Must-See in the City of Angels: Cathedral of Our Lady of Angels, Los Angeles, USA

    My first stop-over in the USA was Los Angeles (LA), the City of Angels. My daughter, Trina, was about to graduate from her Master’s degree from the University of Alaska, Fairbanks. But thanks to my cousins, residents of LA, they graciously hosted my stay for one week before I embarked on my Alaskan journey. Visiting my cousins in LA was like visiting my angels in LA. Since I had very little time, the challenge was to pack-in as much adventure as I can in that one week. It seemed that Lan and Kiko were experts when it comes to squeezing in tight visits to LA, so we did see as much as we could.

Lan's rose garden.

     Before going on tour around LA on my first day, I was not able to resist the temptation of posing behind the roses in my cousin Leilani’s (Lan for short) garden (photo above). According to Lan, it was her husband Kiko’s gift-for-all-occasions. Instead of buying her flowers each time, she can just pick the flowers of her choice anytime. Husbands, this a good tip in case you forget to buy your wife those ‘obligatory’ flowers.  Have the ‘missus’ plant and harvest her stuff, too!

Cathedral of Our Lady of Angels.

     Coming from a Catholic country, the Philippines, a first-stop and a must-see in LA is the Cathedral of Our Lady of Angels (Picture above: L-Lori; R-me). “This is found in the midst of downtown LA serving a total of over 5 million Catholics. In design, art and furnishings, the Cathedral is rich in cultural diversity in a city in which Sunday Mass is celebrated in 42 different languages (http://www.olacathedral.org/).”

     Upon entering the Cathedral, you will be greeted with this fountain, part of the Gateway Pool and Water Wall (Picture below). “The Gateway Pool and Water Wall near the Shepherd's Gate off Temple Street were designed by California artist Lita Albuquerque. Her art symbolizes the Scripture passage of Jesus meeting the Samaritan woman at the well (http://www.olacathedral.org/plaza/fountainsfs.html).”

Gateway Pool and Water Wall.

     What are endearing about this fountain are the words sandblasted out of the marble. The words are in numerous languages spoken during Masses in 287 parish churches in LA. As one of the most popular languages spoken in California, Jesus’ words, “I shall give you living water,” is also inscribed in Pilipino. 

     Inside, I was mesmerized by the hugeness of the cathedral (picture below). “The 11-story cathedral has a fixed seating capacity for 1,900 people and an additional 1,100 in moveable seating, for a total of 3,000 people in the nave and sanctuary. By its design, the nave encourages the full and active participation of all people in the Liturgy. No pillars block vision because nine steel trusses and the chapel structures on each side support the soaring, cedar wood ceiling. The dynamic effect results from Moneo's design that avoids right angles and symmetry (http://www.olacathedral.org/).”

Inside the 11-story Cathedral.

     To the left of the altar, high on the wall is a huge architectural Cross (Picture below: L-me, R-Lori). Light pours through alabaster into the church along the slanted crossbeam. The cross is the emblem of Christ, "the Light of the world.” Notice, too that the floor is made of 60,000 Jana limestone stones. Each stone was purchased by donations from individuals and families in honor of their loved ones. Donors, honorees and memorials are eternally remembered and displayed in a special hand-inscribed Archival Register (http://www.olacathedral.org/). As devotees, Lori and I took this opportunity to pray for God’s blessings and thank Him for this US tour, in Jesus’ name.

Architectural Jesus on the Cross.

     Baptism symbolizes the entry into the life of Christ and His Church. “The font of the Baptistery is designed to accommodate Baptism by immersion. The steps lead from the far side down into the immersion pool. The Baptized person emerges onto the nave side where the People of God are assembled and makes the journey forward to the Altar to share in the Eucharistic Presence of the Risen Lord. Four red carnelian granite fonts on each corner of the immersion pool have a continuous flow of living water, holy water for blessings, and a reminder for all of their Baptism (http://www.olacathedral.org/.” The picture below shows the Baptistery.

Baptistery.

     I am so grateful for this visit to the LA cathedral. It was a fitting start to my one month tour of the USA. Getting God’s blessings on this tour turned this into the perfect adventure in the USA.