The Chapel before Installation of the Campanile
Since the early centuries of Christianity, it has been common for a community, or a wealthy local family, to fund a fishermen's chapel. Here a priest would conduct services for the repose of the souls of the deceased fishermen. Well-known chapels of this type are to be found in Boston, Massachusetts, a favorite of Richard Cardinal Cushing, chaplain to the Kennedys; on Jersey in the British Channel Islands; and at Grimbsy, Lincolnshire, in the U.K.
Here in San Francisco, nestled between the inner harbor and Pier 45 among the piers and boats, is the Fishermen's and Seamen's Memorial Chapel, a small wood-framed chapel, brown and unimposing from a distance, but close up displaying beautiful glass windows. Built in 1979 and dedicated on May 21, 1981, as a memorial to the memory of fishermen who have lost their lives at sea, the modest building honors with memorial plaques about 200 fishermen who died while pursuing their ancient trade in the predominantly Catholic fishing community.
The memorial chapel was built on the site of the old Coast Guard building, from which rescue missions to foundering vessels were dispatched. It stands as a vibrant structure that will weather with time, as the fishermen themselves, reminding and inspiring San Franciscans and visitors alike of the rich legacy the fishermen have given us.
On July 29, 1989, the Italian American Community of Northern California was honored by the visit of Salvatore Cardinal Pappalardo, Archbishop of Palermo, Italy, to San Francisco. During his visit the cardinal blessed this chapel and participated in a memorial service in memory of those who lost their lives at sea.
Since August 1992 the chapel has been the home of St. John's Oratory of the Society of St. John the Apostle, a traditional Roman Catholic organization that offers the Traditional Roman Catholic Latin Mass, Divine Office, and Gregorian Chant, and other traditional services on Sundays and Holydays.
An antique banner above the altar depicts the Blessed Virgin Mary, who is venerated at the chapel under her title Maria Santissima del Lume (Most Holy Mary of Light), also known as the Madonna del Lume (Madonna of the Light), the patron saint of fishermen. In Sicily, some time during the 1700s, when a group of fishermen from the small village of Ponticello lost their way at sea and prayed to the Madonna to help them find their way home, the fishermen's prayers were answered when a light suddenly appeared in the sky and guided them safely back to shore.
Ever since, the Madonna del Lume has been regarded as the patron Saint of fishermen and Sicilians have gathered every October to pay homage to her and to honor the lives of fishermen who were lost at sea. This Catholic tradition was brought to San Francisco's North Beach by Sicilian immigrants, who arrived in the Bay Area in droves, beginning in the mid 1800s. In 1935 the Madonna del Lume Society was organized, and the first official Madonna del Lume celebration took place in 1936.
On the first Saturday in October, the day before Rosary Sunday, in a ritual practiced since mediæval times, the words of the Blessing of Ships are intoned over the boats of San Francisco's fishing fleet, as they process out the Golden Gate: