The Diocese of Orange received a $20 million donation to help revamp the famous glass-sided Crystal Cathedral in Garden Grove.
Outside of land donations, it is the largest gift ever received by the Roman Catholic Diocese of Orange, which is home to more than 1.2 million Catholics. The donor asked not to be named.
“I am blessed to offer my faithful and financial support to the diocese’s efforts to restore and renovate the campus and make its vision for the Christ Cathedral a reality,” the private donor, a philanthropist and Orange County resident, said in a statement released by the diocese. “I hope this gift will inspire other donors in our community to give as well.”
The Diocese bought the property in 2012, after Robert Schuller’s Crystal Cathedral Ministries declared bankruptcy. Since then, the diocese has been planning to renovate the 34-acre, 2,000-seater place of worship and reopen it in 2017 as a new cathedral and center for Catholic life.
Church officials, including Orange County’s Bishop Most Rev. Kevin Vann, had approached the anonymous donor a year ago about contributing to the renovation plans, according to Tim Busch, the co-chairman of the capital campaign committee.
The $20 million is the first donation toward the second phase’s $60 million goal, which will target large donations to be spent on campus renovations. In phase one, meant for various initial diocese projects, over $85 million in donations was received from around 24,000 parishioners.
“This is one of the most important things going on in the Catholic world and America,” Busch said of the cathedral’s improvements. “And we think this is another milestone for us. We see the path to completing the funding in the next 12 to 18 months.”
The Crystal Cathedral building, more than 50 years old, has been in great need of repair and modifications to adhere more closely to the Catholic tradition.
The campus renovation project includes the recently completed upgrade to the 13-story Tower of Hope, and a years-long overhaul of the 78,000-squar-foot glass cathedral now called by the diocese as Christ Cathedral. Overall, the project is estimated to cost as much as $113 million.
“I think the renovations are great, and I’m excited to attend Mass at the cathedral,” said Phong Ho, whose family has attended nearby St. Polycarp Catholic Church and plans to make donations toward the campus transformation.
“We don’t have the money this donor does, but we give what we can.”
Construction of the cathedral is scheduled to begin in early 2015.
(With reports from Orange County Register, CBS Los Angeles, ABC7)
