Diocese of Orange offers to buy Crystal Cathedral - $50 Million

  • Thread starter Thread starter prettiefly
  • Start date Start date
Status
Not open for further replies.
P

prettiefly

Guest
A Roman Catholic diocese made a $50 million cash offer to buy Southern California’s financially struggling Crystal Cathedral , officials said Friday.
The Diocese of Orange said its proposal could pull the megachurch, which was founded more than 50 years ago by pioneering televangelist Rev. Robert H. Schuller, out of bankruptcy by the end of the year.

The rest of the article:

marinij.com/national/ci_18533649

…
For stories of prayers answered through the intersession of St. Anthony, visit
saintanthonylostandfound.blogspot.com/
 
What all those tens of millions of dollars the diocese will save by not building a brand new building will do for those in need!
 
Wow! I hope they can turn it into a real Catholic Church, instead of its current mockery. 👍
 
It has a beautiful organ that’s probably worth half that price. Not to mention the accoustics.
 
Magnificent church and cathedral buildings give great and very visible glory to God.

They are public statements of our faith in Him.
 
This makes me feel ashamed. The building is horrendous and there are many better causes to put the money towards.
 
StOwen said:
This makes me feel ashamed. The building is horrendous and there are many better causes to put the money towards.
Click to expand...
I have no idea why this would make anyone feel ashamed. The interior layout would actually be relatively easy to turn into a Catholic church. The projected budget of a new cathedral was over $100 million dollars. This will translate into a HUGE savings for the diocese. Also, the initial plans the diocese had for a cathedral were for something even more modern than this, so it’s not like the alternative would have been much different. As I also mentioned in the other thread, the Catholic Church has a history of taking over buildings of other religions and adapting them to their own use, including buildings that were far less appropriate than this (the Pantheon, Santa Costanza, Aztec temples, etc…). Think of the opportunity here. The Crystal Cathedral was arguably (until now) one of the most famous Protestant churches in the world. There is great symbolism in it being taken over by the Catholic Church, not to mention the fact it remains a landmark. A great number of Protestants will probably continue to tour it, including ones that might not ever set foot in a Catholic Church otherwise. This could be a great opportunity for evangelism.
 
StOwen said:
This makes me feel ashamed. The building is horrendous and there are many better causes to put the money towards.
Click to expand...
Arkadin Re: Diocese of Orange offers to buy Crystal Cathedral - $50 Million
Click to expand...
What that money could do for those in need…
Click to expand...
As the article says…it is a less costly alternative…and it meets long term needs. If you are familiar with Orange county…it is ver expensive there, especially the real estate, the building permits, construction cost, etc.

And the bid is close to other tenders.

[SIGN]The diocese, which is looking for a less expensive alternative to building a new cathedral for its 1.2 million parishioners, said its proposal would allow the Crystal Cathedral to lease portions of the property for three years at below market rates.

At the end of the lease, the ministry would have to find a new location with the help of the diocese.

The bid “respects the legacy Rev. Schuller worked so hard to establish,” Diocese of Orange Bishop Tod D. Brown said in a statement. “Our offer also clearly accommodates future diocesan needs for a cathedral and modern administrative campus.”[/SIGN]
 
StOwen said:
This makes me feel ashamed. The building is horrendous and there are many better causes to put the money towards.
Click to expand...
I’d rather the Cathedral be Catholic, and have the Eucharist present than be torn down or sold to a Rick Warren type.

That’s all that matters; plus as Pablope points out if the diocese was looking to have a Cathedral in the area that would cost more money rather than using an existing famous building.

Who cares if its ugly or modern, that it may serve many, many souls to be present before the Blessed Sacrament, obviously, is priceless!
 
Sometimes, it is extremely difficult to get building permits for church buildings, particularly if they are Catholic.

People of strange backgrounds, bring up the weirdest objections, causing plans to be expensively revised and lengthy delays in construction which cause construction costs to increase due to inflation.

Purchasing an existing church building is an excellent reuse of an existing building. No permits needed. It’s already there being used for that purpose already.

I am personally familiar with an Anglican church whose congregation withered away … it was purchased for use as a Catholic church. Magnificent stone building. Wonderful woodwork interior. And the parsonage was converted to meeting rooms.
 
It’s not only a wonderful church, it’s a wonderful campus with many other buildings that would probably take $250-300M to replicate today. It would be a wonderful deal for $50K.

I also love the fact that its design antagonizes those that feel every church/cathedral needs to be some sort of gingerbread gothic design. By any objective measure, Phillip Johnson’s design is world-class. I think it might do those some good who rejected it out of hand to be forced to live with it. Maybe they’ll learn some manners while developing good taste.
 
Rolltide said:
I have no idea why this would make anyone feel ashamed. The interior layout would actually be relatively easy to turn into a Catholic church. The projected budget of a new cathedral was over $100 million dollars. This will translate into a HUGE savings for the diocese. Also, the initial plans the diocese had for a cathedral were for something even more modern than this, so it’s not like the alternative would have been much different. As I also mentioned in the other thread, the Catholic Church has a history of taking over buildings of other religions and adapting them to their own use, including buildings that were far less appropriate than this (the Pantheon, Santa Costanza, Aztec temples, etc…). Think of the opportunity here. The Crystal Cathedral was arguably (until now) one of the most famous Protestant churches in the world. There is great symbolism in it being taken over by the Catholic Church, not to mention the fact it remains a landmark. A great number of Protestants will probably continue to tour it, including ones that might not ever set foot in a Catholic Church otherwise. This could be a great opportunity for evangelism.
Click to expand...
Sublime comments!! 👍
 
ElToro said:
It’s not only a wonderful church, it’s a wonderful campus with many other buildings that would probably take $250-300M to replicate today. It would be a wonderful deal for $50K.

I also love the fact that its design antagonizes those that feel every church/cathedral needs to be some sort of gingerbread gothic design. By any objective measure, Phillip Johnson’s design is world-class. I think it might do those some good who rejected it out of hand to be forced to live with it. Maybe they’ll learn some manners while developing good taste.
Click to expand...
“El Toro” not sure if your a Catholic but could you refrain certainly in this forum from expressing your enjoyment of others being antagonized for whatever reason. Just a poor Christian comment all around. :tsktsk: Its been more than a hundred years, that with the creation of modern materials that we’ve seen designs differ from the traditional architecture. So in the grand timeline of it all it hasn’t been that long. :signofcross:

I’ve worked as an architect, as much as I love BOTH modern and traditional styles of architecture, and would like to see this diocese win the bid. I would like to see this become a Catholic Cathedral for all the many reasons I’ve read in this post above, especially for new conversions. As a solution for both traditionalist and modernists, I would like to see the tabernacle, crusifix and altar be placed in the CENTER.

Personally, I’m not in love with the exterior design of the Crystal Cathedral. I like the fact that its already a landmark, has an enormous open space inside, holds a few thousand people and has the height of the old cathedrals. Johnson certainly made a name for himself and was very fortunate to have designed many large structures/commissions…but he is by far NOT the most creative, imaginative architect in the last 50 years. I wonder how many leaks they’ve had to repair :hammering: over the years. LOL.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top