History of Old St. Mary's Church in San Francisco

The Cathedrals of California is one of my favorite blogs, offering history and architecture. The latest post is about Old St. Mary's Church in Chinatown. The stories feature some of the great personalities of San Francisco, particularly the bishops, who built and rebuilt places of worship. I attended noon Mass there often when I worked downtown some years ago.

On the morning of April 18, 1906 an enormous earthquake shook the city. This singular event in California history wold destroy much of the city; what had not crumbled in the first temblor was likely destroyed by fires that raged throughout the city for four days. At Old St. Mary’s Cathedral, there was little damage; the cross and pediment fell from the tower, some finials fell inside, some buttresses were damaged. As a precaution, the sacred vessels, vestments and some furnishings were sent to residences on Nob Hill for safekeeping; a move that was to prove a mistake. About noon that day the flames begin to approach Old St. Mary’s. For several hours the faithful fought flames, but eventually they ran out of water and could only watch as the venerable church burned. Only the brick walls remained; the stained glass was melted and the marble high altar had turned to dust.

Feast of Our Lady of Loretto

Mary's flying house I, originally uploaded by Nick in exsilio.

...the holy house of Nazareth — site of the birth of the Mother of God, of Her early education and of the Annunciation by the Angel Gabriel of the wondrous news of the Incarnation of the Son of God — had been found, transported miraculously, near Tersatz in Dalmatia (Yugoslavia) on May 10th of the year 1291. Between Tersatz and nearby Fiume, the residents of the region beheld one morning an edifice, in a location where never had any been seen before. After the residents of the region talked among themselves of the remarkable little house surmounted by a bell tower, and which stood without foundations on the bare ground, describing its altar, an ancient statue of Our Lady, and other religious objects which their wondering eyes had seen within it, another surprise came to astound them once more.

More information here

A Cathedral Blog

Here's a bit of trivia as well as an introduction to a beautiful blog I found recently. Take a look.

World’s Largest Cathedrals
Rank Church Square Feet Length
1. Cathedral of Mary of the Chair, Seville 128,570 601
2. Cathedral of St. John the Divine, New York 121,000 601
3. Cathedral of the Nativity of Mary, Milan 107,000 500
4. Christ Cathedral, Liverpool 104,275 619
5. Cathedral of St. Peter, Cologne 91,464 511
6. Washington National Cathedral, Washington 75,000 534
7. Notre Dame Cathedral, Amiens 71,208 521
8. Hagia Sophia, Istanbul (now a museum) 70,000 350
9. Notre Dame Cathedral, Chartres 68,260 507
10. Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels, Los Angeles 65,000 333
11. Notre Dame Cathedral, Paris 64,108 390
12. York Minster, York 63,300 486
13. St. Paul’s Cathedral, London 59,700 460
14. St. Patrick’s Cathedral, New York 57,768 332

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