Catholics Asked to Pray About Crystal Cathedral Bid

The Catholic Church is seeking divine assistance as it explores the idea of buying the Crystal Cathedral.

At Masses throughout Orange County this weekend, the diocese asked parishioners to pray for wisdom and guidance for a committee studying the possibility of bidding for the edifice.

The Crystal Cathedral, founded by the Rev. Robert H. Schuller, filed for bankruptcy protection last fall, saying it owed more than $50 million to creditors.

The famous glass church has already drawn bids of $46 million from and a .

Now, the Roman Catholic Diocese of Orange is eyeing the Garden Grove property. 

At Corpus Christi parish in Aliso Viejo, Fr. Fred Bailey devoted part of his Sunday morning sermon to the issue, fielding questions from his flock and explaining the possible benefits of such a purchase.

For starters, it would save the diocese a ton of money. Instead of current plans to spend $100 million (and several years) building a new Catholic cathedral in Santa Ana, the diocese could occupy a readymade landmark at a considerable discount.

The diocese could also move its hilltop Marywood retreat center and offices in Orange to the 40-acre property--then sell Marywood for an estimated $30 million.

One potential roadblock to the deal is that it would leave Crystal Cathedral church-goers homeless. In contrast, the Chapman and Newport bids would allow Schuller's church to continue using the cathedral and even buy back a portion of the property down the road.

Another question--no matter who buys the church--is what would happen to the cemetery on the property.

That's one of the issues that would need to be sorted out, Bailey told his parishioners.

For now, Bishop Tod D. Brown has simply authorized diocesan lawyers and advisors to research the idea. If it seems like the property might meet diocesan criteria for a new cathedral, "we have a duty to at least review the options," Brown said.