The Roman Catholic Diocese of Orange and Christ Cathedral are pleased to announce the opening of the Marian Gardens, a new walk-through experience for all the faithful that will provide peaceful prayer, reflection and education about the life of the Virgin Mary and Jesus.

Bishop Kevin Vann will preside over a public blessing of the gardens and Mass on May 29. More than 1,000 VIPs, donors, and other guests from around the world are expected to attend the ceremony, which will also feature dancing, music and celebration.

Invited media are welcome to preview the gardens on May 28 and interview key stakeholders involved in the years-long project, which contains stunning new artwork and design elements that are deeply symbolic to the Catholic faith.

The Marian Gardens at Christ Cathedral consist of four areas totaling about 3,500 square feet. Each garden is devoted to one category of the Mysteries of the Rosary: Joyful, Luminous, Sorrowful and Glorious. In the Catholic faith, mysteries are defined as episodes and events in the life and death of Jesus and the Virgin Mary. The rosary is a prayer, said privately or with a group, that is meant to lead the faithful into a contemplative state relative to each of the 20 mysteries.

Within each garden are five pieces of artwork depicting the various Mysteries of the Rosary. All 20 pieces of the sacred art were hand-crafted in the Peruvian Andes by skilled artisans from Artesanos Don Bosco, a Catholic Church-affiliated nonprofit. They were done in mosaic, fusion glass, copper and bronze panels, and botticino limestone panels.

The mysteries depicted in the sacred art include the Angel Gabriel first appearing to the Virgin Mary to announce that she would give birth to Jesus, the wedding at Cana when Jesus turned water into wine, Jesus’ crucifixion and death, and when Mary is crowned as Queen of Heaven and Earth.

Another design detail embedded in the walking paths of the gardens are pieces of crushed glass in colors that exemplify the Biblical stories being told. For example, in Sorrowful Mysteries, red and burgundy glass is present — colors that represent the pool of blood from Jesus’ sacrifice for all mankind.

The Marian Gardens were first announced in December 2016 as part of the La Vang project for Christ Cathedral’s Marian Court, which is located northeast of the cathedral. The first phase of the project was the Our Lady of La Vang Shrine, dedicated in 2021, that is highlighted by a 12-foot-tall Virgin Mary statue made of Italian marble.

Groundbreaking for the Marian Gardens, the second phase of the La Vang project, began in November 2022. The gardens cost approximately $3.6 million.

“While the Our Lady of La Vang Shrine is for Masses and other large celebrations, the Marian Gardens are serene. It’s a park-like prayer area,” said Elysabeth Nguyen, CEO of the OLLV Foundation, which has managed the fundraising and construction for the entire La Vang project. “We hope and pray that Catholics, and people of all faiths, will find comfort and solace in the Marian Gardens, learning more and becoming moved by the life of Jesus and our Blessed Mother.”

The Marian Gardens were designed by a priest committee, with input from Aaron Torrence of Culver City-based Torrence Architects. Further design work and completion was by David Pfeifer, AIA, LEED, AP of San Diego-based domusstudio architecture.

“Domusstudio designs places of gathering and worship for different faiths all over the world,” Pfeifer said. “The common thread of all those spaces is that people visit them to tap into their higher calling and find commonality between themselves. Christ Cathedral’s Marian Gardens will also serve those important roles as individuals and groups experience and move through the four unique spaces. We hope this unique combination of art, architecture and landscaping will heighten the senses and be a source of reverent inspiration.”

In addition to the Marian Gardens, Christ Cathedral has built its own version of the Garden of Gethsemane, named after the garden in Jerusalem where Jesus was arrested before his crucifixion. Like the real place in Israel, Christ Cathedral’s Garden of Gethsemane contains mature olive trees. The cathedral’s 70-year-old trees were purchased from Visalia, California.

The Garden of Gethsemane contains a walking path, benches and a statue of Jesus praying. The statue was made of marble from Carrara, Italy — the same marble used for the Our Lady of La Vang statue — and it looks at the Blessed Sacrament in Christ Cathedral’s chapel. Symbolically, the placement of this Jesus statue puts Jesus centered between His earthly mother to His right (the Virgin Mary, as depicted in the Our Lady of La Vang statue) and His heavenly father inside the cathedral.

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1: Joyful Mysteries

This is the first section of the Marian Gardens, and where visitors will be invited to start their journey. Joyful Mysteries contains five mosaics as well as stained glass embedded into the walls. The pieces of yellow and orange crushed glass in the pathway symbolize the moments of joy and divine revelation of Jesus and the Virgin Mary, which is what this garden’s mysteries are about.

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2: Luminous Mysteries

Luminous Mysteries features a stage-like area with benches, evoking a scene reminiscent of where Jesus would have preached. This garden is the largest of the four.

Luminous Mysteries’ circular shape is meant to evoke the omega symbol (which, combined with the alpha symbol of the adjacent Our Lady of La Vang Shrine, evokes Jesus’ statement that He is the beginning, or alpha, and the end, or omega).

Its sacred art is made of fusion glass that is illuminated from behind by embedded lights. This garden’s mysteries provide reflections on the various aspects of Jesus’ ministry and his revelation of God’s kingdom on earth.

The pathway in Luminous Mysteries has crushed glass containing blues and greens, representing the sky and earth.

