About Old St. Mary's Cathedral & Chinese Mission · San Francisco, California
Old St. Mary's Cathedral & Chinese Mission is a Roman Catholic parish at 660 California Street at Grant Avenue in San Francisco's Chinatown, the first cathedral built in California and the proto-cathedral of the Archdiocese of San Francisco. Designed in Gothic Revival style by architects William Craine and Thomas England, it was dedicated at Christmas Midnight Mass 1854 by Archbishop José Sadoc Alemany and was once the tallest building in the city. Since 1894 the parish has been in the pastoral care of the Paulist Fathers (Missionary Society of St. Paul the Apostle), the first Catholic men's religious order founded in the United States, who in 1903 established here the first Catholic Chinese Mission in America. Today the parish unites Old St. Mary's with Holy Family Chinese Mission (902 Stockton Street, founded 1903) as one bilingual parish community serving Chinatown and Nob Hill.
- Established
- 1854
- Patron
- Blessed Virgin Mary, under the title of the Immaculate Conception (the cathedral was formally dedicated as the Cathedral of Saint Mary of the Immaculate Conception)
- Rector
- Fr. Ivan Tou, C.S.P. (Paulist Father Ivan Tou, installed November 3, 2024 by Archbishop Salvatore J. Cordileone as the 25th pastor)
- Diocese
- Archdiocese of San Francisco
Why belong here
Old St. Mary's is a uniquely historic yet very live parish where the entire Catholic story of the American West is still celebrated every week — the first California cathedral, the mother church of Catholic life in Chinatown, and home to the first Catholic Chinese Mission in the United States (now Holy Family Chinese Mission, joined to Old St. Mary's in 2013). Parishioners gather around bilingual Sunday Mass, share hospitality with tea, coffee and homemade treats after the 9 am and 11 am Masses, and serve the neighborhood through the Groceries for Seniors program that packs more than 200 grocery bags a week from the parish basement. With daily noon Mass Tuesday–Friday, monthly First Friday Adoration, OCIA (Order of Christian Initiation of Adults), active liturgical ministries (altar servers, lectors, extraordinary ministers of Holy Communion, ushers/greeters, sacristans), and the Paulist Fathers' evangelizing charism, it is a place where downtown workers, Chinatown families, students and visitors find a small but genuinely warm Catholic community.
Mass times at Old St. Mary's Cathedral & Chinese Mission
Weekly Mass schedule
Confession times
- By appointment — contact Fr. Ivan at 415-288-3830 or [email protected]
- Or ask any priest after Mass
- After the 12:05 pm Mass on the 1st Friday of the month
Adoration times
- First Friday of the month, after the 12:05 pm Mass
History of Old St. Mary's Cathedral & Chinese Mission
Old St. Mary's — formally the Cathedral of Saint Mary of the Immaculate Conception — is the first cathedral built in California, the first church anywhere named for the Immaculate Conception (a dogma defined only two weeks before its Christmas 1854 dedication), and the birthplace of the first Catholic Chinese Mission in the United States. Built 1853–1854 by Chinese laborers with Chinese granite and New England brick shipped around Cape Horn, designed by architects Craine & England, and raised under Bishop José Sadoc Alemany, the Gothic Revival church served as the cathedral of San Francisco from 1854 to 1891 before becoming a parish when the cathedral seat moved to Van Ness Avenue. Since 1894 it has been in the pastoral care of the Paulist Fathers. The church survived the 1906 earthquake, was gutted by fire, rebuilt 1908–1909, and in 1944–1946 hosted a famous WWII service center for U.S. troops. Today it stands as a San Francisco Landmark (No. 2) and California Historical Landmark No. 810.
The Chinese Mission & Holy Family Chinese Mission
In 1903, at the urging of Paulist Father Henry Wyman, the Paulist Fathers opened the first Catholic Chinese Mission in the United States here at Old St. Mary's, with Father Henry Ignatius Stark launching a school of four students. The mission, originally called St. Mary's Chinese Mission, grew into Holy Family Chinese Mission. Its chapel at 902 Stockton Street was dedicated to the Holy Family in 1928; the name was formally changed to Holy Family Chinese Mission in the early 1980s. On September 9, 2013, Holy Family Chinese Mission and Old St. Mary's Cathedral were officially united as a single bilingual parish.
Architecture & Landmarks
Old St. Mary's is a Gothic Revival church designed by William Craine and Thomas England, two of the earliest resident architects in California. The foundation is granite quarried and cut in China, while the brick walls are made of bricks manufactured in New England and brought around Cape Horn as ships' ballast. The bell tower dominates the corner of California Street and Grant Avenue; under the clock face the Ecclesiasticus 4:23 admonition 'Son, observe the time and fly from evil' is inscribed, a sobering message aimed at passersby in the rough Barbary Coast era. After the 1906 fire the church was rebuilt 1908–1909 by architects Welsh & Carey. The cathedral was made a San Francisco Landmark on April 11, 1968 (No. 2) and is California Historical Landmark No. 810.
