Honoring Every Journey, Every Faith

A First-of-Its-Kind Immersive
and Sacred Space

City of Hope® Orange County has created the first multifaith spiritual care center designed to immerse cancer patients in their healing places.

The Wetterau Family Spiritual Care Center, housed in City of Hope Orange County's cancer specialty hospital, was intentionally designed to reflect the spiritual diversity of our community.

In creating the spiritual care center, City of Hope Orange County asked patients and their families an important question: "If you feel the need for prayer and you could be in any sacred space, where would you go?"

By making a selection on a touchscreen, patients and their families can choose customized faith experiences featuring the sights, sounds and prayer candles from seven sacred spaces: a chapel, mandir, mosque, synagogue, temple, alpine forest or shorelines.

A Gift With So Much Meaning

The spiritual care center is named in honor of the Wetterau family, whose decades-long commitment to giving back is well-known in Orange County and beyond. Mark Wetterau, a highly regarded philanthropist, business and civic leader who served as the chair and CEO of Golden State Foods from 1998 to 2023, was the first donor to City of Hope Orange County's strategic fund.

"Mark was guided by his deep faith, which grounded him during his cancer journey," said his wife, Virginia Wetterau. "He would have loved this healing and deeply spiritual space. By supporting this visionary place, we are continuing our family legacy of caring for others. We know this will be a place of profound comfort to people in very challenging situations."