[Editor's Note: Fr. David Purdy, S.D.B.
hails from Southern California and has been associated with
schools in various positions. He has been pastor of Saints Peter
and Paul Church since 1994.]
Q. What are your impressions about being pastor of the oldest Salesian foundation in the United States?
Fr. David: First of all, when I was asked to go to a parish, I wasn't immediately awestruck or intimidated. I was uncertain about how I would go about the task after thirty years of working in Salesian schools. Was it smart to go from a familiar and "safe" situation into a new form of apostolate? After all, while I was at the schools I had worked in parishes on the weekends. So, I did have an idea of what parish life was all about.
Yet the feeling I have is more one of irony. Here I am, a
"school man" become a new pastor precisely when the
centennial year is celebrated. It's ironic that never in my
wildest dreams did I ever imagine I would be at Sts. Peter and
Paul let alone pastor during this special milestone in Salesian
history and the history of North Beach. I have wondered what my
mother and father would have thought. They obviously would have
been very proud of me and honored. I can easily say that it is an
enjoyable assignment. The people have been most welcoming,
friendly. The best part is the joke of my being the first
non-Italian [Irish] pastor in the "Italian church."
There has not been even a hint of rejection or non-acceptance
because of the ethnic background. Just the opposite, total
welcome.
From your experience and research, how has the parish changed?
Fr. David: I can tell you only from my limited experience rather than from research. I remember when, as a freshman in the junior seminary in 1954, I first came to this parish. My impressions as a 14-year-old coming from Richmond on an outing or during Christmas holidays was a sense of awe at seeing the big church. Even more, I remember the really active youth work going on here at the time. Whenever I came the kids were at the Salesian Boys and Girls Club playing pool, basketball, running in and out of the place. So it fit my image of what a Salesian work was all about. After hearing so much about Don Bosco and seeing the film of his life, it was great to come to this humongous parish and seeing the stories and the film come to life with the Salesians involved with the children.
Remembering that image and coming here two and a half years
ago, the number of kids has somewhat decreased except during
school hours. The Club had expanded into the marvelous facility
built in 1970 and many youths make it their after-hours turf. It
must be noted that the demographics of the North Beach area has
changed and is still changing. The large Italian families have
grown and moved away. According to the last census, there 17%
Catholic with more elderly and small families. The economics of
the area make it tough to raise a family with the cost of living
and sky-high rents. The neighborhood is one of the most beautiful
tourist attractions of San Francisco with Chinatown, Telegraph
Hill, Fisherman's Wharf, Pier 39, Ghirardelli Square and Aquatic
Park. All this tends to militate against a large family
neighborhood. Thus the church facing Washington Square is a
magnet for the visitor. These are pretty big changes.
Q: What impact has the parish made on this neighborhood and the City of San Francisco?
Fr. David: Anybody can read the history of the area and the parish. It has become a very prestigious parish and even, in a certain sense, financially sound with the donations of many generous Italians and through bequests. The impact of Sts. Peter and Paul could be compared to the impact that Mission Dolores had on its section of the old city as well as Old Saint Mary's in Chinatown. This parish is young [founded in 1884] compared to those two but the church became the rallying point of the Italians of North Beach. Sts. Peter and Paul is also a national church for Italians and Chinese as well as being a territorial parish. Italians from all over the Bay Area still see their roots here. The Chinese are served by Fr. John Lam, S.D.B. He is temporarily assisted by Fr. Denis Martin, S.D.B. on loan from Hong Kong until the middle of 1997. There are many laity also working with these two priests in the Chinese apostolate.
But whoever come to Sts. Peter and Paul walk away amazed. "What a beautiful church!" is a constant refrain. It is a unique site with the park in front and the grammar school built around the church making one building. It is in a central, key position in the neighborhood.
Many outstanding vocations to the priesthood and religious
life came from the families of the parish. Perhaps more
noticeable were the many civic and political leaders that served
the City who had their start at Sts. Peter and Paul School and
Salesian Boys and Girls Club. There have been a mayor, lawyers,
judges and professional men and women in all disciplines who have
acknowledged their beginnings at this parish.
Q: How has the work of the first pioneers continued and/or changed over this past century?
Fr. David: The Salesians came to work for the youth and the Italian immigrants. The new immigrants are the Asians and the Salesians continue to minister to the needs of the descendants of the Italian immigrants as well as the Asians through education, leadership and aid. This applies to any ethnic group.
