A building celebrating Easter faith
As we celebrate Easter we find images of Christ’s victory all around us. One of the more surprising places to find a reminder of Christ’s resurrection is on the flag of the city and county of San Francisco. The city’s emblem is the Phoenix, a mythical bird that was reborn from its own ashes. Clement of Rome appropriated this creature as a sign of the Resurrection as far back as the end of the first century. Of course this mysterious creature was chosen to represent San Francisco for a different reason: It expresses the resilience and determination of the residents of the city to rebuild from the ashes of the terrible 1906 earthquake. That earthquake happened just three days after Easter, so I like to think that Christians among the population drew inspiration to rebuild their homes and their lives from Christ’s resurrection.
In two weeks we celebrate the 40th anniversary of another resurrection: From the ashes of our old cathedral a new and glorious house of worship has arisen. The Cathedral of St. Mary of the Assumption had survived the conflagration of 1906 only to be destroyed by fire on the night of Sept. 7, 1962. Standing in the charred ruins of the church in which he had been installed just a few months before, Archbishop Joseph T. McGucken, with that same resolve that marked the citizens of San Francisco in ‘06, announced that we would build a new cathedral. The news was greeted enthusiastically by San Franciscans, Catholic and non-Catholic alike, and the moment was particularly providential: In just one month the archbishop would go to Rome for the opening of the Second Vatican Council. The first document approved by the council fathers was the Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy, and the Catholic Church of San Francisco had the opportunity to build the first cathedral in the United States inspired by the liturgical vision of the council.
The new cathedral project soon became controversial. The project was announced at what might be considered a high-water mark of Catholic life in America: Seminaries and novitiates were overflowing, a Catholic had been elected president of the United States, the whole world loved “good Pope John.” This tide receded quickly as the tumultuous ‘60s unfolded: Some Catholics criticized the idea of spending money on a church at all, while others were upset that we were not building a Gothic or Spanish colonial edifice. The archbishop and pastor of the cathedral, Msgr. Thomas J. Bowe, stayed the course, endured the criticisms from various quarters, and in October of 1970 the new St. Mary’s opened its doors. Several months later, on May 5, 1971, the cathedral was formally dedicated. But the work was not over; it would be another 20 years before the cycle of bronze sculptures celebrating the life and example of Mary, the patroness of the cathedral, would be installed.
Over the past 40 years St. Mary’s has found its place as the heart of Catholic life in the archdiocese, as well as serving as a venue for countless civic and cultural events. Along with building a spacious and inspiring place of worship, Archbishop McGucken bequeathed to us a new high school and a conference center. Our cathedral has welcomed celebrated figures – Pope John Paul II, Mother Teresa, and Archbishop Fulton Sheen among them – but it also has offered spiritual refreshment and charitable assistance to thousands who have crossed its threshold. St. Mary’s Cathedral has hosted the wider community at the funerals of those struck down in the line of duty, including Mayor George Moscone and many police officers and firefighters; and its priests have comforted a handful of people at the funeral of an elderly widow or a young child. Since the establishment of the San Francisco Interfaith Council after another earthquake (1989) the pastors of St. Mary’s have involved the cathedral in ecumenical and interfaith outreach. Each year hundreds of our school children are shown around the cathedral by our wonderful docents, and thousands of our young people celebrate their graduation from high school and college there.
In a world of economic uncertainty, violence and cultural upheaval, we look for signs of hope, signs that God’s love is stronger than death and destruction. On this Easter Sunday we look for signs of the Resurrection. St. Mary’s Cathedral stands as one such sign. When Archbishop McGucken stood in the ruins of his cathedral, even he could not imagine what beauty would arise from those 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.
By Archbishop George H. Niederauer
From St. Mary's Cathedral Special 40th Anniversary April 22, 2011 issue of Catholic San Francisco.
