Our Lady Queen of Angels Catholic Church

Today we said good bye to our dad, friend, and moral compass.
Thank you to all who attended his Funeral Mass/​Celebration, Burial and Reception. God bless friends and family. Thank you Father Kerry for taking care of our dad’s soul last night and today.

Saw Mark Wahlberg and Kobe Bryant at that church at 2 different occasions.
Beautiful church and choir!

It’s not just a church but being there is like being with family in your home. Music is divine and the parishioners are truly caring and kind. I have been a parishioner for almost 5 years now. Just recently, I got married here… It was perfect!
I have been looking for my spiritual home and I am glad that its OLQA. If you don’t have a place to go for christmas or easter. this is the place to be!

I base my opinion on the merits of a Catholic Parish on Liturgy, Music, Pastoral Care, Fellowship. I have been to many Catholic Churches in Orange County. A lot of them are not great. I enjoyed Our Lady though. As far as Liturgy, it is a little dicey, but the musical director is amazing. Generally she chooses wonderful and reverent music for liturgy. The priests there are very friendly, and pretty happy. Also, the home groups at this Church are very vibrant and popular. Check out this Church.

I don’t write many reviews on houses of worship, so I will try to write this more from the perspective of a lifelong Roman Catholic visiting for the first time, equipped with a pretty decent understanding of architecture, liturgy, history, tradition and religion.
First off, this new church building is impressive.
I like how the exterior imitates traditional Catholic churches from the pre-​Vatican II era, especially ones that were made of solid, lasting material, illustrated by the generous use of marble in the inside and stone on the outside.
The interior «ribs» imitate other older churches when it comes to emphasizing soaring, vaulted ceilings. I couldn’t help but think of St. Brendan’s in west Los Angeles, or the church of St. Augustine in Honolulu, Hawaii when I observed the wooden arches inside the nave. This purpose is to drive the attention upward and itself be a form of prayer in, well, the building’s form. Historically, Christians would pray with hands extended and eyes looking upwards, and having this arched element inside the church harkens back to that old tradition. Think of gothic cathedrals like Notre Dame or Chartres Cathedral and their upward, skyward orientation, which draws one’s attention to up to heaven.
Despite having a preference for things traditional when it comes to things Catholic, I found many classical features were preserved (and sometimes given a modern interpretation), like having the front of the church orientated to the east, and having the church laid out in a cross shape. Having the 14 Stations of the Cross along the walls of the church was nice, as I’ve seen this feature slowly phased out or relegated to other parts of the building.
The baptismal font was also nicely made and located properly within the church.
The crucifix was, thankfully, still fairly centered in the front of the church, albeit slightly to the right. I would hope that eventually, the church moves it back to the center, behind the altar, and move the seat of the presider off to the right side, so that the emphasis underscores the Christocentricity in the church. It’s a powerful image and needs to be one of the main foci for worshipers.
Speaking of crucifixes, the crucifix carried by the acolytes during the processional and recessional also should depict the Corpus Christi, rather than it be a plain cross. It’s a minor point, but this might inspire more of the people to recall the death of Christ and do the sign of the cross when it passes down the aisle. (I crossed myself due to habit, but was surprised nobody else did when it passed. Not even older Catholics).
The instructions for first timers to visit the Blessed Sacrament chapel at the entrance was nice and helpful, though again, as a traditionalist, when it comes to Catholic churches, I would have preferred that the designers and architects kept the tabernacle front and center of the entire building, behind the altar, rather than designating it off to the side. The issue here is that it removes the duty of genuflection, as you only should genuflect when passing in front of the tabernacle. It also limits (due to fire safety standards) how many people can be in the side chapel, praying before the tabernacle, which was only 29. It’s ultimately non-​symmetrical and does not reinforce the centrality of the Eucharist in form. If a reconfiguration ever happens, this side chapel could be made a baptistry and the tabernacle and Book of the Gospels can be moved out to the front of the church where more people can meditate before it.
One other qualm I had was that the main church building has only one new devotional/​votive area dedicated to the Virgin Mary, as opposed to several/​many. There is another image of Mary, along with St. Joseph at the narthex of the church, however, those statues seem to be from the older church building and are different in style. (I would think that there would have been more of an emphasis on Marian devotions in the new church itself, given that the church is named after Mary).
There are instances of stained glass at the apse and narthex, but sadly, nothing depicting saintly iconography, Jesus, Mary, or images from the Bible. The glass currently existing could be better used to depict more images of the life of Christ, the church’s patroness, or other major players in the history of the Catholic Church.
I understand there are relics present in the church. Images of the saints, namely those whose relics or objects are present here, would have been nice.
I must say, though, that despite these technicalities and my preferences for older traditions, that overall, the quality of the Sunday mass I attended and the homily provided by the priest a few days ago were great. Doctrinally, nothing was aberrant. It played out smoothly and the flow was efficient. The priest was clear and instructive (I never caught his name), and the music ministry that assisted at the mass was awesome. I will definitely be back.

