Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels

Cathedral of
Our Lady of the Angels
Cathedral of our Lady of the Angels in Los Angeles
Map
34°3′30″N 118°14′45″W / 34.05833°N 118.24583°W / 34.05833; -118.24583
Location555 W. Temple St.
Los Angeles, California
CountryUnited States
DenominationRoman Catholic
Websitewww.olacathedral.org
History
Founded2002
DedicationSeptember 2, 2002
Architecture
Architect(s)Rafael Moneo
StyleModern architecture; deconstructivist elements
Completed2002
Construction cost$189.7 million
Specifications
Capacity3,000 people
Length333 feet (101 m) ; nave
Administration
ArchdioceseLos Angeles
Clergy
ArchbishopJosé Horacio Gómez
AssistantFr. Michael Mesa
Pastor(s)Msgr. Antonio Cacciapuoti

The Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels (Spanish: Catedral de Nuestra Señora de los Ángeles), informally known as the COLA or the Los Angeles Cathedral (Spanish: Catedral de Los Ángeles), is the metropolitan cathedral of the Roman Catholic Church in Los Angeles, California, United States. It opened in 2002 and serves as the mother church for the Archdiocese of Los Angeles,[1] as well as the seat of Archbishop José Horacio Gómez.[2]

The structure replaced the Cathedral of Saint Vibiana, which was severely damaged in the 1994 Northridge earthquake. Under Roger Cardinal Mahony, Archbishop of Los Angeles, Our Lady of the Angels was begun in 1998 and formally dedicated on September 2, 2002. There was considerable controversy over both its deconstructivist and modern design, costs incurred in its construction and furnishing, and the archdiocese's decision to build a crypt under the cathedral.[3]

The cathedral is named in honor of the Virgin Mary under the patronal title of "Our Lady of the Angels", echoing the full name of the original settlement of Los Angeles (Spanish: El Pueblo de Nuestra Señora la Reina de los Ángeles, or "The Town of Our Lady the Queen of the Angels").[4] The cathedral is widely known for enshrining the relics of Saint Vibiana and tilma piece of Our Lady of Guadalupe. It is the mother church to approximately five million professed Catholics in the archdiocese.[5]

  1. ^ "About: History". Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels. Archived from the original on July 9, 2011. Retrieved July 18, 2011.
  2. ^ "Archbishop José Horacio Gómez Velasco". Catholic-Hierarchy.org. David M. Cheney. Retrieved 21 January 2015.
  3. ^ "Why Are There So Many Ugly Churches? - an interview with Morya Doorly". Ignatius Insight. August 13, 2007. Archived from the original on February 2, 2013. Retrieved January 26, 2013.
  4. ^ The Franciscan friars who founded the pueblo town named it for Santa Maria degli Angeli (Italian for "St. Mary of the Angels"), the locality within Assisi where St. Francis began his movement on a "little portion of land" called the Porziuncola.
  5. ^ "Welcome". Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels. Archived from the original on December 22, 2007. Retrieved January 16, 2008.

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