Posted on 01/12/2013 2:31:09 PM PST by NYer
Whenever I visit the Cathedral of Our Lady of Angeles I head straight downstairs to the mausoleum to take a peek at my friend’s crypt. He’s still very much alive but has his place already for when his time is up. His name is Mike Dugan and I never get tired of reading the inscription below his name, “Mike tried!” I find his healthy attitude and sense of humor toward death very comforting. On a recent visit I felt the urge to check out an area I’ve never been before. I felt drawn to what appeared to be an area of dead space just beyond the mausoleum’s chapel. There is no visible indication that anything is to be found beyond the end of this corridor, until you get there.
In this out of the way alcove is a plain marble tomb with “Saint Vibiana” inscribed on it. There is nothing explaining who this Saint is, and why he, or she, was placed here, just the tomb and two individual kneelers. Intrigued, I pulled out my smart phone and did an internet search. Here’s an excerpt of what I found from the Cathedrals of California website;
"We know next to nothing about Saint Vibiana. Yet for nearly 120 years her name was attached to the Catholic cathedral in Los Angeles, and today her tomb is in the crypt of the new Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angel.
Who was she? She is an enigma. She is nobody and everybody. Her feast is celebrated only by us here in Los Angeles. Because we don’t know the details of her life, in one way it is difficult to ascribe to her particular virtues we can imitate. Yet in another way this makes it easier for us to identify with her.
She stands for all of us, the insignificant ones who will never be written about in history books. Our lives may not be widely known, but they are known to God, who has called us each by name from before the beginning of time.
When we stand before the Tomb of Saint Vibiana, let us imagine our parents, our grandparents and great-grandparents. In many ways, they are like Vibiana, unknown to the world but beloved by God. To a world obsessed with celebrity, they are nobodies; but in the eyes of God, they are precious beyond all imagining.”
It makes perfect sense that the Patron Saint of Nobodies has been enshrined in the city that thrives on celebrity. Whether or not you’re Catholic, or even a Christian, Saint Vibiana is a symbolic reminder that we are all necessary, important, and worthwhile, forever encouraging us to relinquish of our foolish desire to ruthlessly compare ourselves to others.
There are no signs leading to the Patron Saint of Nobodies.
St Vibiana is a hidden treasure, located in a small alcove at the end of a nondescript corridor
in the basement mausoleum of the Cathedral of Our Lady of Angels, Los Angeles, CA.
Born and died in the 3rd century the remains of Vibiana were rediscovered on
December 9, 1853 in ancient catacombs near the Appian Way.
A marble tablet adorned her tomb upon which was inscribed
"to the soul of the innocent and pure Vibiana", above a laurel wreath.
A wreath was a symbol of martydom among ancient Christians.
There is no visible indication or directions to St. Vibiana.
At the bottom of the stairs to the mausoleum
follow the corridor to the very end and look to the right.
Click this link to see more images of how the cathedral is now being used for entertainment. Vibiana Gallery
For anyone who arrived on FR post 2002, check out the following FreeRepublic thread that dates from September 2002. It details the process forged by Cardinal Roger Mahony who wanted to raze the Cathedral of St. Vibiana. This is a must read!
Card. Mahony's Other Cathedral: "Saved, But Degraded"
The Rescue of St. Vibiana's Cathedral
We were told that the old St. Vibiana’s could no longer be used because of earthquake damage and it was unsalvageable, IIRC. Apparently it’s not as unusable as we were told.
I really liked that Church, and attending an occasional weekday mass there with a mix of poor people and office workers and lawyers.
If I ever get around to going to the new cathedral, I will be happy to spend some time with Vibiana.
Hey NYER Reason why LA Achridoise sold it because after 1994 quake it was totally got hit by that quake cost too much to remodel for strict Cali standard they got rid of property
It sad to say they couldn’t hold on to the property
Thanks for the I&I posting. Interesting and intraspective particularly the views of now . The lack of foresight by the pointy hats sometimes is stupifying, they couldn’t clean out the place before closing the deal. I’ve never seen Istambuls ST Sophia so I’m not certain but from what I understand Kemal showed greater respect.
The new cathredral in LA looks lets just say like a huge “box store”.
Freeper SevenofNine, whose post appears just below yours, gets it right. Yes, you recall correctly. We can only surmise that the "earthquake damage" was justification enough for Cardinal Mahony to deem the cathedral as unfit for public worship thus enabling him to build a "newer, better" cathedral (i.e. cement box) where he could replace a traditional setting with one more in tune with his progressive agenda. Ironically, something good actually emerged from his clever scheme - these magnificent tapestries.
which draw our minds and hearts to those saintly souls that have preceded us.
Yeah that what LA Media was saying and push by Roger Mahoney few years ago
I think now the dude want new catherial
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