Category:National Shrine of St. Francis of Assisi (San Francisco)

English: The National Shrine of St. Francis of Assisi at 610 Vallejo Street at Columbus Avenue in the North Beach neighborhood of San Francisco, California, began as a Roman Cathoic parish church in June 1849, before the official founding of either the City of San Francisco or the State of California. The current Norman Gothic church, with its twin campanile, had its dedication on March 17, 1860. When the earthquake and fire of 1906 struck, the interior of the church collapsed, but the exterior walls remained standing, and the parish decided to build their new church inside the walls of the old one; this was rededicated on March 2, 1919.

The church features a Schoenstein Organ Company of San Francisco pipe organ, installed in 1926 and enlarged in 1993.

On October 1, 1972, the building was declared to be a landmark by the California Historical Society, and in September 1999, the St. Francis of Assisi Church became the National Shrine of St. Francis of Assisi. It is the Pro-Cathedral of the Archdiocese of San Francisco. (Source: "A Short History of Saint Francis of Assisi Church")