St. Vibiana

I was thinking recently about one of the things that I do admire about the new cathedral in Los Angeles. If you make a visit to the cathedral, venture downstairs to the mausoleum. There you will find the new crypt chapel and marble sarcophagus of St. Vibiana, the 3rd/4th century Roman martyr who is also the patroness of our archdiocese.

According to the cathedral website:

In the nearby shrine a marble sarcophagus contains relics of the third century martyr, St. Vibiana. In 1853 her remains were found in a catacomb near the Appian Way.
A marble tablet sealed her sepulcher and can be seen at the Shrine. The inscription reads, "To the soul of the innocent and pure Vibiana." At the end of the inscription is a wreath of laurel, an emblem commonly used by early Christians as a code symbolizing martyrdom.

(The photos were taken by my girlfriend, Christina)

There is a kneeler next to the marble inscription tablet and in front of the sarcophagus where pilgrims and visitors may pause to pray and ask for Vibiana's intercession. Everything about this particular space is arranged in a most sublime fashion. It is my opinion that the new crypt chapel and sarcophagus dignify the memory of Vibiana in a way that inspires a sense, both spiritual and historical, of wonder and awe. Many who do not to visit the cathedral will certainly miss this treat.

The website goes on...

Pope Pius IX gave the relics to the Bishop of Monterey Thaddeus Amat. St. Vibiana rested in several places until she was brought to the then new St. Vibiana's Cathedral in 1876.

Though we know little about St. Vibiana, she is the focus of prayer and devotion for many believers who call on her intercession. She is at last at peace here for centuries to come.

Prior to her entombment in the new cathedral site, St. Vibiana's remains were displayed in a glass sarcophagus high above the main altar of the previous cathedral that took her name, the Cathedral of St. Vibiana. You can make out the sarcophagus in this old photo, though it isn't entirely clear just how much of Vibiana's remains were visible:


Which is better? The glass sarcophagus? Or the marble stone sarcophagus? Both can be dignifying, although the glass sarcophagus is especially helpful for displaying incorruptible saints, like St. Bernadette. But Vibiana is not incorruptible, and the stone sarcophagus may be closer to how she was actually entombed in the catacombs, unless her remains were left open to the air. We do not typically get to see the relics that enshrine our altars today, though we still venerate them there, yet we have glass reliquaries for just about every type of relic, like St. Anthony's Tongue, as Matt points out over at Whapdom Central.