This is absolutely must visit in east Bay. The Cathedral was designed by Craig Hartman, it is the new "mother Church" of the Diocese of Oakland. Beautiful architecture beside lake Merritt. Visited in a quiet Sunday sit in quietly just feeling all the light shine through, amazing experience. This place open to public, you can just walk in. "The innovation in this Cathedral is the usage of light with it's walls. The wall are constructed of 1028 panes of patterned glass which defuse light into the interior. as the sun crosses over from sunrise to sunset, from the beginning of time to time's fulfilment in Christ, the play between the glass and the wood generates different qualities of light through the day. at night, the cathedral become a beacon of light"

Serene and magical place to rest and contemplate life. Stunning cathedral with mausoleum that feels sacred. The space is so intentional. (Nice bathrooms and drinking fountain.) Free tour weekdays at 1pm.

Truly wonderful cathedral! Located at the Lake, beautifully designed, artistically unique in many ways. Much to appreciate in this holy place. Built in conjunction with the large Business complex recently built here as part of Oakland's redevelopment. Open every day to the faithful and to visitors. Good amenities and gift shop. Insufficient parking on weekdays for all of the businesses here, but on Sundays it is quiet and serene.

Free to enter and take photos as long as service isn't happening. Great architectural features throughout the site. The interior is majestic and I recommend you take the time to take it all in. There is also a gift shop which is recommended. Be respectful of the space and enjoy!

Beautiful Cathedral. Very unique architecture with powerful pipe organ. Chior sounds amazing. Homily was upbeat, traditional and very understandable. Thank you Father...

Beautiful church! Was about to visit during Adoration! The Church hosts confession during Adoration on Thursdays. There is Mass offered in English, Spanish, and Vietnamese.

Impressive design, specially how they have Christ floating in the sky. And of course they give the space to Tonatzin Guadalupe. Beautiful and peaceful place

This is the first place where I truly felt I had a second family. This church is not an ordinary church, the people, the community, the religious here ( priests, nuns, sisters, deacons, etc. ) … truly exceptional and wonderful people. I came to life here at a time I felt very lost. Please come, any and all, doesn’t matter what religion you practice or if you’re not religious at all, this is a place where you will be accepted and loved for the person you are. I promise you that the power of Christ is so present here … because wherever two or three are gathered in HIS name, there Christ will be. Come and experience LOVE and HOPE 🤍🙏

Gorgeous architecture in and out and inside the mausoleum below. Enjoy some quiet contemplation in this lovely place. Kudos to all involved on any level as it appears to be a place engaging the community on many levels.

Gorgeous place with very good vibe

It's a beautiful place of worship with lots of natural light, definitely not your traditional church architecture. We went to a weekday mass at noon with eucharist adoration right afterward. Parking is limited in the underground lot and the surrounding streets.

Modern Catholic Church. Absolutely beautiful 😍

Breathtaking architecture! Secure underground parking with elevators, clean interior

I love this church! The mass is so beautiful, respectful environment, lovely music and so spacious! I love the Spanish/ English Mass at 1:30 pm on Sundays.

What a magnificent place to worship! I can't believe I never took the time to visit before now. You don't have to be Catholic to experience the serenity and peace the place brings if that's what you're looking for.

This is a truly AMAZING parish. Not because of what they do, or simply the design of the Church. This place is amazing because the people are. They believe in the Gospel and in the power of prayer, and they love everyone who - as they say - “darkens the door.”

Mystical Architecture and a Confused Pastoral Ethos It would be hard to deny the architectural brilliance that created this modern interpretation of a Christian mysticism of light. That said, the pastoral ethos of the cathedral is confused and one can never be quite sure what to expect given the mixed character of the homilies. The content of the preaching ranges from “low church” evangelicalism to liberal intellectualism in the manner of the Jesuit order to moderate and agreeable illustrations of gospel living that manage to steer clear of heavy-handed instruction. Looking around at the pews, it would appear that many are untroubled by this discrepancy. If you like surprises on Sunday and are not bothered by incoherence this might be the place for you. However, if you are a thinking Catholic, this lack of consistency in worldview may be untenable psychologically, especially when opposing, politically charged messages are injected into the homilies.

The cathedral is different and when you enter , it is so spacious inside! The church is beautiful for sure. The acoustics are bad though. I sat in the back and the sound was not quite clear. I hope they make sure that the sound is resonated from all sides clearly.

It's in the heart of Oakland. Street side parking and paid parking lots are available. Beautiful church.

Can I say BEAUTIFUL?! This church (or should I say cathedral) evokes feelings of serenity, peace and light. We didn't come here for a regular service, actually was our friends' wedding, and with a small intimate crowd, felt even more cozy. We're gonna have to come back.

Lovely, striking architecture. Beautiful acoustics for its strong choral and liturgical music program. Very fine organ in the French style. Excellent venue for chamber, choral, and organ music. A warm, welcoming, highly-diverse. congregation. I take pride in my membership.

This was beautiful, and the 1 hr tour (at 1pm) was totally worth it. I was amazed at the meaning behind all of the architectural details, of which there are too many to list. A few include: the cathedral is shaped like the intersection of two circles, which creates the christianity symbol. The image of Christ is made by making different sized holes in a metal screen. The reconciliation/confessional area is open to the light. Spacing in the slats of the front door follows the Fibonacci sequence. There are paintings from Incan artists from Cuzco, Peru in the 1640's in one of the chapels. The mausoleum is also beautiful and includes stained glass from the original St. Francis de Sales parish cathedral damaged by the Loma Prieto earthquake.

It's a nice inviting place to take photos. Go in there to take dope ig photos. If you check in on yelp and have student id, the discount def makes it worth it. The staff are super friendly. The location is hard to find, it's inside a mall. This is a pretty quick stop also, it's not gonna be hours and hours lost in this museum. But worth it.