Oldest cathedral church: The Cathedral of San Carlos Borromeo, Monterey, was founded as a mission church by Fr. Serra in 1770, and the present structure was completed in 1794. It became the pro-cathedral of the Diocese of Both Californias (then encompassing all of present-day California and Baja California) in 1840. It is the oldest cathedral church building in the United States, being completed three years before St. Augustine Cathedral in St. Augustine, Fla.

Newest cathedral: The Cathedral of Christ the Light, Oakland, will be dedicated in September 2008.

Largest cathedral: The Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels, Los Angeles, is the 10th largest cathedral in the world and the largest Roman Catholic cathedral in the United States. It covers 65,000 square feet and is 333 feet in length (one foot longer than St. Patrick’s Cathedral in New York).

Smallest cathedral: The Cathedral of San Carlos Borromeo, Monterey, is the smallest Roman Catholic cathedral in the continental United States.

First church built as a cathedral: The Cathedral of St. Mary of the Immaculate Conception, San Francisco, (Old St. Mary’s) was built in 1854.

First Orthodox cathedral: Holy Trinity Cathedral (Orthodox Church in America), San Francisco, was founded as California’s first permanent Orthodox parish in 1864 and became the cathedral in 1870.

First Orthodox church built as a cathedral: The present Holy Trinity Cathedral (Orthodox Church in America), San Francisco, was constructed in 1909.

Oldest Episcopal cathedral church: Trinity Cathedral, San Jose, was constructed as a parish church in 1863.

First Episcopal church built as a cathedral: The second Grace Church in San Francisco, built in 1862, was unofficially known as “Grace Cathedral.” The new Grace Cathedral was established in 1910 as a successor to this church.

City with the most cathedrals: Los Angeles is home to nine cathedrals.

Bishop Allen Vigneron has set a date for the dedication of the new Cathedral of Christ the Light: September 25, 2008. This is sure to be an inspiring celebration, when we’ll all finally get to see this amazing new cathedral come to life on the shores of Lake Merritt.

The diocesan newspaper, The Catholic Voice, has all the goods. The cornerstone of the former cathedral, St. Francis de Sales, will be opened on September 14, Feast of the Triumph of the Holy Cross, and the cathedral mausoleum will be dedicated on November 2, Feast of All Souls.

These three dedication events will inaugurate a Year of Jubilee for the Diocese of Oakland, which will include multiple ecumenical, interfaith, civic and cultural events to involve the entire East Bay community, according to Fr. Paul Minnihan, cathedral provost.

Meanwhile, the business community in Oakland envisions urban renewal as a result of the new cathedral similar to what happened in Los Angeles with the construction of the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels.