There was a period in my life when I went to mass in churches of various denominations. I attended services in Lutheran and Episcopalian churches. Born into the Catholic faith, I will forever be Catholic and proud of it. That said, I honestly think there are very few and subtle differences in the way mass is celebrated in the churches I visited. I once even heard that Lutherans are no more than angry Catholics.

Every where I went, I was warmly welcomed each and every time I attended non-Catholic services. I have since returned to my Catholic parish and I attend Sunday mass there as faithfully as I can. During the week, however, whenever I feel I want to pray and my parish church is already closed for the day, I come to Grace Cathedral.

I once read a travel magazine name this cathedral as the chicest in San Francisco. I did not exactly understand what they meant by that and still do not understand it to this day. Just how exactly is a church labeled chic? I do notice that people who belong to the Episcopalian faith and attend Sunday services here dress up for the occasion compared to my church where people dress casually, sometimes, even in jogging shorts and sneakers.

I find Grace Cathedral as big as its European counterparts. It is huge. Its one and distinct feature is its minimalism indoors. One doesn't find statues of saints, confessionals, and elaborate ornamentation of its altars.

Although no visitor needs to go out of his way to visit this church, it is a nice place to visit just the same. It is not far from the historic Fairmont Hotel nor the Cable Car Barn along Mason Street.