COM M U N IT Y
Boundless Faith Heart of multicultural parish beats inside (and outside) cathedral BY CHRISTINA GRAY Lead writer, Catholic San Francisco grayc@ sfarch.org
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ather Arturo Albano’s responsibilities as rector of St. Mary’s Cathedral seem as towering as the holy dwelling for which he was chosen caretaker. He manages the cathedral’s daily operations, its staff, maintenance and security, and the money that pays for it all. But he’s also a pastor, supporting the spiritual care of not only members of the parish, but those on its periphery – the homeless, tourists, downtown office workers and the sick and homebound living nearby. “It’s a big responsibility to me to project and protect the mother church of the archdiocese,” said Father Albano. Appointed rector seven years ago after serving Mission Dolores in the same capacity, he is the ninth rector in the last 50 years of the Cathedral of St. Mary of the Assumption. The first rector of the “new” St. Mary’s was Msgr. Thomas J. Bowe, from 1962-1981. Other past rectors have included Father Patrick McGrath (retired bishop of San Jose) and Msgr. John Talesfore, now pastor of St. Matthew Parish in San Mateo. Like many an attentive father, Father Albano spends the final minutes of each day double-checking the locks on the doors of his cathedral home — despite a full-time security detail. The beloved cathedral is a strikingly public symbol of the Catholic Church in San Francisco. Over the years it has weathered repeated acts of protest and vandalism.
At his installation Mass homily in 2015, he broadly defined his priorities with the letter L. “Lights, locks, leaks, liturgy and love for the people of God,” he said. “This church built on a hill is very symbolic of the faith of the people. It rises up.” THE PARISH COMMUNITY — THEN, AND NOW The cathedral parish population has utterly changed over the past 50 years, according to Deacon R. Christoph Sandoval, one of two deacons along with Deacon Juan M. Michel. White Catholics, primarily of Irish, Italian and German descent, were the largest Catholic ethnic groups in San Francisco when the cathedral broke ground in 1965. “Today, our cathedral is a multicultural parish,” he said. “The diversity of the people here is huge.” In terms of active, registered parishioners, the 2021 Mass count determined a population of about 700 for St. Mary’s Cathedral. But the MAY 2022 | CATHOLIC SAN FRANCISCO
