Reflections

REFLECTIONS

Community members look back at their memories of St. Mary’s

“This whole building is an act of worship. … The whole building sings a song of praise. That is what I hope that anyone that enters the cathedral feels.”

— Sister Michaela O’Connor, SHF, former cathedral sacristan

“We consider the cathedral to be an anchor institution in our interfaith work, one that continues to be a leader engaged in our mission to celebrate religious diversity, build understanding and serve our community. As the cathedral celebrates its 50 years of spiritual light and life in its present location on Cathedral Hill, the San Francisco Interfaith Council expresses heartfelt gratitude for its countless contributions to our interfaith efforts in our city and beyond.”

— Michael G. Pappas, executive director, and Rita R. Semel, founder and past chair

“I during Pope St. John Paul II’s visit to St. Mary’s Cathedral in 1987. As he came down the aisle, I could have reached out to touch him!”

— Sister Ann Providence Frassinello, OP Director of Religious Education, Mission Dolores Academy

“You have this incredible social transformation and ecclesiastical transformation occurring at the same time. That is what this cathedral represents, a symbol of the turmoil that took place.”

— Jeffrey Burns, historian and former archivist for the Archdiocese of San Francisco

“My husband and I were honored to be asked to offer the gifts at annual wedding anniversary Mass in 2018 in celebration of our 50th anniversary. On the day of the Mass, our adult children watched the livestream of the liturgy.”

— Eileen and Ralph Barsi

“My father, William, and his friend, Will Doyle, visited the homes of other Holy Name parishioners to solicit donations for the construction of the new cathedral. They were a part of the army of volunteers in the parish and throughout the archdiocese who worked to raise funds for the cathedral. I remember hearing them tell humorous stories of the successes and failures of their efforts.”

– Raymond Frost, parishioner, St. Veronica Church

“When Archbishop McGucken stood in the ruins of his cathedral, even he could not imagine what beauty would arise from its ashes. His vision, and the generosity of thousands of ordinary people, Catholic and non-Catholic alike, have given to us a tangible expression of Easter faith.”

— Archbishop George H. Neiderauer, Archbishop of San Francisco, 2006-2012

“St. Mary’s Cathedral is almost as old as I am, having been finished when I was in grammar school at St. Brendan’s. So many cherished moments, some happy, some once in a lifetime, and some very sad. Graduations, the papal visit in 1987 and the holy cathedral where we, the SFPD and SFFD, were allowed to bid a final farewell to our fallen police officers and firefighters. God bless them all, and God bless this very special place.”

– Former SFPD Chief Greg Suhr, 2011-2016

“I asked Archbishop Quinn, in peace he rest, to support me in this, and for his green light. He said, ‘Sure, let’s go do it. On one condition, Pedro. That I celebrate the Mass.’ He was very happy when he saw the cathedral packed that day.”

— Pedro Garcia Mendez, founder of La Cruzada Guadalupana de San Francisco, on the first pilgrimage to the cathedral’s Our Lady of Guadalupe Shrine.

“I hope you bishops will not pay attention to this criticism. The cathedral in San Francisco is one of the few places the poor can go and sit down to be with God in beauty.”

— Dorothy Day, Catholic Worker Movement co-founder, responding to criticism about spending millions to build a new cathedral instead of helping the city’s poor.

“In September 1962, I was teaching the fifth and sixth grades at Cathedral Elementary School. On the morning of Sept. 7, students and faculty attended the opening Mass for the school year at St. Mary Cathedral. That night the cathedral burned down. My students were upset by the news and decided to take up a collection to send to Archbishop McGucken. After a week’s effort we raised $5. Several weeks later, we received a very gracious letter thanking the children for their donation and asking for their prayers for the building of a new cathedral.”

— Sister Rosina Conrotto, PBVM, Office of Consecrated Life

“It brought the children to the city, and with the children, the parents. So it introduced the cathedral to the city. I thought that was an invaluable thing.”

— Lenore Heffernan, school docent, on the value of the program to the faith.

“My father, Mayor Joseph Alioto, the 36th mayor of San Francisco, was extremely involved with the enabling legislation for the cathedral. He was very excited about the design and the architect. But most importantly, he had a great relationship with the then Archbishop Joseph Thomas McGucken who spent many dinners at our home.”

– Angela M. Alioto, founder of the Knights of Saint Francis at the Porziuncola Nuova; President

“During the late 1980s, I went with a friend to St. Mary’s Cathedral for a First Friday Mass. On arriving, I was unimpressed with the modern design. I have always liked the old-fashioned churches. Yet during Mass, observing the glass streams and the light of the baldacchino descending like the Holy Spirit, and the cross seeming to ascend, and looking out onto the lights of the city through the huge glass windows, I gained a sense of the Lord sending the church to sanctify the world.”

— Father John Jimenez, Church of the Visitacion, San Francisco ■