Name of Church St. John’s Cathedral
Address 2814 Mariposa Street, Fresno, CA 93721
Phone number 559-485-6210
Website www.stjohnsfresno.org
Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/Saintjohnsfresno/
Mass times Saturday vigil, 4 p.m. and 5:30 p.m. (Spanish). Sunday, 7:30 a.m. (Spanish), 9 a.m., 10:30 a.m., noon (Spanish), 1:30 p.m. (Spanish), 5 p.m. (Spanish). Weekdays: 8 a.m. (Spanish), 12:10 p.m.
Confession Monday – Friday, 7:30-8 a.m.; Thursday 5-6 p.m.
Names of priests Fr. Alex Chavez, rector. Fr. David Lopez, parochial vicar.
School No school since 1968. Religious education classes for children and adults.
Special groups and activities Altar Society; Knights of Columbus; Legion of Mary; Catholic Daughters of the Americas; various prayer groups; adoration Tuesdays after 12:10 Mass until 6 p.m.
Music Depends on the Mass; organ, cantors and choirs.
Fellow parishioners Some Anglo, with a large Latino community. In fact, the majority of the weekend Masses are in Spanish.
Parking The church has its own lot, but it gets crowded on the weekend. There is ample parking on the street, though.
Cry room No
Additional observations St. John’s is a historic church, established in 1882, located in the historic district of Fresno. It is the City of Fresno’s first parish. It started with a modest five Catholic families; the current church was completed in 1903. It’s a beautiful church, with twin spires on the outside and fabulous artwork inside. There are many beautiful paintings and frescos, stained glass and a traditional altar. With the possible exception of the Shrine of St. Therese, it is the diocese’s most beautiful parish. The cathedral made the news recently, as it was vandalized on April 23, 2019 (watch Fr. Lopez give a tour of the damage, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4jFwmKbnVxE). Some stained glass windows were broken, and statues damaged. A man was arrested after the incident. The other big news in the diocese is that Fresno has a new bishop, Joseph Brennan.
Two-thirds of the Masses are in Spanish…
Peggy, what is your point?
Could it be that two-thirds of the people speak Spanish and want their Mass to be in the vernacular?
The Church is fragmenting along ethnic lines, and that’s not good.
Stacey, You may not remember that back in the early part of the 1900s-late 1900s many of the parishes were very ethnic. In large cities, you would have an Irish parish three blocks from the Croatian parish which was blocks from the French parish. Today, after three or five generations those parishes are closing or consolidating because the ethnic group has moved on the suburbs or lost its ethnic identity. In a few generations, the “Hispanic, Filipino, etc.” parishes will close or consolidate and new ones will spring up. Don’t worry about the fragmentation.
Yeah, but Bob we all had Latin in common. Only the sermon was in the vernacular and judging by the verve with which it was given, it was a darn good one! Ah yes, the good old days!
I don’t know where you went to church back in the day. I don’t remember that there were great sermons. I remember some sentences from them that stuck with me though.
i don’t remember people being very pious, either.
I remember a lot of grumbling and people talking about other people.
Same old, same old.
And not one in Latin.
What a shame given a heritage dating back to 1882.
The Shrine of St. Therese was beautiful but that was before it was wreakovated, perhaps while Roger Mahony was bishop? And the schools at both parishes closed since post-Vatican II clergy took charge and “innovations” imposed upon the parishes. .
Beautiful church! “With the possible exception of the Shrine of St. Therese, it is the diocese’s most beautiful parish,” I think St. John’s interior wins! And all those smiling faces! Praise God!
No school since 1968. Assuming that is not a typo, then there is two generations not educated in a Catholic environment.
Mike, you beat me to the punch.
There are 3 Catholic primary schools and 1 Catholic High School in Fresno.