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3: Sorrowful Mysteries

Sorrowful Mysteries focuses on the suffering and agony of Jesus Christ during his Passion, which is the period before His death and resurrection. The mysteries in Sorrowful — depicted in artwork made of copper and bronze — invite believers to meditate on the profound sacrifice Jesus made for the redemption of humanity.

Given the context of the mysteries in Sorrowful, the garden was designed to be the smallest of the four, evoking feelings of being enclosed, encapsulated and imprisoned. It is more barren than the others, with no additional landscaping. Its entry and exit are narrow.

Unlike the other gardens, Sorrowful only has one bench. This symbolizes the singular loneliness of the Virgin Mary in knowing that she is losing her son and cannot protect him. Beams of metal and wood atop this section crisscross, evoking the image of the crown of thorns worn by Jesus during His crucifixion.

The crushed glass on Sorrowful’s pathway is red and burgundy. It symbolizes the blood from Jesus’ sacrifice for all mankind.

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4: Glorious Mysteries

The symbolism in Glorious Mysteries starts during the transition from Sorrowful Mysteries. From the constrained Sorrowful, the faithful walk through a tunnel-like space that gradually opens up to reveal the open-air, bright and optimistic Glorious Mysteries. The pathway for the transition also has embedded pieces of grey and black crushed glass. These pieces gradually transition to bright orange. The color shift represents the path to redemption, and how moving through the darkness leads to glory.

The sacred art in Glorious are five panels made of botticino limestone. These mysteries focus on the triumph of Jesus and the Virgin Mary. They invite believers to reflect on the joyous events following Jesus’ Resurrection and Mary’s Assumption into Heaven.

Glorious Mysteries also features an Our Lady Queen of Heaven statue made of white marble from Carrara, Italy (the same marble as the Our Lady of La Vang statue and Garden of Gethsemane’s Jesus statue). Our Lady Queen of Heaven depicts the Virgin Mary wearing a crown and holding the baby Jesus. According to Catholic tradition, Our Lady Queen of Heaven is based on the Virgin Mary’s entry into Heaven, where she was honored as queen.

The final steps out of Glorious Mysteries have a dramatic view of the Arboretum, Tower of Hope and Christ Cathedral.

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Marian Gardens Media Preview

When: 10 a.m. to noon, May 28, 2024

Where: Christ Cathedral’s Our Lady of La Vang Shrine – 13280 Chapman Ave., Garden Grove, CA 92840. See attached map.

Daily Breakdown: The media preview will start at approximately 10 a.m. with remarks from Bishop Kevin Vann and other stakeholders. About 15 minutes later, attending media are invited to walk through the gardens escorted by a stakeholder, Office of Communications personnel or docent. Interviews will be available.

RSVP: Media credentials are required and available by contacting the Office of Communications – [email protected] and [email protected]

Livestream: The media preview day will not be livestreamed.

Interviews: Bishop Kevin Vann, Elysabeth Nguyen (CEO of OLLV Foundation), David Pfeifer (project architect) and others will be available.

Parking: Media parking is available P1 (Memorial Gardens Lot) and P2 (La Vang Lot). See attached map.

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Marian Gardens Blessing Day

When: 2 p.m. to 7 p.m. May 29, 2024

Where: Christ Cathedral’s Our Lady of La Vang Shrine – 13280 Chapman Ave., Garden Grove, CA 92840. See attached map.

Daily Breakdown: A VIP donor preview is from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. From 4 p.m. to 5:15 p.m. are dance performances and live fundraising. The Mass presided by Bishop Kevin Vann begins at 5:15 p.m. and will conclude at approximately 6:30 p.m. The general public will then be invited to tour the gardens.

Livestream: The event will be livestreamed on the Diocese’s YouTube channel, @dioceseorange

RSVP: Media credentials are required and available by contacting the Office of Communications – [email protected] and [email protected]

Interviews: Available upon request, but will likely not be available to accommodate the needs of the Mass. Media is encouraged to attend the May 28 preview day or separately contact the Office of Communications for interview opportunities.

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About the Roman Catholic Diocese of Orange

With 1.3 million Catholics, 58 parishes, five Catholic centers and 36 schools, the Roman Catholic Diocese of Orange is one of the largest and most diverse faith communities in the United States. The Diocese empowers Catholics across Orange County to have an active life of faith that is integrated and woven into the fabric of their daily lives through the community and sacramental life of the Church. Under the leadership of Bishop Kevin Vann, the Diocese works to establish and support dynamic, vibrant parishes and schools welcoming all to live the Gospel with faith, joy, charity and unity. Christ Cathedral, the spiritual home of the Bishop of Orange, was dedicated in July 2019. Learn more about the Diocese of Orange at www.rcbo.org

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About the OLLV Foundation

The OLLV Foundation is an independent nonprofit organization that was founded in October of 2022 and takes its name from the Our Lady of La Vang Shrine, a testament to the 1798 Vietnamese Marian apparition. The foundation is headed by its chief executive Dr. Elysabeth Nguyen, a Christ Cathedral parishioner, longtime Diocese committee member, Silicon Valley veteran, a social entrepreneur who’s well-connected in the Vietnamese-American community. She managed the fundraising and the architectural strategies for the Our Lady of La Vang Shrine since its inception, a project that culminated on July 17, 2021, with 8,000 people attending its Solemn Blessing Day.