A really beautiful sacred space. There is a visitor’s guide available that is very useful .
The exterior courtyard is very open, at the time I visited though, it seemed like there was some kind of garden digging up going on so a lot of orange cones and dirt. Overall, well kept gardens. There is also a bell tower that reminds me of the many missions that are all along the California coast.
Catholics have a tradition of venerating Saints’ relics. I was very happy to learn that FIVE saints’ relics are buried beneath the altar. I think it ties the past to our present church. Also, quoting the guide: there are small amounts of earth from Bethlehem, Jerusalem, Galilee, Rome, Assisi, Ireland, Kenya, Lourdes, Međugorje, (or Medjugorje), Honduras and India. «Let all the nations praise Him.»
Many stained glass windows depict the Sacraments (very abstract art), really beautiful hand-​carved statues of the Virgin Mary and St. Joseph (they look like olive wood).
Happened to attend the 5pm Saturday Vigil mass. There were both a presiding priest and either a visiting co-​celebrant priest or deacon, who gave the Homily. He was down to earth, amusing and so… Human? He spoke of hiking, golf and having breakfast with his buddies.
We were here for a fundraiser concert send-​off for one of their female cantors — Elizabeth Rigby Jones. The space is not ideal for a performance but I appreciated the support she received from the parishioners. She was accompanied by a pianist, a guitarist and a sax player. How often have you heard a sax in a church?
Will be sure to come again if I’m in the area.

Beautiful church. Great people.

Went for my twice a year and was really impressed with the space. The subtle grading makes for excellent sight lines, and while I do miss the more traditionally staid stations-​of-​the-​cross walls in the old church, there’s no denying that it’s beautiful.
But don’t go for the building. Go for Father Dave Klunk. He talks like no other Catholic priest I’ve seen do Mass. Because he tells entertaining stories, talks like a layperson, and quite frankly has a commanding presence, he would be an awesome dude to just chill with. The way he can relate prayer and faith to everyday life is superb.
–1 for the awful site planning. The parking circulation is abysmal, and the architect that did this clearly didn’t pass his/​her SPD ARE exam.

I’m not Catholic but I came here for a wedding. The church is quite large and newly built so everything is shiny and unworn. The padding for the kneeling benches are still nice and plush. There were plenty of copies «Breaking Bread» (which I made me really excited because I thought they were copies of Breaking Bad… my mistake) all wrapped in protective plastic sleeves ready for all that singing.
Father Dave was pretty funny. He, apparently, has only been fathering (?) for about 3 years and thinks the ladies of Orange County are quite lovely.
Kobe Bryant apparently worships here.
Also, most importantly, no one (specifically me) burst into flames upon setting foot in this church.

The new church (across the street from the former location) is beautiful. It’s very crisp, clean and modern. The acoustics are amazing.

Big open church with a crystal clear booming sound system. Honestly, this is a great church with lots of available confession times and a legit music ministry running there. It’s well attended and they are building a brand new church next door, not sure why. I’m sure it will be even better though.

This place plays all my favorite jams!
All joking aside, one of my main complaints about churches around UCI was that they didn’t feel like my church back home. OLQA comes so eerily close that I think I’ve fallen in love. Same layout down to the little things such as where the numbers plaque are for the hymns and where the stations of the cross are located. They’re even in the midst of building a new church just like my beloved Sacred Heart back in the AV.
So far, I’ve found the community welcoming and warm, the homilies stimulating, and of course, the music! Their cantors are great and they really do chose a lot of the same songs that I grew up with so it really feels homey.

This is a truly beautiful church. I came here for a wedding and the whole experience was nothing short of perfect. What struck me was the fact that they embraced all people of all backgrounds. The cantor was also amazing. Definitely a great place for any service or ceremony.

I have recently joined this church and have had such positive experiences here!
I do feel a little weird reviewing a church, but I suppose they employee people like receptionists etc, so I guess its okay!
Having already had a child with my fiancé, I expected to be judged for «doing things out of order,» especially in the Catholic church, but everyone has been so kind. From the helpful wedding coordinator, to Father Dave offering to do our wedding even though he isn’t supposed to be taking on any at the moment, our quick registration as parishioners, and the parishioners themselves, I have had such great experiences with this church.
I leave mass early each time because my ten month old is loud, however, Father Dave said something so sweet, «It wouldn’t be mass without a few cries.» It made me feel accepted!
I’m so glad that I’ve found a Catholic church that is welcoming, so that I can share my faith with my son (and fiancé).
I also must say that though I believe the church is being renovated, I love its present style. It is white with some areas of really beautiful blue tiles that remind me of the ocean (all behind the cross and alter are blue tiles). It does look older in some areas but I think of it as charming!

When we moved out to the OC we had to look for a new church to belong to. We shopped around, checked out the parishioners, and everything else. We really wanted to see where we felt comfortable at. I’ve been going to the same church in Diamond Bar since I was in the 6^th grade and I loved that parish so it was pretty hard to find anything comparable to St. Denis Catholic Church. We attended some masses at a couple churches close to our new home in Irvine but then came across Our Lady Queen of Angels. Although it is a bit of a drive for us every Sunday, it feels like home for us already. The parish has a strong sense of community and they offer so many community activities and various seminars and other discussions to allow one to get more spiritually in touch with the Catholic faith. Even though it is in Newport Beach it isn’t all glitzy and the parishioners aren’t snobby.
The church is actually undergoing a massive construction project since it recently bought out St. Mark’s Presbyterian Church right across the street. So over the next few years the church will be building a completely new church right along Jamboree. From the renderings that they display in the current church, it seems that it will be something worth seeing.