Loading...
Loading...
Click here if you don’t see subscription options
The famous Castro city district in San Francisco (Photo credit: iStock)

Subscribe on Apple Podcasts here, on Google Play here, or on Spotify here.

In the fourth episode of "Plague," Mike visits a Catholic Church in the Castro–San Francisco's LGBT neighborhood–that transformed itself during the 80s and 90s into what parishioners called a "gay church." It took the delicate balance of an innovative pastor, committed gay parishioners, and open-minded old ladies to bring life to the now iconic church.

But the parish didn't just survive. It transformed itself into a place where the neighborhood it served could rely on it for spiritual sustenance and physical help during the height of the HIV and AIDS crisis. As one member put it to us, Most Holy Redeemer became a place that helped save souls, and save lives.

In short, it became a model for what a parish should be.
 

Learn more at www.americamag.org/plague.

You can follow Mike on Twitter @mikeoloughlin.

You can listen to “Plague” on Apple Podcasts here, on Google Play here, or on Spotify here.

We don’t have comments turned on everywhere anymore. We have recently relaunched the commenting experience at America and are aiming for a more focused commenting experience with better moderation by opening comments on a select number of articles each day.

But we still want your feedback. You can join the conversation about this article with us in social media on Twitter or Facebook, or in one of our Facebook discussion groups for various topics.

Or send us feedback on this article with one of the options below:

We welcome and read all letters to the editor but, due to the volume received, cannot guarantee a response.

In order to be considered for publication, letters should be brief (around 200 words or less) and include the author’s name and geographic location. Letters may be edited for length and clarity.

We open comments only on select articles so that we can provide a focused and well-moderated discussion on interesting topics. If you think this article provides the opportunity for such a discussion, please let us know what you'd like to talk about, or what interesting question you think readers might want to respond to.

If we decide to open comments on this article, we will email you to let you know.

If you have a message for the author, we will do our best to pass it along. Note that if the article is from a wire service such as Catholic News Service, Religion News Service, or the Associated Press, we will not have direct contact information for the author. We cannot guarantee a response from any author.

We welcome any information that will help us improve the factual accuracy of this piece. Thank you.

Please consult our Contact Us page for other options to reach us.

City and state/province, or if outside Canada or the U.S., city and country. 
When you click submit, this article page will reload. You should see a message at the top of the reloaded page confirming that your feedback has been received.
Comments are automatically closed two weeks after an article's initial publication. See our comments policy for more.

The latest from america

Pope Leo XIV made his first appointment of a Chinese bishop under the Vatican’s 2018 agreement with Beijing, signaling he is continuing one of Pope Francis’ most controversial foreign policy decisions.
On June 9, America Media's team of experts hosted an exclusive, subscriber-only event to answer your specific questions about Pope Leo XIV, the conclave and this historic time in our church.
America StaffJune 10, 2025
Walter Brueggemann's influence in the academy reached across denominations and traditions.
James T. KeaneJune 10, 2025
With the Gaza death toll rising and entire families obliterated as Israeli forces seek to strike diminishing numbers of Hamas targets, more impassioned appeals for an end to the violence have come from ecclesial and political leaders from around the world.
Kevin ClarkeJune 10, 2025