San Francisco County
Biographies
REV. JOSEPH A. McAULIFFE
Rev. Joseph A. McAuliffe, who is prominent in the Catholic clergy of San Francisco, California, as the pastor of St. Charles Church at Eighteenth and Howard streets, was born in this city May 23, 1871. When he was nineteen years of age, he began to prepare for the priesthood, and for this purpose attended Sacred Heart College, St. Mary’s University, and the University of Lille in France. He was ordained by Archbishop Sonoas in Cambrai, France, in the year 1898.
Father McAuliffe was at first assistant pastor of St. Brigid’s Church in San Francisco, and his first regular charge was at St. Augustine’s in Pleasanton, Alameda county, California. In 1913, he came to St. Charles in San Francisco. He has made marked developments in this parish since his arrival, and in 1916 he constructed the present church building, which is considered one of the finest in the city. He likewise built the pastor’s house, the hall, the convent, and the parochial school. In the conduct of his work, he has two assistants, Rev. Leon F. Bernard and Rev. Martin J. Eagan.
St. Charles Roman Catholic Church was founded March 27, 1887, by the late Archbishop Riordan, and Rev. P. J. Cummins was the first pastor and built the first church. Other early pastors were Father McDonald and Father Ganne. St. Charles has a membership of four hundred and fifty families. The parochial school is conducted by Sisters of the Holy Cross, fifteen of them being engaged in the teaching. The annual novena to St. Therese, known as the Little Flower, is observed each year at the church under the direction of Father McAuliffe. Devotions follow as closely as possible the traditional ceremonies at Lisieux, France, where the Little Flower lived and died as a Carmelite nun. Yearly thousands of Catholics from all parts of the city attend the devotions in honor of the Little Flower. Services are featured by the blessing of pilgrims, making the novena with a true relic of the Little Flower given to Father McAuliffe by the pope of Rome.
Transcribed by: Jeanne Sturgis Taylor.
Source: Byington, Lewis Francis, “History of
San Francisco 3 Vols”, S. J. Clarke Publishing Co.,
Chicago, 1931. Vol. 3 Pages 254-255.
© 2008 Jeanne Sturgis Taylor.
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