There was so much to share from my extended weekend in San Francisco in December and then Christmas took over as it should. Now that life is a little slower I’ll share another beautiful church I visited.
The present church, with its twin lofty spires that soar 191 feet into the sky, was completed in 1924. For over a century, the church of SS. Peter and Paul has served parishioners, charmed the numerous tourists who visit it daily, and has been an inspiration to the members of the North Beach community. A ribbon of verse from Dante’s “Paradiso” spans the facade and translates:
“The glory of Him who moves all things
penetrates and glows throughout the universe.”
This mosaic inscription placed just above the three entrances to the church connects the four large pillars upon which rest the symbols of the four Evangelists: Matthew (An angel), Mark (A lion), Luke (An ox) and John (An eagle). Original plans, regrettably laid away to rest, called for spectacular outdoor mosaics covering the entire facade. The twin spires (191 feet) have become a landmark in the area. The church is 100 feet wide and 160 feet long. The magnificent rose window measures fourteen feet in diameter.
Photobucket is holding all my photos from 2007 to 2015 hostage and has replaced them all with ugly black and grey boxes asking for a ransom to have them re-published. Such a frustrating bother as I go through each post to delete the ugly boxes.
The Happy Wonderer ~ ellen b. 
Ellen, that is spectacular! I esp like the first image of the edifice.
Amazing. I really love the last picture. All the detail in these churches…it’s hard to take it all in sometimes.
The windows, the columns, the altar, the statuary……..it is all amazing. I wonder how long it took to build it?
What gorgeous photos! You do an awesome job!
I’m speechless at the beauty of this Cathedral and envy the mind that had the creativity to design it. I think I need to go to San Francisco!
Beautiful! I feel like I’ve been in Italy!
Awesome church and pictures!
what a wonderful place, ellen…thanks for the photos!
love the sunrise and sunset below, family photos also..
annie
Ellen, I love these pictures of old churches you are posting. They are breathtaking!
The city of San Fran should be paying you for advertising tourism for them because it sure makes me want to go there.
What a beautiful church you got to see! Awesome pics!
ellen, these are exquisite shots! I’ve been visiting cemeteries recently and taking shots of the beautiful statuary there. Thank you for sharing these photos!
whoa
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