For Christmas: Five Beautiful Churches in SoCal

With Christmas just a week away, many of us might be seeking a spiritual refuge away from crass commercialism and towards a connection with the divine roots of the holiday.

To that end, I am listing five of my favorite churches in Southern California, all of which are beautifully designed. There are, of course, thousands of houses of worship in the region – from strip mall storefronts to grand cathedrals – but these are truly hidden treasures.

• St. Vincent de Paul’s Catholic Church at the corner of Figueroa and West Adams. With its gorgeous Churrigueresque exterior (a Spanish Baroque style named after 18th-century Spanish architect José Benito de Churriguera) and breathtaking Spanish-style interiors, this house of worship is a work of art. (Note the distinctive plaster carvings around windows and doors.)

Evoking a time when we built churches with great effect, the detailed interior – with its stunning decorative flourishes and spectacular artwork – were originally included in Catholic churches as eye candy. The intent was to woo back Catholics to the church at a time the Protest Reformation was attracting converts. The message was: Here are the glories of heaven that await you.

• St. Andrew’s Catholic Church in Pasadena. A kind of hodgepodge of Spanish and Byzantine styles, the opulent interior features high ceilings and dazzling marble columns, chandeliers, icons and murals.

• The Wayfarers Chapel in Rancho Palos Verdes. Designed by Lloyd Wright, son of Frank Lloyd Wright, in the 1940s and built between 1949 and 1951, this “Glass Church” mid-century marvel is nestled in a grove of towering redwood trees. The stone and glass architectural elements enhance the feeling of being in the midst of nature – it’s as if you are sitting inside a beautiful crystal. The gardens are charming, and the view of the Pacific is lovely.

Listed in the National Register of Historic Places, the Wayfarers Chapel is unusual in that it is a church without a membership that welcomes people of all faiths to the Sunday service at 10 a.m.

• The Mission Santa Barbara. Founded by the Franciscans in 1786, it is known as “Queen of the Missions” for its graceful beauty. I love it for its rich history, its pink sandstone and its awe-inspiring interiors that evoke the grandest of European churches.

• St. Thomas the Apostle Episcopal Church in Hollywood. I remember visiting this awesome church as a little girl and being so wowed by its Gothic Revival style. Particularly notable are its darker arches against lighter walls, wood-beamed ceiling and wrought-iron hanging lamps.