The Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels has many special features, none more so than the magnificent alabaster windows. With a total of 27,000 square feet of windows, it is the largest installation of its kind in the United States, making the Cathedral not only unique, but the milky light also makes it very spiritual, blanketing the Cathedral interior with a warm, even glow.
Alabaster is not a man-made product, but a naturally occurring stone. It boasts an unusual translucency because it contains moisture and oil in addition to various mineral deposits. The veining pattern found within alabaster was created millions of years ago when it was in the form of liquid rock.
The color of the veining varies depending upon what else was mixed into the various pools of rock. The mixture could have included anything from dinosaurs and insects to plants and dirt. The alabaster selected for the Cathedral has veins of red, gray, yellow and green and was imported from Spain.
Alabaster is not mined, but is dug from the ground in big boulders with dark, dull surfaces. Similar to a geode, the beauty within an alabaster boulder is seen only after giant machining saws slice it into panels.
However, the patterning of the new Cathedral windows is strictly one-of-a-kind. Alabaster panels were cut to a thickness of 1 1/2 centimeters, and vary in size from 2 1/2 to 6 feet wide. The careful positioning of the panels create giant mosaics, covering the 60 x 100 foot curtain walls on the north and south sides of the church. Smaller panel windows are hung on the northeast and west sides of the building.
Light also enters the Cathedral and devotional chapels, including St. Vibiana's Shrine, by way of large slanted shafts. These are reminiscent of the shafts used by the early Franciscans when they designed the California Missions.
When alabaster reaches a certain temperature in test ovens -- about 120 degrees Fahrenheit -- it becomes opaque. Therefore, an exterior layer of glass, covered with a protective film to control ultra violet rays and heat, shields the alabaster.
During the day, visitors to the Cathedral will notice that the glowing sense of warm light at the northern exposure will differ from that at the south. At night, this same warmth in the interior is created by specially designed lights that sit between the alabaster and the glass panels. To those who pass by the building outside, the Cathedral appears to glow from within.