See our work for god in action
Our Lady of La Vang Shrine
The $12.6-million shrine represents both that historic apparition and honors the important contributions of the Vietnamese-Catholic diaspora in Orange County, which is home to the world’s largest population of Vietnamese outside of Vietnam. The shrine, modern in design like Christ Cathedral behind it, features an alpha-shaped ribbon of stainless steel panels under a glass-paned roof.
Standing on a cloud, Mary is depicted wearing a traditional Vietnamese áo dài dress and khăn đống hat. She has a Eurasian face and holds the Baby Jesus. Behind her are three supporting poles that hold up the canopy-like structure, which itself symbolizes the rainforest setting of the 1798 Marian apparition. The poles resemble the three banyan trees that were behind the Virgin Mary during the apparition.
St. Callistus Chapel and Crypts
The St. Callistus chapel and crypts project is named after the St. Callistus parish and school in Garden Grove, which closed in 2013 as part of an agreement when the Diocese of Orange completed its $57.5-million purchase of the Crystal Cathedral campus. The new chapel will be built in the undercroft of the Christ Cathedral church and will seat 220 parishioners for Mass, weddings, and funerals. Accompanying the chapel will be a crypt with 40 resting places for the Bishops, and 1054 niche resting places.
