Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels in the context of 1994 Northridge earthquake

A cathedra is the throne of a bishop in the early Christian basilica. When used with this meaning, it may also be called the bishop's throne. With time, the related term cathedral became synonymous with the "seat", or principal church, of a bishopric.

The word in modern languages derives from a normal Greek word καθέδρα [kathédra], meaning "seat", with no special religious connotations, and the Latin cathedra, specifically a chair with arms.

The Archdiocese of Los Angeles (Latin: Archidiœcesis Angelorum in California, Spanish: Arquidiócesis de Los Ángeles) is an archdiocese of the Catholic Church located in the southern coastal portion of the U.S. state of California. The archdiocese's cathedra is in Los Angeles, and the it comprises the counties of Los Angeles, Santa Barbara, and Ventura. The cathedral is the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels in Los Angeles, and its present archbishop is José Horacio Gómez Velasco. With over five million professing members and weekly liturgies celebrated in 32 languages, the Archdiocese of Los Angeles is numerically the single largest and most ethnically diverse archdiocese in the United States.

The Archbishop of Los Angeles also serves as metropolitan bishop of the suffragan dioceses within the Ecclesiastical Province of Los Angeles, which includes the dioceses of Fresno, Monterey, Orange, San Bernardino, and San Diego.

The Cathedral of Saint Vibiana (Spanish: Catedral de Santa Vibiana), often called St. Vibiana's, is the former Catholic cathedral for the Archdiocese of Los Angeles. Located in Downtown Los Angeles, the building opened in 1876 as the cathedral for what was then known as the Diocese of Monterey–Los Angeles, and remained the official cathedral of the Los Angeles see for over 100 years. It is named for Vibiana, a saint who lived in the 3rd century, and is currently a secular events venue.

The cathedral was heavily damaged during the 1994 Northridge earthquake and became the subject of a lengthy legal battle between the archdiocese, which wanted to demolish the building and build a new cathedral on the site, and preservationists, who wanted the building to remain standing due to its historical significance. In 1996, the parties involved reached a compromise in which the archdiocese would purchase a nearby site on which to build a new cathedral, and in turn would turn over the St. Vibiana site to the City of Los Angeles. The Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels was dedicated in 2002 as the successor to St. Vibiana's.