The city named after the founder of the Franciscans was consistently one of the most popular tourist destinations in America prior to the onset of COVID-19. When we hear “San Francisco,” our minds automatically fill with images of the crimson Golden Gate Bridge spanning the sparkling bay, the stories of Alcatraz, the seals that line Pier 39, and the trolleys running along the expansive rolling hills around which the city was built. All of this makes for a fun 3-4 day vacation, especially with young kids in tow.
Having been one of the first mission outposts founded by St. Junipero Serra and his Franciscan companions in the eighteenth century, it is no surprise that the city has retained a strong Catholic heritage, despite its explosive growth over the last several decades. In between the “must see” landmark attractions of the city, there is no shortage of interesting churches and shrines to work into your itinerary.
North Beach and Fisherman’s Wharf
Gently ascending from the Bay, the rolling streets of the North Beach District anchor San Francisco’s Little Italy and are just a short walk from the bustling piers of San Francisco’s iconic Fisherman’s Wharf. There are a number of interesting shops and restaurants to visit by day, and it has become a lively nightspot in the evenings. There are two significant Catholic landmarks in the neighborhood: the Church of Sts. Peter and Paul and the National Shrine of St. Francis of Assisi.
The Church of Sts. Peter and Paul, with its gleaming white facade and twin spires, is itself a San Francisco landmark and has been the venue for many famous weddings over the years. It is often referred to as the “Italian Cathedral of the West” and its interior is filled with artwork and statues that tell the story of the Italian Catholic experience, especially for the fisherman from Sicily who first arrived in San Francisco in the early twentieth century. The connection with Sicilian Catholicism runs deep, including the Society of the Madonna del Lume which was established at the parish in 193. For over eighty years, there is a solemn mass and procession of the Madonna del Lume, that culminates in the blessing of the fishing fleet at Pier 45 of Fisherman’s Wharf. This three day festival honors Mary as the patroness and protectress of fisherman. The tradition originated in Porticello, Sicily, where fisherman stuck in the midst of a storm at sea, were guided to shore by a light coming from a grotto. When they explored the cave where the mysterious light originated, they found a slab with the image of the Madonna on it.
The National Shrine of St. Francis of Assisi is one of the gems of the Catholic Church in the Bay Area. The church possesses relics of both St. Francis and St. Clare that the faithful are able to venerate. It also has a scaled replica of the Portiuncula, the famed building in Assisi that served as the original base of operations for the Franciscans and where St. Francis died.
The parish was the first parish established in San Francisco, other than the existing Spanish mission (see below). Its establishment dates to the height of the gold rush era, when thousands were streaming into San Francisco, including many immigrants who did not speak English or Spanish. Ironically for a church dedicated to St. Francis, the parish was established by the Dominicans and came to serve as the proto cathedral for the Bishop. It was also the site of the first priestly ordination in California. Another first for the venerable parish came in 2005, with the dedication of the new portiuncula shrine. It was dedicated in 2005 by Cardinal William Levada; he had previously been the Archbishop of San Francisco, and went onto become the highest ranking American in Vatican history, as he was appointed by Pope Benedict XVI to lead the Congregation of the Doctrine of the Faith.
A trip to North Beach can easily be combined with photo stops at three of San Francisco’s most famous landmarks: the zig zag streetscape of Lombard Street, Fisherman’s Wharf and a boat trip across the Bay from the Wharf to the island prison of Alcatraz. Amidst the many tourist traps at Fisherman’s Wharf, it is easy to miss the Fisherman’s Memorial Chapel on Pier 45. It is often locked and it is currently a non denominational chapel, but its interior is rich in Catholic iconography, as it was originally built to serve the mostly Catholic (and Italian) seafarers as they prepared to embark on their journey (one note of caution: there is a schismatic group, the Oratory of St. John, that makes uses the chapel to celebrate the pre-Vatican II liturgy. They are not in communion with Rome). Ghiradelli Square, San Francisco Maritime National Historic Park, the Aquarium of the Bay, The Exploratorium science museum and the iconic Ferry Building are also nearby.
Union Square, Chinatown, Nobb Hill
In the heart of San Francisco is Union Square, lined with numerous shops and restaurants and nestled in the shadows of the financial district’s sky scrapers. It is a great spot to pick up a cable car for a ride through downtown and there is also the nearby Cable Car Museum to visit. Attractions in this neighborhood include the Yerba Buena Gardnens and the newly expanded San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, the first museum on the West Coast dedicated exclusively to twentieth century art. The San Francisco Cable Car Museum is also close by.
Adjacent to Japantown and a stone’s throw from the iconic San Francisco City Hall is the current cathedral of the Archdiocese of San Francisco, St. Mary of the Assumption. Although this strikes most visitors as an ultra-modern church, it is historic in one sense. It was one of the first cathedrals in the world to be built in the aftermath of Vatican II and its complete design is meant to be a reflection of the liturgical and theological outcomes of the Council. It also has the honor of having been visited by Pope St. John Paul II during his 1987 visit to the City and is lined with some fantastic life size bronze sculptures that bring the Bible alive.
