Free «Religious Studies and Theology» Essay

Introduction

Los Angeles, California, has hundreds of religious and spiritual places. Millions of people visit these places regularly. These religious temples, churches, or Zen centers show the cultural heritage of different religions and communities. Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels is one of the renowned Roman Catholic churches in Los Angeles. It is the third largest cathedral in the world. The following essay analyzes the design, history, events, and tangible features of Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels (Sacred Destinations n.p.).

Last week, I visited Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels located in 555W. Temple Street, Los Angeles, California. It is one of the most beautiful religious places I have ever seen. The cathedral was designed in a post-modern architecture style with theh modern technologies and services. It was opened in September, 2002 (Sacred Destinations n.p.).

Religious Activities

The cathedral is one of the most popular religious places in Los Angeles. Spiritual belief is presented there by its visitors. Roman Catholics and other religious people often visit the cathedral to find mental peace and integrity. The cathedral has a calm and peaceful environment, which can help people to develop their faith. People can pray or meditate for a long time in the cathedral hall. There are several unique statues of Angels and their disciples, which show the power of spiritual beliefs. The pipe organ music of the cathedral makes the environment even more spiritual and calm. Usually, some worshipers visit the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels every day. However, the majority of the tourists and worshipers come here during holidays. It welcomes millions of visitors and pilgrims and celebrates Sunday Mass in 42 different languages. In addition, the cathedral provides religious education for children. These programs consist of general faith formation practices. The cathedral organizes daily morning and noon Masses and confessions in English and other languages. Visitors can take part in daily confession programs to pray for their sins. There are separate rooms for visitors to worship in a quiet atmosphere. Catholics have the opportunity to baptize their children in the church. Furthermore, they can organize wedding and funeral in the cathedral (Sacred Destinations n.p.).

The Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels organizes tours, volunteer programs, and educational services to the visitors and worshipers. Free guided tour is regularly provided for small groups or individuals. Moreover, people can buy tour guide that explain details about the cathedral (The Cathedral of Our lady of the Angels n.p.).

The cathedral coordinates programs for low-income families, immigrants, and homeless people. These programs guide people to improve their lives by changing the views about life. The cathedral cooperates with centers that provide different services to the needy people, such as food, hygiene kit, clothing, social security service, and transportation. Also, the cathedral authorities offer financial help to the poor families (Sacred Destinations n.p.).

The Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels consists of incredible arts and cultural symbols that attract worshipers. It has an eight-foot tall image of the angels. Also, one can see there a unique tapestries, tabernacle, great bronze doors, alter angels, ambo, oil ambry, baptismal fonts and angel dedication holders. These arts symbolize the journey of faith and rich culture (The Cathedral of Our lady of the Angels n.p.).

Design

The cathedral was designed by a renowned Spanish architect Rafael Moneo. It is a masterpiece of art with cultural background and old Roman Catholic heritage. There are large bright windows and several unique statues of the Virgin Mary. The main building of the cathedral is constructed in an unusual and impressive style. The cathedral center has obtuse and acute angles. Moneo used postmodern techniques to design the walls, ceilings, corners, and other pieces of the cathedral’s interior. Robert Graham installed elegant bronze door in the entrance of the cathedral. The door consists of delightful symbols and cultural images. The overall size of cathedral territory is about 58,000 square feet, and it consists of a big garden, large shrines, food stores, and a parking lot for large and small vehicles (Moneo n.p.). Moreover, the interior was painted and decorated by John Nava. Most of the places are decorated with tall and unique glass windows. Nava added three toned tapestries on the walls and the ceilings of the building. In addition, the cathedral has a huge crypt mausoleum in the lower level with 6,000 burial places.

History

The new cathedral was constructed to replace the old Cathedral of Saint Vibiana. It was damaged in 1994  by earthquake. Initially, the cathedral authorities, preservationists, and archdiocese had arguments about the new church. However, in the end, they decided to build the new cathedral in 1995. The construction of the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels began in 1998 and was finished in 2002 (Sacred Destinations n.p.). The approximate cost of the construction was $189.7 million.

Conclusion

The above discussion draws the conclusion that religious places help people to develop their lives through spiritual practices. There are various religious places in Los Angeles. The Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels is one of them. It is considered to be the third largest cathedral in the world with a complex of 58,000 square feet. It has a rich and unique design with postmodern pieces of art. It consists of different statues of angels and pictures of common people and God. The Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels is one of the best places in Los Angeles to pray or meditate in a calm and peaceful atmosphere. The spiritual music of the cathedral makes the environment sacred. Moreover, the cathedral organizes regular pray and confession programs. In addition, it coordinates baptism, wedding, funeral and charity programs. Thus, the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels helps the society to develop their religious beliefs.