ART & ARCH ITECTU R E
Bronze sculpture panel over the front doors of St. Mary’s Cathedral depicts the Christian pilgrim’s journey to salvation.
Photo by Dennis Callahan
Pilgrim’s Tour
A visual guide through St. Mary’s Cathedral BY CHRISTINA GRAY Lead writer, Catholic San Francisco grayc@sfarch.org
CATHOLIC SAN FRANCISCO | MAY 2022
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athedral architect Pietro Belluschi visualized his San Francisco project as an all-encompassing work of faith, integrating the fine arts and architectural elements to achieve a unifying and uplifting structure of contemporary splendor. Architectural Digest magazine recognized this in 2017 by naming the Cathedral of St. Mary of the Assumption one of the 10 most beautiful churches in America. Covering two city blocks at the top of a windswept hill not far from San Francisco’s urban center, St. Mary’s Cathedral is a distinctive city landmark with a substantial physical and historical footprint. It is four times the size of the cathedral it replaced. The massive structure was designed to seat 2,400 ›
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