St. Patrick's Catholic Church is a

Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

church in

San Francisco San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

, founded in 1851. It is located at 756

Mission Street Mission Street is a north-south arterial thoroughfare in Daly City and San Francisco, California that runs from Daly City's southern border to San Francisco's northeast waterfront. The street and San Francisco's Mission District through which ...

, between 3rd and 4th streets, across the street from

Yerba Buena Gardens Yerba Buena Gardens is the name for two blocks of public parks located between Third and Fourth, Mission and Folsom Streets in the South of Market (SoMA) neighbourhood of San Francisco, California. The first block bordered by Mission and How ...

in the heart of the South of Market district.

History

On June 9, 1851, the church held its very first mass in a hall on the corner of 4th and Jessie streets. A couple of months later a temporary church was built facing Market Street on the land where the Palace Hotel stands today. Inspired by the Irish population in the area, it was given the name of Ireland's patron saint,

Saint Patrick Saint Patrick (; or ; ) was a fifth-century Romano-British culture, Romano-British Christian missionary and Archbishop of Armagh, bishop in Gaelic Ireland, Ireland. Known as the "Apostle of Ireland", he is the primary patron saint of Irelan ...

. After the

Civil War A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies.J ...

droves of people immigrated to San Francisco and the need for a bigger church grew. As a result, a new church facing

was constructed and opened in April 1870. It was dedicated by the then archbishop

Joseph Alemany Joseph Sadoc Alemany, Dominican Order, O.P. (Catalan language, Catalan: ''Josep Sadoc Alemany i Conill''; July 3, 1814 – April 14, 1888) was a Spanish Catholic Church in the United States, Catholic prelate who served as Roman Catholic Archdioc ...

, O.P. Many described it as the most magnificent church west of Chicago. During the

1906 San Francisco earthquake At 05:12 AM Pacific Time Zone, Pacific Standard Time on Wednesday, April 18, 1906, the coast of Northern California was struck by a major earthquake with an estimated Moment magnitude scale, moment magnitude of 7.9 and a maximum Mercalli inte ...

the church was completely destroyed. The foundation and parts of the walls were the only portions of the building that still stood. Since many were shaken up and were in despair, many of the parishioners left the church. In the meantime, masses were held in the sandlots on Folsom Street between 3rd and 4th streets. They also built a permanent shelter called Tir-Na-Og (Land of the Young) which would be later called St. Patrick's shelter. Those who remained constructed a new church, similar to the old church. It was desired for it to be the church for the Irish in the West Coast. The rebuild of the church included importing Ireland Caen stone and green translucent marble of Connemara, and Irish artist Mia Cranwill designed the main altar's metal crucifix. The Irish designer,

Kitty MacCormack Kitty MacCormack (1892 – 1975) was an Irish designer with the Dun Emer Guild, theatre set designer, actress and author. Early life and family Kitty MacCormack (sometimes spelt McCormack) was the daughter of Constance MacCormack, and niece of ...

of the Dublin-based Dun Emer Guild, was commissioned to design and create vestments for the Church in 1923. In 1968, the church became a San Francisco landmark. Later on, as the redevelopment of the Yerba Buena area occurred, the church remained unchanged as its surroundings were transforming into a modern look into the new millennium. The church has been home to many nationalities. Reflecting the population shifts of the South of Market neighborhood, the Irish has given way to the Spanish community, which then, in turn, gave way to the Filipino community. Today, Filipinos make up the majority of parishioners. It also caters to the business people and tourists in the area. It regularly holds

CCD CCD may refer to: Science and technology * Charge-coupled device, an electronic light sensor used in various devices including digital cameras * .ccd, the filename extension for CloneCD's CD image file * Carbonate compensation depth, a property ...

and

RCIA The Order of Christian Initiation of Adults (), or OCIA, known as the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults (RCIA) in many English-speaking countries, is a process developed by the Catholic Church for its catechumenate for prospective converts ...

classes. It also has many devotions and novenas that have been influenced by the Filipino community. Masses are held daily and the church is open until 6:15 pm on weekdays and 6:45 pm on weekends.

Architecture

The church features

Gothic Revival architecture Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic or neo-Gothic) is an Architectural style, architectural movement that after a gradual build-up beginning in the second half of the 17th century became a widespread movement in the first half ...

, with ribbed vaults, pointed arches, a central

nave The nave () is the central part of a church, stretching from the (normally western) main entrance or rear wall, to the transepts, or in a church without transepts, to the chancel. When a church contains side aisles, as in a basilica-type ...

and two side aisles of lower height. The nave follows the basic Gothic pattern with a

triforium A triforium is an interior Gallery (theatre), gallery, opening onto the tall central space of a building at an upper level. In a church, it opens onto the nave from above the side aisles; it may occur at the level of the clerestory windows, o ...

and

clerestory A clerestory ( ; , also clearstory, clearstorey, or overstorey; from Old French ''cler estor'') is a high section of wall that contains windows above eye-level. Its purpose is to admit light, fresh air, or both. Historically, a ''clerestory' ...

-like top tier. Inspired by the national colors of

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

, it features green

Connemara Connemara ( ; ) is a region on the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic coast of western County Galway, in the west of Ireland. The area has a strong association with traditional Irish culture and contains much of the Connacht Irish-speaking Gaeltacht, ...

marble Marble is a metamorphic rock consisting of carbonate minerals (most commonly calcite (CaCO3) or Dolomite (mineral), dolomite (CaMg(CO3)2) that have recrystallized under the influence of heat and pressure. It has a crystalline texture, and is ty ...

(Verd antique, serpentine marble) and white and gold Bontticino marble. Decorating the church are Tiffany-style

stained glass window Stained glass refers to coloured glass as a material or art and architectural works created from it. Although it is traditionally made in flat panels and used as windows, the creations of modern stained glass artists also include three-dimensio ...

s depicting the patron saints of Ireland's 32 counties. File:San Francisco -Saint Patrick church - 5.jpg, Interior dome in 2013 File:St. Patrick's Church - San Francisco (4998006828).jpg, Interior of church in 2010 File:St. Patrick's Church, San Francisco (2013) - 2.JPG, Exterior in 2013 File:St. Patrick's Church, San Francisco (2013) - 1.JPG, Side angle of the exterior in 2013 File:St. Patrick's Catholic Church, San Francisco at night.jpg, The church at night in 2017

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Saint Patrick's Catholic Church, San Francisco 1850s architecture in the United States 1851 establishments in California Gothic Revival church buildings in California Roman Catholic churches completed in 1851 Roman Catholic churches in San Francisco San Francisco Designated Landmarks South of Market, San Francisco 19th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in the United States

History

Architecture

See also

References

External links