San Francisco County
Biographies
ST. CECELIA
CHURCH
St. Cecelia Church, a Roman Catholic institution, was founded in San Francisco in 1916. Rev. John P. Tobin was the first pastor. Services were first held in a school near the present site and later the building was moved to the ground now occupied by the church. The present house of worship was erected in 1928 during the pastorate of Father Tobin. The building is of stucco and serves the purpose of a temporary church. The interior is beautifully appointed and seats seven hundred and eighty-eight persons. The church is at 2531 Seventeenth avenue, in the Parkside district.
Rev. John Harnett, the present pastor, took charge in 1920. A new church will be erected later on the parish property. Father Harnett supervised the building of the rectory and the parochial school. Of reinforced concrete, they are substantial modern buildings and combine beauty with utility in their design. The school is in charge of the Sisters of the Holy Name of Jesus and Mary. Revs. Joseph Mulken and Thomas Religan are assistant pastors of the church and five masses are said daily. There are eleven hundred families in this parish. The Church societies are St. Vincent de Paul, Holy Name, the Ladies League of the Sacred Heart and the Young Ladies Sodality. Rev. Harnett has devoted every energy toward strengthening and developing the ecclesiastical interests under his control and is highly esteemed in San Francisco, where he has lived for many years.
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 489-490.
© 2008 Jeanne Sturgis Taylor.
GOLDEN NUGGET'S SAN FRANCISCO
BIOGRAPIES