Mass, Sacraments & Devotions
Old St. Mary's offers daily noon Mass Tuesday through Friday at 12:05 pm, a Saturday vigil Mass at 5:00 pm, and two Sunday Masses at 9:00 am and 11:00 am. Confessions are heard by appointment (contact Fr. Ivan Tou at 415-288-3830 or [email protected]), at any priest's availability after Mass, and after the 12:05 pm Mass on the First Friday of each month. First Friday Adoration follows the 12:05 pm Mass once a month. The parish runs the OCIA (Order of Christian Initiation of Adults) for adults seeking Baptism, Confirmation, or full communion with the Catholic Church, and parishioners regularly bring the Anointing of the Sick to the homebound and hospitalized.
Liturgical Ministries
Liturgical ministry is central to the parish's life. Old St. Mary's welcomes parishioners to serve as Altar Servers (4th grade and older, male or female), Lectors (Readers) who proclaim the Word of God, Extraordinary Ministers of Holy Communion (EMHC) who distribute the Eucharist and bring Communion to the sick and homebound, Sacristans who prepare the liturgy and its sacred vessels, and Ushers/Greeters who welcome parishioners and visitors, take up the collection, and assist with worship aids and bulletins. Anyone interested is encouraged to contact Fr. Tom Tavella, C.S.P. at 415-288-3800 or [email protected].
Outreach: Groceries for Seniors
One of the most visible ministries of Old St. Mary's is Groceries for Seniors, a food-distribution outreach operating out of the parish basement auditorium at 660 California Street. Every Monday through Thursday from 8:30 am to 11:00 am, volunteers gather to pack more than 200 grocery bags for elderly residents of the Chinatown and Nob Hill community, sorting produce, lifting boxes of 30–40 lbs., and doing light cleanup. Volunteers are rewarded with a free bag of the day's groceries plus coffee, tea, and pastries. To volunteer, email Tim Thompson, Executive Director, at [email protected] or call (415) 916-1694.
Parish Hospitality & Community Life
After the 9:00 am and 11:00 am Sunday Masses, Old St. Mary's invites everyone to its after-Mass hospitality. The parish provides tea and coffee, and parishioners take turns bringing homemade treats — a long-running tradition that has earned the parish a reputation for warmth. The parish also participates annually in the San Francisco Chinese New Year Parade and supports the wider Paulist mission through the Annual Paulist Appeal.
Our Team & the Paulist Fathers
Old St. Mary's is staffed by the Missionary Society of St. Paul the Apostle — the Paulist Fathers — the first men's Roman Catholic religious order founded in the United States, established by Servant of God Isaac Hecker to evangelize a country then considered mission territory. The Paulists have been at Old St. Mary's since 1894. The current pastor is Fr. Ivan Tou, C.S.P., installed by Archbishop Salvatore J. Cordileone on November 3, 2024 after serving as pastor of Newman Hall–Holy Spirit Parish at UC Berkeley. He is supported by Fr. Tom Tavella, C.S.P. and several other Paulist fathers in residence: Fr. Joe Scott, C.S.P., Fr. Stephen Bossi, C.S.P., Fr. Richard Chilson, C.S.P., Fr. Mike Evernden, C.S.P., and Fr. Terrence P. Ryan, C.S.P.
Pastors & rectors through the years
- Rev. Hugh P. Gallagher1854–1860/61
First rector of St. Mary's Cathedral (diocesan)
- Rev. James Croke1861–1871
Rector, St. Mary's Cathedral
- Rev. John J. Prendergast1871–1891
Final rector when it was still the cathedral
- Rev. John J. Sullivan1891–1892
First rector after the cathedral seat moved to Van Ness Avenue
- Rev. Thomas Larkin1892–1894
Diocesan rector immediately before Paulist arrival
- Rev. Edward Brady, C.S.P.1894–1895
First Paulist pastor, when Paulist Fathers assumed pastoral care
- Rev. Henry H. Wyman, C.S.P.1895–1901
Paulist; later proposed opening a Chinese Mission in 1902
- Rev. Michael P. Smith, C.S.P.1901–1904
Paulist rector during the founding of the Chinese Mission (1903)
- Rev. Henry H. Wyman, C.S.P.1904–1910
Paulist; second term as pastor
- Rev. Thomas J. Cullen, C.S.P.1910–1917
Paulist rector
- Rev. Michael P. Smith, C.S.P.1917–1919
Paulist rector (second term)
- Rev. William J. Cartwright, C.S.P.1919–1922
Paulist rector
- Rev. Edward T. Mallon, C.S.P.1922–1928
Paulist rector
- Rev. Thomas F. Burke, C.S.P.1928–1929
Paulist rector
- Rev. Thomas F. Linehan, C.S.P.1929
Paulist rector
- Fr. Ivan Tou, C.S.P.2024–present
Installed as 25th pastor by Archbishop Cordileone on November 3, 2024
