Saints Peter and Paul Church was established in 1884 at the corner of Filbert and Grant in North Beach^[1]. Ninety percent of its parishioners were Italian American Catholic immigrants who had settled in the area. The church was destroyed in the 1906 Earthquake and Fires^[2] and rebuilt at 666 Filbert next to Washington Square^[3]. Construction was completed in 1924. With its two 191-foot spires, the church makes its mark on the City skyline. A verse from Dante’s Paradiso spans across the front entrance: “The glory of Him who moves all things penetrates and glows throughout the universe”. There are four pillars across the front entrance with the symbols for the four original evangelists: an angel (Matthew), a lion (Mark), an ox (Luke) and an eagle (John). The rose window is 14 feet around.

Two years after it was completed Sts. Peter and Paul became the target of radical anti-Catholic anarchists who were part of a national wave of anticlericalism. They believed that organized religion was like an opiate that sedated the masses into blindly following religious doctrine. On January 30, 1926 a bomb went off in the alley leading up to the back of Sts. Peter and Paul. There was no major damage and no one was hurt. On May 9th a second bomb was detonated in front of the main entrances. The three doors were damaged, as was the marble in the front vestibule. On October 29th a third bomb was detonated in the same area, causing further damage. Despite there being a policeman guarding the site, on January 9, 1927 a fourth bomb was placed in the corridor leading to the basement. The police officer found the bomb in time but could not catch the culprits. The church lost its insurance policy. In February the public was told that the police guard at the church had been disbanded when in fact there were 13 undercover police officers stationed inside and outside the church from 11pm to 5am. On March 6th, 1927 a man was seen planting a large dynamite bomb at the church entrance while a second man stood watch across the street. The police killed the one who had lit the fuse and disabled the bomb. The second man was shot as he ran away, later dying from his injuries. He never gave up any information, but the bombings stopped.    

Despite the bombings, the church flourished. Catholic churches throughout the City were an integral part of the neighborhood. Their doors remained open 24/7. If you had a problem, you went and talked to a priest. If you needed sanctuary, you went inside a church. If you wanted to be social, you participated in church-sponsored functions. My mother Anne remembers that many of the Catholic churches, including Sts Peter and Paul, hosted teenage dances every Friday night.

In 1971 the American action-thriller Dirty Harry was released. Clint Eastwood stars as a San Francisco Police Department inspector hunting a vicious murderer, loosely modeled after the Zodiac Killer^[4]. A key scene is when the murderer is spotted by a police helicopter near Sts Peter and Paul, highlighting the beauty of the structure. 

Today, the ethnicity of the Sts Peter and Paul parish is predominantly Italian and Chinese-American. Masses are said in English, Italian and Cantonese. Once a month a traditional service is offered in Latin^[5].

^[1] North Beach: https://thesanfranciscophoenix.com/?p=5026

^[2] 1906 Earthquake and Fires: https://thesanfranciscophoenix.com/?p=2849

^[3] Washington Square: story coming December 3rd 

^[4] Zodiac Killer: https://thesanfranciscophoenix.com/?p=4076

^[5] [5] Visit them at https://parish.sspeterpaulsf.org