From "Nuestro Pueblo - Los Angeles, City of Romance" Copyright 1940, by Charles H. Owens and Joseph F. Seewerker SAINT VIBIANA’S CATHEDRAL Saint Vibiana’s Cathedral at 210 South Main Street was built and consecrated in 1876. The neighborhood was one of fine homes, of dignity, then. But through the years the majestic church has witnessed the decay of Main Street, degeneration of its residents. ‘Main Street bums’ shuffle past; thieves and women of the street stand in the very shadow of the walls. But the squalor of its surroundings cannot affect the beauty of Saint Vibiana’s, one of the outstanding churches of Los Angeles. Within the sanctuary of the cathedral rests the body of Bishop Phaddeus Amat, first bishop of Los Angeles, through whose efforts the cathedral was built. In an urn above the main altar are the relics of Saint Vibiana, martyred saint in whose honor the cathedral was named. Church historians record that the sacred remains of Saint Vibiana were discovered in 1853, in excavations along the Appian Way in the catacombs of Rome. An urn above her sepulcher contained the evidence of her martyrdom. She is believed to have been no more than thirteen or fourteen years old at the time of her death. Her relics were brought to Los Angeles through the efforts of Bishop Amat, who promised the Pope to erect a cathedral in her honor. They were placed above the altar when Saint Vibiana’s was consecrated.