Most Holy Redeemer Catholic Church at 100 Diamond Street - 2004

The near building on the right is the rectory for the church. Then comes the lower structure, which is the new entrance to the church, now coming in from the north side. Finally you have the church itself, Most Holy Redeemer. Photo was taken looking south at the west side of Diamond Street from 18th Street. The parish was founded in 1900 and the church built in 1901. It lost one tower after the 1957 Daly City earthquake. It was rededicated and remodeled in 1998 - entrance moved to the north, seating and altar reorganized. In 1988, the congregation was "gays & grays" - about 60% gay or lesbian. With fears of disease and death from AIDS and aging, the congregation grew closer and provided support to the ailing. By 2004, probably due to changing neighborhood population, the congregation was larger and largely gay or lesbian. There have been ongoing tensions between local Catholics and National & International Catholic teachings. In 1988, for example, the local Archbishop banned Dignity (a gay Catholics group) from mass in Catholic churches; more recently drag queens have been banished and the current Archbishop intends to enforce strict moral standards on Catholic School teachers, including concerning homosexuality.