For exploring this section of the City, it is a great occasion to hop on the cable car on its east-west line along California Street, right to the end of the line at Van Ness Avenue. This will take you through Chinatown (Old St. Mary’s Church) and the affluent Nobb Hill neighborhood. You can exit at the end of the line at the Holiday Inn on Van Ness, and then pick up a cab for the short drive to St. Dominic’s Church about a mile away in the Pacific Heights neighborhood.
Nearby is San Francisco’s Chinatown, the largest such Chinatown in North America. Standing in the midst of the neighborhood for over 160 years is Old St. Mary’s, which was the second cathedral of the City of San Francisco. Today it is operated by the Paulists and doubles as an outreach ministry to the Chinese population.
One of the nearby hills – Nobb Hill – is best known for its affluent hotels and restaurants and is one of the most glamorous neighborhoods of San Francisco.
The neighboring Pacific Heights neighborhood is where the Shrine to St. Jude, inside the Church of St. Dominic, is found. It was founded in 1935 as a beacon of hope in the midst of the Great Depression. St. Dominic is a grand Gothic church, built in the early twentieth century, though the parish itself dates back to 1873. The Dominicans have an interesting history in the city named after St. Francis. Ironically enough, it was a Dominican who was called upon to become the City’s first bishop in the mid 1850s, when the population exploded with the California gold rush. One of the first parishes the Dominicans set up was St. Francis of Assisi, as the Franciscans were confined to the mission church at Dolores, which focused on the natives and the small Spanish speaking community.
Presidio and Mission Dolores
The Presidio – the former Spanish military fort (and now a National Park) – and the Basilica Mission Dolores (the original Franciscan mission church) were the first two institutions to be established in San Francisco. Although they are located on different ends of the peninsula, they are both worth a substantial amount of time to visit.
Mission Dolores was established in October 1776 and is the only mission chapel to have remained completely intact of all the California missions. The adobe and red tiled chapel is the oldest building standing in San Francisco; this is quite remarkable given the history of earthquakes in the city.
This was the northernmost mission in the chain of 21 missions that the Franciscans under St. Junipero Serra established across California. The Mission was the heart of the Spanish efforts to evangelize the local Indigenous peoples and provide for their needs – in this way, the mission was not just a place of worship, but an entire community that entailed significant agricultural operations and brought together soldiers, farmers, merchants and the Indigenous. Although St. Junipero Serra did not personally found the mission, he did oversee it and within two years of its establishment, was on the ground at the mission chapel to celebrate Mass.
The Presidio was used as a military base by the Spanish, Mexican and eventually American armed forces for over two hundred years. It is largely an urban forest today (the trees having been planted by the US Army in the nineteenth century), but it was once the administrative center of colonial San Francisco. Today, it contains several museums including the Walt Disney Museum, and offers beautiful views overlooking the Bay and the crimson Golden Gate Bridge. One of the most interesting buildings within the Presidio to tour is Fort Point, which was an old US Army fort dating back to the Civil War era.
Golden Gate Park
The park contains a number of attractions, including the California Academy of Sciences and the Conservatory of Flowers and the Botancial Gardens. Over three miles long, The park is actually larger than Central Park in New York and is full of meadows, beaches, and even Chinese pavilians set against small lake, Japanese tea garden complete with a pagoda, and even a patch of American Bison. There are three significant churches located nearby. The first, withing the campus of the University of San Francisco, is the Jesuit Church of St. Ignatius, one of the most beautiful churches in the city. Near the church is the painted ladies row of Victorian townhomes on Hayes Street. It is often forgotten that the University of San Francisco, the first university established in the city, is a Jesuit run institution, that was founded by the Jesuits in the mid nineteenth century.
The second notable church is Our Lady of Fatima, Russian Byzantine Catholic Church. In addition to the chapel, there is an outdoor shrine to Our Lady of Fatima, recalling the instruction of Our Lady at Fatima to pray for the conversion of Russia. The parish was established to care for exiled Russians in the 1950s fleeing Communist rule, a sort of Slavic Mission Dolores. One of the first leaders of the Russian Catholic community in San Francisco was actually Fr. Nicolai Bock, who had served as the Czar’s last ambassador to the Holy See before the Communist Revolution. This church once held the miraculous icon of Our Lady of Kazan, which was then transferred to the private chapel of St. John Paul II at the Vatican, before he eventually transferred it back to the Patriarchate of Moscow in 2004. The founding pastor of the church had raised a significant amount of money to purchase the icon from a private collector and restore it to a place of a worship.
Also of note is Star of the Sea parish, which is a short walk from the park and has 24/7 perpetual adoration of the Blessed Sacrament as well as traditional Latin Mass.
The Bay Area
There are a wealth of interesting sites a short drive out of San Francisco as well. Check out my companion travel guide to the Catholic sites of the Bay Area and Beyond.
CATHOLIC CONCIERGE 
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