Most Holy Redeemer Church in San Francisco, California, United States, is a Roman Catholic parish situated in The Castro district, located at 100 Diamond Street (at 18th Street).
Most Holy Redeemer Church in San Francisco, California, United States, is a Roman Catholic parish situated in The Castro district, located at 100 Diamond Street (at 18th Street).
The parish was established by the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of San Francisco in 1900 and describes itself as "an inclusive Catholic community – embracing all people of good faith – Catholics as well as those people interested in learning about the Catholic experience – regardless of their background, gender, race, social status or sexual orientation." The current pastoral team head is Fr. Matt Link, C.PP.S. [1]
In The Mayor of Castro Street: The Life and Times of Harvey Milk, Randy Shilts mentions the church several times. The church was later vandalized by anti-Proposition 8 protesters, although many churchgoers were opposed to the ballot initiative. [2]
For many years, Most Holy Redemer was the home of Father William Young, one of the select priests in the Bay Area qualified to celebrate the Tridentine Mass. Father Young celebrated this weekdays at Most Holy Redeemer, and each Sunday at St. Vincent's Holy Rosary Chapel in Marinwood.[ citation needed ]
In the 1980s, the neighborhood was deteriorating and the parish with it. [3] Property values fell and a largely gay population moved in. [3] Seeing the change in the neighborhood, Archbishop John R. Quinn appointed Fr. Tony McGuire as pastor of the church in 1983. [3] McGuire brought together the largely older women who made up most of the remaining congregation and the few gay men who joined the parish. [3] Together they began an outreach to the new gay population of the neighborhood. [3]
As the AIDS epidemic hit the gay community, the parish began providing services to those in need. [3] The parish paired parishioners with people suffering from AIDS in the neighborhood to give them rides to the doctors, help around the house, or meet other needs. [3] The older women in the parish were instrumental in this ministry. [3] It became a place "that helped save souls and helped save lives." [3]
In 1986, a scroll was begun with the names of parishioners who had died of AIDS. [3] Framed photos of some of them line the church. [3] Quinn regularly visited this parish, especially during the annual 40 Hours Vigil held throughout the 1980s in support of those who were HIV-positive and their caregivers.
As of 2020 [update] , the AIDS support group is active again, though it is smaller than it was in the 1980s. [4] The current "parish offers a spiritual home to all: senior citizens and youth; single people and families; those who are straight, gay, lesbian, and transgender; the healthy and the sick, particularly persons with HIV/AIDS." [5]
John Joseph O'Connor was an American Catholic prelate who served as Archbishop of New York from 1984 until his death in 2000, and was made a cardinal in 1985.
AIDS Coalition to Unleash Power is an international, grassroots political group working to end the AIDS pandemic. The group works to improve the lives of people with AIDS through direct action, medical research, treatment and advocacy, and working to change legislation and public policies.
The Archdiocese of San Francisco is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Catholic Church in the northern California region of the United States. The Archdiocese of San Francisco was erected on July 29, 1853, by Pope Pius IX and its cathedral is the Cathedral of Saint Mary of the Assumption.
The Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence (SPI), also called Order of Perpetual Indulgence (OPI), is a charitable, protest, and street performance movement that uses drag and religious imagery to satirize issues of sex, gender, and morality and fundraise for charity. In 1979, a small group of gay men in San Francisco began wearing the attire of Catholic nuns in visible situations using camp to promote various social and political causes in the Castro District.
Randy Shilts was an American journalist and author. After studying journalism at the University of Oregon, Shilts began working as a reporter for both The Advocate and the San Francisco Chronicle, as well as for San Francisco Bay Area television stations. In the 1980s, he was noted for being the first openly gay reporter for the San Francisco Chronicle.
Eureka Valley is a neighborhood in San Francisco, primarily a quiet residential neighborhood but boasting one of the most visited sub-neighborhoods in the city, The Castro.
John Raphael Quinn was an American prelate of the Catholic Church. He was Archbishop of San Francisco from 1977 to 1995 and Archbishop of Oklahoma City from 1971 to 1977. He served as the president of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops from 1977 to 1980.
St. Dominic's Catholic Church is a historic parish in the Lower Pacific Heights neighborhood of San Francisco, California, located at the corner of Bush and Steiner Streets. The parish was established by the Dominican Order in 1873, and the current church, built in the Gothic style, was finished in 1928.
San Francisco City Clinic also known as SF City Clinic or usually as City Clinic is a municipal public sexual health clinic specializing in sexually transmitted infections testing and treatment, in addition to advocacy work and medical research. The center is located in the South of Market or "SoMa" district on the north-east side of San Francisco, California, along San Francisco Bay.
The Church of St. Joseph in Greenwich Village is a Roman Catholic parish church located at 365 Avenue of the Americas at the corner of Washington Place in the Greenwich Village neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City. Constructed in 1833–1834, it is the oldest church in New York City specifically built to be a Roman Catholic sanctuary.
The Most Holy Redeemer Church is located at 1721 Junction Street in Southwest Detroit, Michigan, within the West Vernor–Junction Historic District. The church was once estimated as the largest Roman Catholic parish in North America. West Vernor–Junction Historic District is adjacent to Mexicantown and contains a growing Mexican community and resurgent neighborhood.
The Catholic Church is a major provider of medical care to HIV/AIDS patients. Much of its work takes place in developing countries, although it has also had a presence in the global north. Its opposition to condoms, despite their effectiveness in preventing the spread of HIV, has invited criticism from public health officials and anti-AIDS activists.
Stop the Church was a demonstration organized by members of AIDS Coalition to Unleash Power on December 10, 1989, that disrupted a Mass being said by Cardinal John O'Connor at St. Patrick's Cathedral in New York City. One-hundred and eleven protesters were arrested, 53 of whom were arrested inside the church. The main objective of the demonstration was to protest O'Connor's opposition to the teaching of safe sex in the public school system, and his opposition to the distribution of condoms to curb the spread of AIDS. During planning, the protest was joined by Women's Health Action and Mobilization (WHAM!), who opposed the Catholic position on abortion rights.
The Church of the Most Holy Redeemer, also known as Santísimo Redentor, is a Catholic parish church under the authority of the Archdiocese of New York, located at 161–165 East 3rd Street between Avenues A and B in the East Village neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City. The parish was founded in 1844 by the Redemptorist Fathers, and the church, which looks more like a cathedral than a parish church, was built in 1851–1852, designed by an architect named Walsh.
Saint Clare's Hospital is a former Catholic hospital, located in the Hell's Kitchen neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City. It operated from 1934 to 2007.
Saint Victor Catholic Church, located at 8634 Holloway Drive, is a Roman Catholic church in West Hollywood, California.
The Castro District, commonly referred to as the Castro, is a neighborhood in Eureka Valley in San Francisco. The Castro was one of the first gay neighborhoods in the United States. Having transformed from a working-class neighborhood through the 1960s and 1970s, the Castro remains one of the most prominent symbols of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) activism and events in the world.
Holy Redeemer Church in Bangkok, Thailand is a Catholic church established by the Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer. It is part of the Archdiocese of Bangkok, part of the province of Thailand.
Carol A. Baltosiewich is a nurse and former member of the Hospital Sisters of St. Francis noted for her work with HIV/AIDS patients. She is from Belleville, Illinois.
Dr. Jon D. Fuller, S.J., is a Jesuit priest, a medical doctor who works with AIDS patients, and a professor.