Saints Peter and Paul Church Celebrates 126 Years of Service

The church of Saints Peter and Paul will celebrate 126 years of service to the North Beach community and the City of San Francisco. Founded as the first national Italian parish of California in 1884, this church stands as a symbol of the dedication of the immigrant Salesian priests, religious, and lay people who worked long and hard to build a monument that reflected the artistic and vast historical heritage of the nation of Italy.

Its twin spires and Romanesque facade lend grace and beauty to North Beach, which was one of the first “Little Italy” in America. For the immigrants and their children, the church represented an Italian cathedral. It was more than a church where people attended Mass and received sacraments. Rather, it offered the community a place to learn, to play, and to celebrate the simple joys and the major triumphs of the daily life of the colony.

Its history reflects the pioneer spirit of the Italians who first came to California with the Gold Rush and remained to participate in the building of the West. To honor the memory of the Italian immigrants who built Saints Peter and Paul Church for generations to enjoy, the 11:45 a.m. Sunday Mass on November 14, 2010, will be celebrated in their honor. In addition, we will also be celebrating the feast of Saint Frances Xavier Cabrini, who in 1880 founded the Missionary Sisters of the Sacred Hear, and in the United States established schools, hospitals and orphanages especially for the care of Italian immigrants and children. She became an American citizen.

She died in Chicago, on December 22, 1917, and was canonized by Pope Pius XII on July 7, 1946, becoming America’s first Saint. So come join us in celebrating Mass, on Sunday, November 14, 2010, to honor the memory of the Italian immigrants who partici- pated in the building of the West; and in giving us Saints Peter and Paul Church. Your attendance will also help in preserving “Italianità” at the Church and in preserving its identity as “the Italian Cathedral of the West.”

Al Baccari and Joe Marchetti