Trip Planner: USA / California / San Francisco / SS. Peter and Paul Church

SS. Peter and Paul Church, San Francisco

4.4

#18 of 35 in Historic Sites in San Francisco

Saints Peter and Paul Church is a Roman Catholic Church in San Francisco's North Beach neighborhood. Located (somewhat ironically, due to 666 being number of the beast) at 666 Filbert Street, it is directly across from Washington Square, San Francisco and is administered by the Salesians of Don Bosco. It is known as "La cattedrale italiana dell'Ovest," or "The Italian Cathedral of the West," and has served as the home church and cultural center for San Francisco's Italian-American community since its consecration.DescriptionDuring 1926-1927, the church was the target of radical anti-catholic anarchists, who instituted five separate bomb attacks against the building in the space of one year. On March 6, 1927, police shot and killed one man and seriously wounded another, Celsten Eklund, a radical anarchist and local soapbox orator, as the two men attempted to light the fuse of a large dynamite bomb in front of the church. The dead man, known only as 'Ricca', was never fully identified; Eklund died of his wounds some time later without giving any information about his co-conspirators.In recent years, Saints Peter and Paul has also become the home church for the city's Chinese-American Roman Catholic population, offering weekly masses in Italian, Mandarin, and English. Mass in Latin is offered monthly as well.

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SS. Peter and Paul Church Reviews

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103 reviews

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4.4

By Paul H On December 25, 2017

Beautiful old church located near Washington Square. Interior architecture is absolutely breathtaking. Worth a visit if you're in the area. more »
By Mierlyana_Anggiasari On December 10, 2017

Gereja ini merupakan salah satu gereja cantik yang saya lihat di Amerika. Dekorasi luarnya indah tapi tidak menonjolkan kemewahan. Warnanya putih kekuningan tanpa warna-warni yang lain sehingga kesann... more »

This church is one of the beautiful church I see in America. External decoration is beautiful but not accentuate the luxury. Yellowish white colour without the other so that simple effect. I visited this church when in a journey on foot headed to Pier 39. And when the next day I followed the tour traveled around the city of San Francisco, his guide explains when the Church is also famous due to be used as a place to get married than Marilyn Monroe and Joe DiMaggio.

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By tommomelbourne On November 28, 2017

Whilst walking around the North Beach (Little Italy) area we came across Saints Peter and Paul Church a Roman Catholic Church directly across from Washington Square. This 1924 Italian Gothic styled ca... more »

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By Karen V Chin On November 16, 2017

One of San Francisco's oldest Roman Catholic Churches. In front of North Beach's Washington Square Park, the church inside is dimly lit, beautiful, serene, and majestic with a beautifully polished Italian Carrera Marble Altar. There are traditional confessionals and real candles to light for a donation of $5. Feels very Old World inside with all the dark carved wood work, benches and stained glass windows. Has English, Chinese, Italian, and Latin Sunday Mass Services. Love the bells going off throughout the day that can be heard throughout the North Beach neighborhood. Free to visit during the day and worth the time to visit even if you are not Catholic or religious just to see and appreciate the magnificent architecture and beautiful religious art work and decor.

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By E yamada On November 14, 2017

A very beautiful and peaceful church. Impressive sermon.

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By Joerg Bissegger On December 6, 2017

beautiful church! the spirit of good is fully present!

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By Erick Juarez Jr. On March 28, 2017

This is a seriously beautiful church. If you go at the right time you can go inside and see it's true inner beauty. It is very quiet inside so if you have small kids or kids who don't sit still I'd recommend visiting from the outside. Washington square is across the street and offers lots of grass for picnics and pictures.

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By Innocensia Owuor On October 18, 2017

The view of this church at night is great. Loved it.

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