By Gerald Korson
Voice correspondent

As a frequent business traveler whose flights often made landing approaches over downtown Oakland, Frank Wnuk was fascinated by his bird’s-eye view of the magnificent new Catholic cathedral while it was being built. Now retired, he leads similarly wide-eyed visitors on informative tours of the interior of the Cathedral of Christ the Light.

Questions most frequently asked Here are some of the most common questions asked of the docents giving tours at the Cathedral of Christ the Light and their answers: How do they “project” that image of Christ the Majesty onto the panels? It is a computer-generated copy of the façade of the image of Christ the Majesty at Chartres Cathedral in France. There are 94,000 pixels or perforations ranging from 1⁄8 inch to 11⁄4 inches at different angles. Natural light pushes through the perforations to produce the image; there is no artificial light behind it. The image is actually more visible on a cloudy day than on a bright day. How do they change the light bulbs in the ceiling? They designed an infrastructure of catwalks that provides access to all places requiring regular maintenance. Is the cathedra, the bishop’s chair, comfortable? Former Oakland Bishop Allen Vigneron once said that it is very comfortable. We take his word for it, since the bishop is the only one who can sit in it. Where did the money to build the cathedral come from? The cathedral was built through the generosity and encouragement of wonderful benefactors. Their generosity was such that no money earmarked for caring for the poor, and their contributions and donations to causes for the poor, was diminished in any way. The total construction cost for the entire cathedral complex is $175 million. Approximately $60 million still needs to be raised to cover these costs.

“When a request for volunteer docents was posted in our church bulletin, I was moved to volunteer,” said Wnuk, a member of St. Joan of Arc Parish in San Ramon. “I couldn’t think of a better way to learn about the unusual construction that I had been witnessing from the air.”

He is one of 55 specially trained volunteers who walk visitors through the year-old cathedral, pointing out the significance of its features and answering questions about the building, the liturgy, and the Catholic faith.

With its unique architecture, alluring plaza and prominent location overlooking Lake Merritt, the Cathedral of Christ the Light is a natural destination for area Catholics, vacationers and curious local residents alike.

So in May 2008, four months before the dedication of the sanctuary, the cathedral hired Leo Keegan, a longtime Catholic liturgist and marketing coordinator, to develop a team of docents to provide tours for those wishing to walk through and examine every niche of this sacred space.

Going immediately to work, Keegan designed an eight-week docent-training program “with a curriculum based on the history of the Diocese of Oakland and the first cathedral, liturgical symbols, architecture, Catholic theology and practice, and public-speaking skills,” he told The Voice.

Crack training team
He also assembled a crack team of facilitators for the training sessions that included Oakland Bishop Emeritus John Cummins, cathedral provost Father Paul Minnihan, Father Dan Danielson, retired pastor of the Catholic Community of Pleasanton, and both Craig Hartman and Lonny Israel from the design firm Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM). Hartman is the cathedral’s chief architect.

Of an initial 72 applicants, 45 completed the first round of docent training last summer. A smaller group went through the program last February, with candidates “shadowing” several tours in order to obtain more direct experience. The docents, who commit to giving two to three tours each month, continue to meet regularly as a group for ongoing formation, Keegan said.

As individuals, the docents are as diverse as the diocese itself. They attend parishes from all corners and range in age from 28 to 72. Some have full-time jobs; others are retired.

Within their ranks are docents competent in several languages other than English, including Spanish, French, Italian, Cantonese, Mandarin, Tagalog and Vietnamese. And while each marveled at the sight of the cathedral being erected, each also had his or her own reasons for volunteering as a docent.

“In a diocese as diverse as ours, I wanted to make sure that there was a representative [among the docents] from the African-American faith community,” said Jo Ann Evans, who attends St. Callistus Church in El Sobrante and is active in pastoral ministry in her retirement. “Besides that, I love history. . . . This new cathedral is historic, and I could be a part of that.”

Esperanza Magallanes-Quinteros of Oakland, a full-time mother of two, became a docent after touring the cathedral even before it was dedicated. “I wanted others to see the cathedral beyond the glass and concrete walls as I had,” she said. “I wanted to help the cathedral come alive for others as it did in my own heart.”

Favorite points in the tour
Each docent also has a favorite point in the tour. Evans loves telling visitors that the altar is made from Carrerra marble, which was taken from the same quarry Michelangelo used for his sculptures.

Michael Gorin, a married father of two from St. John the Baptist Parish in El Cerrito, likes the part where he stands in the middle of the nave and “unwraps” the subtle treasures of the cathedral’s design and its use of natural light.

Magallanes-Quinteros appreciates the “physical contact,” a departure from the “do not touch” policy of many sacred places. “We welcome our visitors and community to touch our bronze, the Stations of the Cross, the Virgin Mary, our baptismal waters,” she said. “I like the reaction of people when they discover they can touch, especially the children.”

As might be expected, leading a tour can give rise to some amusing anecdotes. Evans told of a seven-year-old boy who, intrigued by the Cuzco School painting of “The Lord’s Circumcision,” wanted to know what the “little knife” was for. As Evans fumbled for an age-appropriate answer, the boy’s teacher distracted the lad and escorted him towards his classmates.

“Saved by an experienced and clever teacher!” Evans smiled.

Wnuk once gave a tour to the entire Oakland Women’s Rowing Club, a group of 50-to-80-year-old women who take to Lake Merritt every Wednesday morning in their white uniforms, blue scarves and sailor caps. They, too, had noted with anticipation the gradual construction of the complex.

“They showed up in their rowing uniforms, which are very colorful, and they had more energy than a bunch of teenagers,” Wnuk said. “They were totally involved the whole tour and asked great questions. They ended by taking a picture of me with the group, which they later mailed to me with a thank-you note.”

Gorin recalled a local 12-year-old boy who had watched the cathedral being built and had pestered his mother to take him on a tour. Once inside, the boy kept pointing to the Omega Window and its 58-foot-high computer-generated image of Christ in Majesty. With an “amazing look” on his face, the boy asked, “Who is that guy, and why is he so big?”

“From that point on, my most interesting tours have been with groups that come with special interests not only in religion, but also geometry, music, art, construction or design,” Gorin said.

The Cathedral of Christ the Light, he added, “is definitely a place for people of all religious beliefs, and it’s a constant reminder to me that as Catholics we are all called to share the light of Christ.”

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