Bobruk said this capital campaign is "the very first time we've done a diocesan-wide fund raising appeal to every parishioner," and it has been "very broad-based."
Around 14,000 households in Orange County have contributed to the campaign, and Bobruk remarked that it is "really is the peoples' campaign. We're reaching out to as many people as possible, and we have a motto that every gift counts."
"It's not an equal size gift, but it's an equal sacrifice, so that's a message we've woven through this campaign."
The campaign is being conducted in two phases: 36 of the diocese's 62 parishes have already completed their portion, which lasted from January to July. The remaining 26 parishes are "in campaign mode right now," which will last for them until December.
Bobruk drew particular attention to the emblematic role of the diocese's priests as participants in the capital campaign.
"So far 116 of our priests, including our bishop, have really led by example and have made sacrificial gifts totaling over $707,000."
She explained that the firm assisting the Orange Catholic Foundation in the campaign has said "they've never experienced this type of support from the presbyterate in the past," and added that when it is dedicated, likely in 2015 or 2016, Christ Cathedral's altar "will be given and named in honor of all our priests in our diocese."
Bobruk attributed the campaign's success to the special opportunity to "really invest" in the diocese and to "walk in this historic and transformational time."
Ryan Lilyengren, communications director for the Diocese of Orange, added that the enthusiastic participation in the capital campaign "speaks to Catholics in Orange County really wrapping their arms around the idea of having a central spiritual location for worship, and they have really gotten behind transforming this used-to-be evangelical center into something that's really Catholic and is a cathedral of their own."
Concluding his comments at this morning's prayer breakfast, Bishop Vann reflected that "Orange County is a bustling place, with lots of noise and traffic and endless activity, a place where we can often feel isolated. The day when the Cathedral in Garden Grove becomes our center of gravity, we as Catholics will make believers and non-believers our welcome guests."
"We and they will find it a place of refuge. Our Cathedral will be a place for involvement in the sacraments, a place to hear the Word of God proclaimed and a place for personal prayer and devotion. It will be a holy place where God dwells among us."
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Carl Bunderson is the former managing editor of Catholic News Agency.