History
of Our Church
St. Patrick Church offers a historical experience, with a rich spiritual history extending 160 years as historic landmark number 4 in the City of San Francisco. Please click the photo on the left to view detailed history of St. Patrick Church.
St. Patrick Parish in San Francisco
We began on Pentecost Sunday, June 9,1851, when Father John Maginnis celebrated Mass in a rented hall on the corner of Fourth and Jessie Streets, directly east of what today is Cole Fox's Hardware. By September, however, a temporary church was built on a lot facing Market Street, where the Sheraton Palace was located. The parish included the district bounded by Pine Street, Ninth Street, Mission Creek and Bay.
Like many of the Catholics who were settling in the newly formed diocese of San Francisco, the priest was an immigrant; Father Maginnis was born on October 20th, Fifty-three years earlier in Duleek, County Meath, Ireland. The steady stream of new settlers into California - and particularly into San Francisco - which began with the Gold Rush of 1849, necessitated the expansion of the original church some time prior to June, 1854. On August 15, 1854, this second St. Patrick's Church was opened for divine service.
After the Civil War, as the parish continued to grow, Father Peter J. Grey purchased the ground on Mission Street where the present church and rectory now stand. Construction began in April, 1870. When the new church was dedicated on March 17, 1872, the Catholic population of the parish was estimated at thirty- thousand.
After the earthquake and fire of April, 1906, many people went to other parts of the city. The parish continued to serve the Irish, then the Hispanics and later the Filipinos. The parish further changed as the district became largely commercial and industrial. Now the conventioneers along with the Filipinos and stream of tourists fill the pews of the church including regular visits from office workers and the homeless people.
While the Church now serves as an anchor and a place of worship for those who work in the vicinity, it also embraces the conventioneers who avail of the facilities in the neighborhood. It has come to cater to the spiritual needs of an ethnic group adding to diversity of the district. Its antiquity draws visitors and tourists locally and from abroad.
Succession of Pastors at St. Patrick Church:
| Fr. Eduardo Dura | 2006 - Current |
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| Msgr. Fred Al. Bitanga | 1994 - 2006 |
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| Msgr. Joseph P. Sullivan | 1987 - 1994 | |
| Msgr. Clement J. McKenna | 1967 - 1987 |
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| Msgr. Vincent F. McCarthy | 1955 - 1967 | |
| Msgr. Leo W. Powleson | 1940 - 1955 |
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| Fr. James J. McHugh | 1936 - 1940 |
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| Msgr. John Rogers | 1905 - 1935 |
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| Fr. Patrick J. Cummins, administrator | 1899 - 1905 |
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| Fr. Peter Grey | 1862 - 1907 |
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| Fr. John Maginnis | 1851 - 1862 |
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