The first Salesian pioneers came to build the Kingdom of God through youth and is continuing today through the Boys and Girls Club and the school. The school has an enrollment of just under 300 and the Club has a membership list of over 1,000 with 80 to 100 attending daily.
So the work remains the same. It is the ethnicity that is
different. And actually, we work with people regardless of
origin and other differences, people of color and European
background.
Q: What typically Salesian activities are in progress in the parish?
Fr. David: As mentioned above, we have the parochial grammar school, the Salesian Boys and Girls Club. Perhaps we need to be more aggressive in answering the needs of youth in this locale. In the "good old days" the Salesians went out to recruit youth and bring them to or back to the church. Today we act more like a magnet and as the kids see the opportunities, they join up and participate. And yet we need to do more and reach out and identify those youth who have not heard of us and our programs. Again, we need to learn just what the youth population of this northeast quadrant of the City really is. How many are we missing?
The services we offer to the parish at large are many. There is the "Ottantenni." These is a special gathering of the elderly. Fr. S. Giacomini, S.D.B. has this particularly apostolate at heart. There are a lot of home and hospital visits and Communion is brought to the home-bound. There is also a special marriage apostolate. The church is in high demand for weddings which necessitates concentrated preparations for the engaged. We are fortunate to have a very caring and talented couple, Mr. & Mrs. Ed and Peg Gleason, assisting in marriage preparations classes and Fr. John O'Brien, S.D.B. helps to coordinate this work as well as Baptismal preparations. More than 120 weddings take place here each year as well as Baptisms and funerals. This is really a very active parish.
Then there are the popular devotions brought over from Italy by the immigrants which their descendants are faithful to. Examples are devotions to "Madonna delle Grazie" [Our Lady of Grace], "Madonna del Lume" [Our Lady of the Light], "Madonna dei Miracoli" [Our Lady of Miracles], "Madonna della Guardia" [Our Lady of Care], "L'Addolorata" [The Sorrowful Mother], devotees of St. Joseph, St. Anne, St. Gemma Galgani, St. Rocco, St. Calogero, St. Dominic d'Augusta and several others. Of course devotion to St. John Bosco is paramount.
We are organizing a financial committee. There is a parish
staff in place and the formation of a parish council is
progressing.
Q: What impact has the Centennial made on the parish?
Fr. David: There has been much consciousness-raising with people taking a deep pride in the history of this parish and their association with the Salesians. If you ask any old-timer they'll immediately respond by referring to a particular or several Salesians who affected their lives tremendously. Priests like Fr. Oreste Trinchieri, Fr. Larry Byrne, Fr. Armand Oliveri, Fr. Louie Masoero, Fr. Giacomini and several others. This Centennial is just focusing our thoughts a little bit more. Now that the Centennial events and Gala Banquet are becoming realities and are defined better there seems to be a growing interest in wanting to be a participant in this historic Centennial celebration.
There is a growing renewal or awareness of the fact that the
Salesians have literally staffed, run and cared for this parish
for one hundred years. Questions are beginning to dawn on people
about where we came from and why. This will lead us, Salesians
and parishioners, to ask why are we still here and where are we
going?
Q: How would you describe the future of Saints Peter and Paul?
Fr. David: We have been mandated by the San Francisco Archdiocesan Pastoral Plan to be one of two model sites for an Archdiocesan youth center. The other just happens to be another Salesian parish, Corpus Christi, an off-shoot of Sts. Peter and Paul. It happens that Corpus Christi will celebrate its one hundredth anniversary of founding in 1998. According to the Archdiocesan Pastoral Plan we are to be on the cutting edge of youth ministry. This parish is to be the exemplar of youth ministry. We have a fabulous boys and girls center and a parochial school. From the Salesian point of view we have Don Bosco's model of the "Oratory," where he gathered his children so many years ago. I wonder how we will keep growing. There is the parameter of fewer youths in the area. Will we have to reach outside our parish boundaries? Should a program for youth from other parishes be set up? We might serve as a springboard or catalyst for others. The area is not economically conducive for young growing families.
Being an archdiocesan youth center, we can draw on other Salesians in the Bay Area as well as our Provincial Youth Ministry Team. Right now, it's hard to see which way the pattern will develop. Currently, we have plenty of work to do and there are lots of young people here at the church, school and club.