Guardian Angel Cathedral

The Guardian Angel Cathedral is a cathedral of the Catholic Church in Winchester, Nevada. It is located at 302 Cathedral Way, just off the Las Vegas Strip, near the Encore Las Vegas hotel. Since the creation of the Diocese of Las Vegas in 1995, Guardian Angel has been the seat of the bishop, previously having been a parish of the Diocese of Reno.HistorySt. Viator Church was built on the site of the former city dump in 1955. The ground proved to be unstable and the church was condemned and torn down six months after it opened. The Rev. Richard Crowley, CSV, now churchless, approached Moe Dalitz to donate land on the Las Vegas Strip. Although Jewish, Dalitz liked the idea of having a church convenient for his casino workers. He donated land near the Desert Inn in 1961. Dalitz was familiar with the work of Los Angeles architect Paul R. Williams and approached him to design the new church. Guardian Angel Shrine was opened in October 2, 1963. In 1977 Bishop Norman McFarland of the recently re-designated Diocese of Reno-Las Vegas chose the shrine as the co-cathedral. The diocese was divided in 1995 and the Diocese of Las Vegas was established. Guardian Angel retained its status as a cathedral. The cathedral was renovated for $1.3 million in 1995.