- Cathedral of Christ the Light
-
Cathedral of Christ the Light 
Exterior view of The Cathedral of Christ the Light
Basic information Location Oakland, California
United StatesGeographic coordinates 37°48′38″N 122°15′46″W / 37.8105°N 122.2629°WCoordinates: 37°48′38″N 122°15′46″W / 37.8105°N 122.2629°W Affiliation Roman Catholic Church Province Archdiocese of San Francisco District Diocese of Oakland Ecclesiastical or organizational status Cathedral Leadership Salvatore J. Cordileone, Bishop of Oakland Website http://www.ctlcathedral.org/ Architectural description Architect(s) Craig W. Hartman, FAIA
Skidmore, Owings and MerrillArchitectural style Modern architecture
Late 20th century abstractGeneral contractor Webcor Builders Completed 2008 Specifications Materials ceramic frit, concrete, Douglas fir, glass frit, steel 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 21st century, replaces the Cathedral of Saint Francis de Sales, irreparably damaged in the Loma Prieta earthquake of 1989.[1]
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 garden.[2]
Christ the Light is designed by architect Craig W. Hartman, FAIA of Skidmore, Owings and Merrill.[3] The Catholic Cathedral Corporation of the East Bay, the incorporated owner of the cathedral,[4] chose Webcor Builders as the general contractor of cathedral construction.[4] Originally planned in 2000 under the direction of Bishop John Stephen Cummins[5] and broken ground on May 21, 2005,[1] Christ the Light was consecrated and dedicated by Bishop Allen Henry Vigneron on September 25, 2008.[6][7]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 Catholics[8] in the Counties of Alameda and Contra Costa.[9]
Contents
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 mitre,[10] shaped by steel and filled with glass frit.[11]
The worship space in Christ the Light is a vesica piscis 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.[1] 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".[1]
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.[12] Designed by a survivors' group in collaboration with the Oakland Diocese, the garden features a basalt sculpture and a plaque inscribed "This healing garden, planned by survivors, is dedicated to those innocents sexually abused by members of the clergy. We remember, and we affirm: never again."
Orgues Létourneau Limitée Organ Opus 118 was intalled on both side of the Vesica.
Costs and criticism
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 its price tag for construction increasing from $131 million in 2003, when the design was chosen, to $190 million.[13] Some questioned whether the money should not have been spent more appropriately elsewhere. Proponents countered that the Diocese of Oakland spends $350 million on social services and education annually while the $190 million cost of the cathedral would be spread over three years of construction and four years of design. They also noted that the cathedral was financed by donations solicited specifically for the project. Suggestions were made to use the donations for other projects instead, like those administered by the diocese to help the poor or to build new schools.[14]
Concerns over the price were magnified when in 2005, the Diocese of Oakland due to its reduced finances was required to take out a loan to cover half its $56.4 million settlement with 56 sex abuse victims. The diocese announced in January 2007 that the fundraising campaign for a new Catholic high school in Livermore would be halted temporarily to allow officials to focus on raising money for the cathedral's completion.[15]
While some have praised the cathedral's innovative, modern design and stripped-away iconography,[16][17] traditionalists have questioned its fidelity to Catholic doctrine and tradition.[18][19][20][21] Rev. Leo Edgerly Jr., who serves on the cathedral advisory board, replied to the critics: "You can go to Europe and see Gothic cathedrals," he said. "You can come to Oakland and see this."[22]
Gallery
Cathedral exterior
-
Evening photo
Cathedral interior
-
Image of "Christ the Light"
-
"Seasonal" chapel
-
Baptismal font
Crypt interior
-
View entering crypt/mausoleum
-
Catafalque in the crypt/mausoleum
-
Stained glass window in the crypt
-
Stained glass window in the crypt
-
Stained glass window in the crypt
Notes
- ^ a b c d "Cathedral In The News"
- ^ The Cathedral of Christ the Light
- ^ Biography, Craig W. Hartman, FAIA
- ^ a b Webcor Builders - Current and Recent Projects
- ^ The Cathedral of Christ the Light
- ^ The Catholic Voice Oakland: "Cathedral dedicated as mother church of diocese" October 6, 2008
- ^ The Cathedral of Christ the Light
- ^ Oakland (Diocese) [Catholic-Hierarchy]
- ^ Parish Directory
- ^ Oakland Cathedral design project - Domiane Forte
- ^ The Cathedral of Christ the Light
- ^ Catholic Voice
- ^ USA Today: "Oakland cathedral sets high marks in cost, design" September 1, 2007
- ^ USA Today: "Oakland cathedral sets high marks in cost, design" September 1, 2007
- ^ USA Today: "Oakland cathedral sets high marks in cost, design" September 1, 2007
- ^ American Institute of Architects: "Building Christ the Light: a Conversation with Craig Hartman & Father Paul" January 8, 2011
- ^ San Francisco Faith: "The Age Belongs to Christ: An Interview with Bishop Allen Vigneron" October 2005
- ^ California Daily Catholic: "Beehive, basket, nuclear reactor, or..." September 9,2007
- ^ The Institute for Sacred Architecture: "The Lonely God: Oakland Cathedral in the Light of Tradition" Volume 15, Spring 2009
- ^ Los Angeles Lay Catholic Mission: "A Message Clear and Strong But Will It Halt Bad Church Renovations" September 2001
- ^ National Catholic Register: "Space Age Cathedral" November 4, 2008
- ^ USA Today: "Oakland cathedral sets high marks in cost, design" September 1, 2007
External links
Categories:- Buildings and structures in Oakland, California
- Roman Catholic cathedrals of the United States
- Roman Catholic Diocese of Oakland
- Roman Catholic churches in California
- Skidmore, Owings and Merrill buildings
- Churches in Alameda County, California
- Visitor attractions in Oakland, California
-
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.
