Every large, and many smaller, cities of the world are identified by at least one outstanding icon. Most can list many more. Paris is, by any definition, an icon of its own. But it has so many including the obvious, the Eiffel Tower, Notre Dame, the Louvre, the Seine, and the list goes on - and on. Munich boasts the Marianplatz, the Glockenspiel. Amsterdam has its linking canals curving throughout the city, its tulips and Anne Franck. The canals of Venice, there’s Big Ben and Westminster in London.
The story begins at the most startling edifice to grace any city in America: ‘The Cathedral of Christ the Light’ overlooking the expansive green and blue of Lake Merritt and its surrounding park of graceful trees, lush carpets of grass, intimate picnic areas and the world famous Fairyland, reputed to be the muse for Walt Disney and Disneyland. But, it’s the magnificent glass and wood architectural wonder that looks down on Lake Merritt where we begin my adventure of re-learning my hometown.
Ironically, the placement of the Cathedral is strongly connected in history with Lake Merritt. In the year 1772 Spanish Franciscan Friar Juan Crespi celebrated the first Mass to be held in the East Bay near the swamp that was to become Lake Merritt.
The Cathedral of Christ the Light replaces the historic St. Francis de Sales Cathedral in Oakland damaged in the Loma Prieta earthquake. As the spiritual center the Catholic Diocese of Oakland representing the 84 parishes within the counties of Alameda and Contra Costa, The Cathedral is a font of offerings to the 500,000 devout parishioners and includes a health clinic offering free diagnostic services for those without insurance and a strong community partnership. In addition, the Cathedral welcomes weddings, offers a number of large and small meeting rooms, dining facilities and other events opened to diocesan members and the population at large. So many are these, this work will measure the remarkable edifice in its more abstract visibility.
Designed by Craig W. Hartman of the world-renown architectural firm of Skidmore, Owings & Merrill of San Francisco, the 226,000 square feet cathedral construction began in 2005 and was completed in 2008 at a cost of $190M. Approaching the Cathedral one must stop and spend time absorbing this work of art as it literarily soars to the skies. Walls of gleaming glass not only wrap the centerpiece, representing a bishop’s miter, but deliver daylight throughout the interior. As large as the structure is, the use of glass and warm wood offers a symphony of light and open space. The design firm best describes the Cathedral’s palette: “By stripping away traditional iconography. The design positions symbolic meaning within contemporary culture.”
(Above): Interior view of the Cathedral of Christ the Light in Oakland, Calif.
Enter the chapel and you are immediately bathed in a radiance that seems to come from a source beyond conception. The curve of the walls are structured with ribs of Douglas fir attached to horizontal louvers. The soft light filtered through the panes of glass and wood louvers bring a serenity and welcome to a continuum of the artistic power first seen on the flowing exterior. Every moment of inner stillness you feel sitting quietly, every sense of the ecstasy perceived surrounding you is no different than enjoying the moment before Vermeer’s Girl with a Pearl Earring or listening to Duke Ellington’s Sacred Concert.
According to Hartman, the cathedral is modeled on medieval Christian complexes, such as the Monastery at Cluny in Burgundy, France, which was created to be a religious neighborhood. With that in mind, the parish hall, parish and chancery offices, rectory, bookstore and coffee house is arranged around geometric and lush gardens.
But there is no way to prepare yourself for one of the most extraordinary marriage of modern day technology and art beyond even the overarching canvas of the Cathedral of Light in all its glory. Upon entering the main chapel the visitor is struck by an ethereal portrayal of Christ reaching to the lofty ceiling. Mary Cabrini, in her book The Cathedral of Christ the Light, describes and defines the message of this extraordinary creation. “The figure of Christ draws upon a masterpiece in the west façade of the cathedral of Chartres, France…The second coming of Christ is a standard element of Gothic cathedrals, ordinarily sculpted on the tympanum (triangular space) above the door in the central west portal.”
Oakland’s window translates Chartres’ twelfth century vision with 21st century digital technology. It was a daring application. A computer-enhanced image of the sculpture was digitized in 94,000 pixels. These were transferred into perforations in aluminum panels. The pixels became tiny circles, with diameters ranging from 1/8” to 1”. Light enters the perforations. The stunning result is the monumental portrayal of Christ in glory that forms the Omega window. In a breathtaking fusion of form and meaning, Christ emerges as light itself.”
Following the centuries old tradition of keeping the faithful, after leaving this earth, on the grounds of their Church, the cathedral maintains a consecrated area for the departed in a sacred Mausoleum. Here, in a softly lit ambience that greets the visitor with a murmuring fountain are 1,300 spaces for crypts and 1,850 niches for cremated remains. The first to be re-interred was the Most Reverend Floyd Begin, the first Bishop of Oakland on Nov. 2, 2008.
The broad diversity that makes the San Francisco Bay Area so unique is well represented by the Cathedral. This vast ethnical culture of difference is celebrated each Sunday with a Vietnamese Choir at the Vietnamese Mass Sundays at 8 a.m. The Station Mass at 10 a.m. the Cathedral Schola Cantorum leads the parishioners in song and the Parish Choir at the Noon Mass features several musical numbers in Tagalog for the large Filipino community. The Spanish Mass at 2 p.m. is supported musically by the Hispanic Music Group. Saturday’s 5:30 p.m. Vigil Mass the Cathedral Cantors lead the assembly in song. Every second and fourth Tuesday of the month, a brief demonstration of the 5,298 pipe Conroy Memorial Organ takes place at 1 p.m. as part of the docent-led tour.
After a day of tour or worship, stroll the lovely garden and visit the City Lights Café on the plaza overlooking Lake Merritt for some a nutritional respite; both open to the public. The café serves light dishes, coffee choices and deserts. It is open Monday thru Friday, 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. This can be followed with a stroll through the lush gardens nearby.
The Cathedral of Christ the Light transcends religious views as a magnificent work of pure art for everyone to enjoy and remember. One visit and you will vow to return for there is so much that will be missed on one tour.
Visiting Information:
Location: 2121 Harrison St. (at Grand Ave.), Oakland, CA • Phone: (510) 832-5057 • E-Mail: cpctl@oakdiocese.org. For complete information for the full list of contacts, events, etc., Bing or Google: Cathedral Parish of Christ the Light.
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Al Auger is a freelance writer. He lives in Fairfax, Calif.
