HONORING BLESSED FULTON SHEEN AT CHRIST CATHEDRAL

Christ Cathedral held a veneration of relics, vespers, and a blessing ceremony for a statue of Blessed Archbishop Fulton Sheen on Oct. 6. The event honored his recent beatification and included members of the Military and Hospitaller Order of St. Lazarus of Jerusalem, an organization to which Sheen belonged.

The bronze statue was recently installed outside the cathedral's arboretum. The statue was originally commissioned by the Crystal Cathedral in the 1990s and remained on the campus for decades before leaving during the sale of the property to the Diocese of Orange. The Santiago Retreat Center acquired the statue approximately two years ago.

During the service, Father Baca, the episcopal vicar for ecumenism and inter-religion, noted that Sheen worked to build bridges with other Christian leaders during the early stages of the modern ecumenical movement. Sheen previously preached on the cathedral campus during the era when the site was known as the Crystal Cathedral.