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Father Mathias Wambua, born in Kenya and raised in Nairobi, serves as a parochial vicar at Star of the Sea Parish in San Francisco and leads an effort to establish a medical clinic in Kitengela, a poor neighborhood outside Nairobi.

Father Mathias Wambua, born in Kenya and raised in Nairobi, serves as a parochial vicar at Star of the Sea Parish in San Francisco and leads an effort to establish a medical clinic in Kitengela, a poor neighborhood outside Nairobi.

Father Andrew Spyrow, vicar for clergy, announced the following clergy assignments on behalf of Archbishop Salvatore J. Cordileone on Sept. 17, 2020.

The St. Agnes pantry in San Francisco’s Haight-Ashbury district draws clients as varied in cultures, customs and circumstances as the eclectic neighborhood in which it stands.

Thanks to a generous donor, Father Ron’s live all-day retreat will cost retreatants only $25 rather than the full $100 fee.

Alabama Street in San Francisco became a worship space for several hundred Catholics who could not enter one of nine simultaneous Masses in groups of 12 in the parking lot of St. Peter Church on Sunday, Sept. 6. ​​​​​​​

Mercy Sister Patricia Williams died on August 18, 2020 at the age of 84 at Mercy Retirement Center in Oakland. While attending Bishop Conaty High School in Los Angeles, she came to know the Sisters of Mercy. She entered the community in 1955 and professed vows in 1958, taking the religious name Sister Raphael Marie.

St. Andrew Parish in Daly City began outdoor Sunday Masses on Aug. 23, 2020 on a concrete church patio. Masses are at 8 a.m. and 11 a.m. each Sunday. A Saturday evening vigil Mass at 4:45 p.m. is livestreamed from the church where San Mateo County COVID-19 protocols prohibit an attending assembly.

Sister Cecile Bertheau (Sister Christina Marie), a Sister of St. Joseph of Orange, died on Aug. 22, 2020. She was 81 years old and a Sister of St. Joseph of Orange for 63 years.

Sept. 11, 12; 5:30 p.m.: “Your road to abundant life begins here” a weekend virtual retreat of healing and hope for people who have suffered the pain and isolation of divorce.

San Francisco’s ICA Cristo Rey Academy virtually welcomed faculty, staff and 358 students to a new academic year Aug. 17, 2020. Holding the school’s first assembly of the year online president, Dominican Sister Diane Aruda told students, “Everything we do is about you. We carry you in our hearts.”

Holy Names Sister Catherine Nessi (Sister Francis Venard) died on Aug. 18, 2020. Sister Catherine, a Sister of the Holy Names of Jesus and Mary for 70 years, was 89 years old.

Marist Father Dennis Steik died Aug. 20, 2020, at St. Mary’s Medical Center in San Francisco. He was 78 years old. “His health had been declining for some time, and his death followed a more recent diagnosis of coronavirus COVID-19,” Father Andrew Spyrow, vicar for clergy, said in an announcement.

Archbishop Salvatore J. Cordileone is exhorting the faithful with the assistance of their priests to engage in focused prayer and penance during the difficult conditions that coronavirus has caused.

Archbishop Salvatore J. Cordileone encourages all parishes in the archdiocese to make the holy Mass available to parishioners during this time of church closure by holding Mass outdoors while observing the health and safety guidelines of the respective counties.

Father Ray Zohlen died Aug. 3, 2020 at Nazareth House in San Rafael following a slow decline in his health. Father Zohlen celebrated his 95th birthday July 20.

A half-century tradition of service and inspiration established by the Sisters of the Presentation Union at St. Robert Parish becomes legacy in September 2020.  

Msgr. Edward McTaggart, retired pastor of St. Brendan Parish and former vicar general of the Archdiocese of San Francisco, died July 30 in San Mateo. Family members kept company at his side until the end. Ordained in 1955, he was 91 years old.

Retired Father Bernard Brennan died July 26, 2020 at Nazareth House. Ordained in 1961, he was 84 years old

Dominican Sister Julian Dion died July 28 after a prolonged illness at the Dominican Sisters of Mission San Jose’s St. Martin Residence on the motherhouse campus in Fremont.