What happened to the previous cathedral?
Cathedral of Saint Francis de Sales suffered some damage in the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake. One year later, Bishop John Cummins announced that the structure would have to be torn down because the diocese could not afford the repairs, and in 1993 the cathedral was demolished. The estimated cost of repairing and performing seismic upgrades of both St. Frances de Sales and the Sacred Heart Church, also damaged in the earthquake, was $8 million.
Seriously, that place could be a solarium.
During the summer I am able to get to daily Mass. There is nothing that I like more than walking into our parishes around town; smelling the candles, and seeing the altars in traditional style. The candles, altar, Tabernacle, votive candles, the Crucifix in prominent display, statues of our Blessed Mother, and the Stations of the Cross.
These images invite us to holiness.