The same week in spring 1996 that Rafael Moneo received the Pritzker Prize in Los Angeles, he was also awarded by one of those coincidences of fate the commission to design that city’s cathedral. Delivering his acceptance speech at the Getty Center, then under construction, Moneo pondered the meaning of this coincidence. That singular celebration has now come full circle as the impressive Our Lady of the Angels opened in September 2002 to an anticipating public. It could not have come at a better time for the Catholic Church in the United States, transforming the cathedral into a symbol of endurance for those whose faith has been shaken by recent spiraling scandals. The cathedral’s amazing construction, asserts fortitude and permanence, reminding us that millennial faith remains ever hopeful especially in testing times...[+]