By Catholic San Francisco
On September 21,St. Gabriel Catholic Church in San Francisco celebrated a momentous occasion: the installation of Father Ian Quito as its new pastor. The Mass was celebrated by Archbishop Salvatore J. Cordileone.
History
St. Gabriel, located in the Sunset District of San Francisco, traces its roots to a bold act of faith in the early 1940s. The parish was founded on June 28, 1941, by Archbishop John J. Mitty. Much of the surrounding area at St. Gabriel Parish in those early years, was still sand dunes with few houses, roads or infrastructure.
The first Mass was celebrated on August 3, 1941, in a hardware store at 44th Avenue and Taraval, accommodating 139 worshippers—affectionately dubbed “the hardware store people.” Soon thereafter, the parish launched a building fund and broke ground on a more permanent church. By May 31, 1942, the church was blessed and dedicated.
Over the decades, St. Gabriel has grown, adapted and welcomed generations of families. Additions and renovations have expanded seating and improved facilities, while its parish school—opened in 1948—grew rapidly, once serving some 1,200 students at its height.
Today, the parish is home to approximately 1,100 families, representing a mosaic of ethnic and national backgrounds—a reflection of San Francisco itself.
Given this heritage, the installation of a new pastor is not merely a change in leadership but a lifeline to the past and a bridge to the future.
The Installation Mass
As part of the Rite of Installation, Father Dan Nascimento, pastor of St. Anne of the Sunset in San Francisco, read the formal letter of appointment from the archbishop.
In his homily, Archbishop Cordileone thanked Father Quito for his willingness be the new pastor of St. Gabriel parish.
“I am grateful that he has accepted this appointment, said Archbishop Cordileone. “I am confident of his love of Christ and of His Church, and of his commitment to serving with that same love that is the outpouring of self that Christ models for us.”
After the homily, the new pastor was presented to the parish leadership and staff. After that, Father Quinto led the faithful in the Creed and made an oath of fidelity to the teachings of the Church and an oath of pastoral service to the people entrusted to him.
Father Quito thanked the archbishop for celebrating the Mass and trusting him with the new role as pastor. He also thanks the parishioners for their warm welcome to the parish over the past few months.
“When I was reflecting on my priestly life over the past five years, I reviewed the teachings of my best friend, she’s actually a saint in heaven, St. Therese of the Child Jesus. I depend on God’s grace, and I try to follow His grace as close as possible.”
Following Mass, there was a reception in the school gym where the parish and school families gathered to celebrate their new pastor.
