News - August 2026

At the end of June, I wrote to you following the announcement that the Archdiocese of San Francisco had reached a $395 million settlement agreement associated with its Chapter 11 bankruptcy. At that time, I told you that St. Ignatius Parish would be assessed a portion of the settlement and that, when I received that assessment, I would consult with parish and Jesuit leadership to discern our response. I have now received our assessment, and those conversations are underway. I will have more to say about that in the weeks ahead.

Pablo comes to us most recently from working as a communications coordinator at the CUNY Mexican Studies Institute and is pursuing a Master of Divinity at the Jesuit School of Theology of Santa Clara University in Berkeley. Learn more about Pablo in this short interview! What about your background helped you prepare for this opportunity? Being a catechist in 2nd grade at St. Francis Xavier in Manhattan transformed my life and helped me discover my vocation as a religious educator. Being part of the OCIA team for three years and leading the youth ministry provided me with a broad perspective of the needs and challenges of religious education and Ignatian spirituality. Also, working at an organization called Thrive For Life, I prepared retreats for women and men behind bars, as well as for their families and friends. This led me deeper into the Jesuit charism, and I learned to adapt it to different contexts, and further integrate it into my own spiritual journey.

This summer, the ARC at St. Ignatius Parish (Anti-Racism Committee) joyously invites the entire parish community to join us in reading Robin Wall Kimmerer’s Braiding Sweetgrass (2020), a New York Times and a Washington Post bestseller: "As a botanist, Robin Wall Kimmerer has been trained to ask questions of nature with the tools of science. As a member of the Citizen Potawatomi Nation, she embraces the notion that plants and animals are our oldest teachers. In Braiding Sweetgrass, Kimmerer brings these two lenses of knowledge together to take us on a journey that is every bit as mythic as it is scientific, as sacred as it is historical, as clever as it is wise."

Save the Date! As we commemorate the 800th Anniversary of the Transitus (death) of Saint Francis of Assisi, the Metropolitan Cathedral of Saint Mary of the Assumption will host an extraordinary Exhibition of the Holy Relics of Saint Francis of Assisi and St. Clare of Assisi, beginning with an Historic Opening Celebration on Friday, October 16, 2026.