various stages of their faith journey,” said Dr. Elysabeth Nguyen, a Christ Cathedral parishioner, longtime Diocese of Orange committee member and Silicon Valley veteran with strong connections to the Vietnamese American community who founded the OLLV Foundation in October 2022.
“Knowing this new sacred space is being used is the greatest satisfaction because I know it’s changing people’s lives,” Nguyen said.
LONGSTANDING ROOTS
The roots of the OLLV Foundation go back to 2012, when the Diocese bought the Garden Grove property.
After the Nguyen-run committee raised funds for the Our Lady of La Vang Shrine that opened on the Garden Grove campus on July 17, 2021, the committee formerly became a foundation in 2022 at the behest of Father Bao Thai, rector of Christ Cathedral, and Bishop Kevin Vann. The move was made so the group could continue a philanthropic campaign for the new St. Callistus Chapel and Crypts, as well as for the Marian Gardens, which is presently open to the public and features prayer locations based on the four mysteries of the Rosary.
Because many of the members of the committee and the OLLV Foundation were displaced St. Callistus parishioners, it wasn’t always easy, especially at first, to garner financial support from donors for the new chapel and crypts, Nguyen said.
But she had something to turn to as she and her fellow foundations members made their appeals: Her own story.
BUILDING GOD’S KINGDOM
“I understand what it’s like to be moved from your home,” said Nguyen, whose parents relocated the family first in the 1950s, to South Vietnam from North Vietnam, and then to the U.S. in the mid-1970s after the fall of Saigon.
The immigrant family then had to move a few times in the Midwest where they initially settled before Nguyen finally relocated to California in the 1990s to attend college.
“A lot of the St. Callistus parishioners are older than me, and for years the original church had been their home,” Nguyen said. “So, part of my appeal to them was, ‘God has a plan that we might not understand in our lifetime,’” she added. “One thing I know is that change is the only consistent thing in life. I told them we must figure out as a community how to contribute positively and be part of an exciting new journey as opposed to not being part of it.
“I told them, ‘We’re building our home. This is God’s home. We’re not doing it for us. We’re helping Him to build His kingdom.’”
People listened.
THANKFUL FOR GOD’S BLESSINGS
Nancy Le, a first-generation Vietnamese immigrant and retired self-made millionaire who made her money in real estate and textiles, donated $350,000 for the St. Callistus Chapels and Crypt campaign – the largest individual donor to date.
A mother and a grandmother, Le also is set to expand that initial gift to $1 million, Nguyen said.
Le is a first-time donor as are many OLLV Foundation members.
“The foundation, over time, has gained the trust of many people and encouraged them to become philanthropists,” Nguyen said.
The OLLV Foundation is far from being a Vietnamese-only non-profit, Nguyen noted. Its members include people from at least nine different ethnic groups, from Chinese to Korean to Spanish-speaking communities, she said.
“We have now amassed support from different ethnic groups because they see the value of, one, being part of one church, and two, just because many of them are newcomers to the U.S. or to the Christ Cathedral, they realize they can make an impact.”
The husband-and-wife team of Chu and Nguyet Nguyen gave $200,000 for the St. Callistus Chapel and Crypts campaign.
A small business in Westminster donated $85,000, and the Chinese community at Christ Cathedral raised $50,000.
Past St. Callistus parish community presidents Ryan Pham and Josh Nguyen also have supported the project.
Le thanked Nguyen for reaching out and asking her to be part of the campaign to build the St. Callistus Chapel and Crypts. “I’m thankful to God for all the blessings He’s given my family since I came to the United States not knowing a word of English,” Le said of her $350,000 gift. “I know everything I have today, including all the things my children have, is because of God.”