A Salesian Parish in San Francisco
Corpus Christi Church stands on Santa Rosa Avenue in the Mission District of San Francisco, a Catholic parish shaped by its bilingual congregation and the charism of the Salesians of Don Bosco. Priests of the Salesian congregation staff the parish, and several of them live in residence alongside the pastors, giving the community a strong youth-centered identity rooted in the preventive educational system of St. John Bosco. Mass is celebrated in both English and Spanish every day of the week, and one of the most familiar gatherings of the year is Camp Corpus Christi, a four-week summer program for children and teens held on the parish grounds.
The parish is part of the Archdiocese of San Francisco, and the Salesian community of priests serves it under that local church. Together the priests, deacons, religious sisters, and lay ministers care for the liturgical life of the parish, the sacramental preparation of its members, and a long list of parish groups that range from prayer societies to choirs to the Knights of Columbus.
Mass in English and Spanish
Mass is the beating heart of the parish, and the schedule reflects its bilingual character. On Saturday evenings the Sunday vigil is celebrated at 5:00 PM in English and at 7:00 PM in Spanish. Sunday brings five more Masses: 8:00 AM, 9:30 AM, 1:00 PM, and 5:00 PM in English, with the 11:00 AM Mass in Spanish. The result is a Sunday rhythm that gives English-speaking and Spanish-speaking families a choice of several gatherings to call their own.
Daily Mass keeps the church open throughout the week. Two English Masses are offered, one at 8:00 AM and one at 12:05 PM, and a Spanish Mass follows at 7:00 PM. On Wednesday the 12:05 PM English Mass is offered as the weekly Our Lady of Perpetual Help Mass, and on the first Friday of each month an English Mass is celebrated at 12:05 PM and a Spanish Mass at 7:00 PM.
Eucharistic Adoration is held on Thursday evenings from 7:00 to 8:00 PM in a bilingual setting, with prayer offered in both Spanish and English. Confessions are heard every Saturday from 3:30 to 4:30 PM, and the priests are also available to hear confessions by appointment. If the church is not open at the appointed time, the rectory doorbell may be rung to summon a priest.
Reaching Beyond the Church Walls
Sunday Mass is livestreamed on Facebook, so parishioners who are traveling, ill, or homebound can follow the liturgy from wherever they are. The parish keeps a long-running archive of weekly bulletins available online, with downloadable PDFs going back several years. Visitors who want to keep up with parish announcements can subscribe to the weekly bulletin by email.
Preparing for the Sacraments
The parish offers a full sacramental preparation program for parishioners of every age. Parents preparing for the Baptism of an infant or a young child can turn to the parish's baptismal coordinators: Deacon Alvaro Ortega handles Baptisms in Spanish, including the coordination of quinceañeras, while Deacon Noel Santillan coordinates Baptisms celebrated in English. Baptism preparation typically begins well in advance of the desired celebration.
Children preparing for First Communion and Confirmation move through the parish's Religious Education Program, which is coordinated by Sr. Mary Link, FMA, of the Salesian Sisters. The parish also accompanies adults who have not received the sacraments of Baptism, First Communion, or Confirmation through the RICA / RCIA process, the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults. The RCIA classes are coordinated by Deacon Mynor Montepeque and meet on Sunday mornings at 8:30 AM in Casa Margarita, the parish convent adjacent to the church. Engaged couples preparing for Holy Matrimony begin arrangements through the parish office, and the parish celebrates weddings in the church.
Camp Corpus Christi and the Young Church
The Salesian spirit of the parish is most visible in its work with young people. Camp Corpus Christi is a four-week summer day camp hosted on the parish grounds for children ages seven through fourteen, with counselors in training (ages fifteen to sixteen) and head counselors (ages seventeen to nineteen) drawn from the parish's older youth. The camp runs Monday through Friday from 8:30 AM to 3:30 PM and includes breakfast and lunch, field trips, arts and crafts, science projects, sports, music and dance, a game room, a talent show, and an outdoor picnic. Camp Mass and morning prayers are part of each day, and the entire program is built on the Salesian principle that young people can have great fun without offending God, in the spirit of Don Bosco himself.
Beyond the summer camp, the parish runs a year-round Youth Ministry coordinated by Andrea Navas. The youth group gathers on Tuesday evenings from 6:00 to 9:00 PM, and the Salesian Youth Movement offers a deeper spirituality track for teens who want to grow in their faith as disciples. A separate Young Adults Group gathers parishioners in their twenties and thirties for faith and fellowship, and an Altar Servers program trains boys and girls of the parish, known as monaguillos in Spanish, twice a month, with additional field trips and parish activities throughout the year.
A Parish of Many Small Communities
Corpus Christi is the kind of parish where almost every member belongs to at least one small community. The parish hosts more than two dozen organizations, which fall into a few familiar patterns. Marian and devotional societies include the Guadalupanas, the Legion of Mary in English and Spanish, the Association of Salesian Cooperators, ADMA, the Seguidores de Cristo, the Grupo de Oración, the Our God Reigns Prayer Group, the Guadalupana-centered Inmaculada Concepcion, and the Filipino devotional society Fil-Am.
Cultural and devotional communities also bring members together around shared identity, with Nuestro Señor de Esquipulas and El Salvador del Mundo gathering Guatemalan and Salvadoran parishioners, and the Santo Niño and Divino Niño societies keeping popular devotions alive in the parish.
Liturgical and service groups are equally active. The parish has choirs for the English Masses, the 11:00 AM Spanish Mass, and the 7:00 PM Spanish Mass, along with lectors and Eucharistic ministers serving in both languages. The Liturgy Committee, Parish Lectors (English and Spanish), the Knights of Columbus, the Holy Name Society, and the Parish Pastoral Council all help the parish run, while the Finance Committee oversees stewardship. Two Bible Study groups meet weekly, one in English and one in Spanish, and the Neo Catechumenal Way offers a fuller program of post-baptismal formation.
Visiting the Parish
The parish office sits at 62 Santa Rosa Avenue, San Francisco, CA 94112, and is open Monday through Friday from 10:30 AM to 12:30 PM and again from 1:30 PM to 5:30 PM. The office closes for lunch in the middle of the day, and it is closed on Saturdays, Sundays, and holidays. The main parish phone number is (415) 585-2991, and email reaches the office at info@corpuschristisf.org.
The parish is staffed by a team of Salesian priests and brothers along with permanent deacons and lay ministers. Fr. Gustavo Martagon, SDB, serves as Parish Administrator Pastor and Vice Director of the Salesian community, with Fr. Chinh Nguyen, SDB, as Associate Pastor and Community Director, and Fr. Paul Tran, SDB, as a second Associate Pastor. Fr. Edward Liptak, SDB, and Fr. Tom Juarez, SDB, both live in residence at the parish, and Fr. Liptak leads the parish's English Bible study group. The three permanent deacons (Deacon Mynor Montepeque, Deacon Alvaro Ortega, and Deacon Noel Santillan) assist at Mass, coordinate RCIA, and walk families through the baptismal process.
Donations to the parish can be made online through the Archdiocese of San Francisco Annual Appeal by selecting Corpus Christi Church, or by check made payable to Corpus Christi Church. Giving online is one way to support the parish's sacramental programs, the summer camp, and the ongoing care of the church on Santa Rosa Avenue.