Old Saint Mary’s Gift Shop

Found a really nice cross here for a gift, need more selections of statues and religious figurines would be nice. Very friendly staff and helpful, God bless!

I love this place! I came here 2x already bought some novenas, medals, rosaries… male staff is very helpful. So many things I love!

This is neat gift shop, which is part of Old St. Mary’s Catholic Church. What caught my eyes were the 50% off the assortment of Christmas ornaments, and of course, that SF Giants Christmas stocking (orange and black) on display. I am an Oakland A’s fan admiring the stocking and thinking that would make a nice gift for one of my former co-​workers who is a SF Giants fan. Alas, I did not buy it and then, I’m not one to do impulse purchases.
My sisters and I went in to browse, and noticed they also carried children’s books, religious materials (rosary beads, Bibles, etc.), and I have to say the ornaments were beautiful.
The timing was not right for me to buy anything, as my wallet was on the thin side (about $ 5.00 left). There will always be a next time when I’m not «broke as a joke» to do more browsing and shopping… lol.

This gift shop is a great addition to the church. This place has great gifts for friends and a wide variety of prayers and books. The workers were nice and the store had great religious things for sale. Some things however were expensive so that is the only bad thing.

I visited the shop on April 26 and bought several small items. It’s hard for me to compare this church gift shop to other church gifts shops, because I have only been to a few such shops before and that was many years ago. That said, the shop has a wide selection of religious items available: books, prayer cards, crosses, plaques, medals, and more. Cashier was friendly and helpful. I visited this shop many years ago and at that time they had bathrooms available down the hallway, and they would let you use them if you asked if there was a bathroom available.

Found this place last Holiday Season walking around Chinatown. They had great ornaments in the window that brought me in.
This time around I needed a baptismal gift for my new goddaughter. I remembered a night light with a special prayer on it and thought that would be a great gift. They still had it! But they have so many special children’s gift’s here. Rosary’s, books, children’s bibles. Things for baptismal, first communion and confirmation.
They also have inspirational plaques, very pretty rosaries, books, cards, crosses, figurines.
The staff there is very helpful and friendly. Prices are reasonable.
Located on the side of the church — BEAUTIFUL church… they don’t make ‘em like they use to !

Went in on Sunday morning, and was amazed what amazing and beautiful items were on sale! From beautiful rosaries to bibles, to coins, I was in awe. I loved this store! The best part of the store for me were the figurines with words of wisdom in each angel. Just lovely. I had to get one for my boss, because she’s an angel :) Although I have not stepped into a catholic church in a long time, I felt very spiritual in this beautiful store. I loved what they offered, and the staff were friendly and nice.
If you’re looking for nice gifts for someone special, this is the store! You won’t be disappointed!

Officially known as the Paulist Center and Bookstore.
This bookstore is located right around the corner from the 156 yr. old Old St. Mary’s Church, on Grant Avenue. I was looking for a rosaries as gifts and a priest at St. Cecelia’s Church told me there were no places in SF to buy rosaries. He did give me 2 church supply places, one in the Mission dist in SF and another in San Mateo, which was closed for the Labor Day weekend.
So, I came home and Unilocaled it!
Old St. Mary’s Church gift shop popped up. The salesperson on the phone told me they have «alot» of rosaries.
At the shop, I was astonished as to the amt of rosaries. Most were $ 15 – 20 and quite nice, some with very colorful, sparkly beads or faux pearls. The more expensive ones were above $ 20 with crystal beads and sterling silver. They told me their most expensive rosaries were over $ 100.
Bibles, prayer coins and cards, wrist rosaries, lots of different sized crucifixes, books, cards, etc. are all available in a very large space with friendly clerks who are more than willing to help you find what you’re looking for. I picked up a pretty cobalt blue rosary for a 86 yr old family friend. So pretty that even Madonna would’ve wanted to wear it back in the days when her movie, «Desperately Seeking Susan» was popular and started a fad of wearing the crucifix as an jewelry accessory. The clerk even tried to tempt me by telling me to come back during Christmas when they have really nice ornaments.
Who told him I love ornaments, I wondered.
The clerk told me they ought to call the priest at the other church to tell them to update their info. Amen.

Located in the heart of Chinatown, right next to the church of the same name.
Ok, first of all, I am not Catholic. Heck, I’m not even Christian. Double heck, they don’t even want me at all. I am a history buff though, so the draw of the church was inevitable. The bookstore was a fun side trip. Medals, rosaries, plaques, crucifixes, statues and the religious and inspirational books are on several shelves and they line a whole side of the store. I’ve never been able to find one of these in the OC, because if there was one of these here, I would have found it by now. Maybe I just haven’t really looked. Hehehe.
Even if you have to just have to look around, it’s worth looking in here. I did. Got a book and a coin with a saint on it for a good friend. I promise: this place is worth a look, at least to look into.

We were on a mission to find my grandma a Chinese language bible preferably in large print. Since St Mary’s church is located in Chinatown we decided to just pop into their gift shop, located around the corner, to see if we could find one.
I was amazed by the sheer size of this gift shop. It was pretty big! I didn’t browse its entirety but quickly located the people working there and asked if they had what I was looking for. Unfortunately they tell me that they used to but don’t anymore. I asked if they knew where I could get my hands on a copy. The lady behind the counter wrote down the name of someone I could contact, plus a phone number and informed me that she will mail it to me so I don’t have to personally go pick it up.
Service is just amazing. Everyone was super helpful and if you’re looking for some knick knacks to bring home… this is definitely the place to go.

I’m about as religious as Tupperware, but I l always feel strangely at peace when I’m here. Maybe it’s their otherworldly music massaging my senses to sleep or the fact that they sell knick-​knacks from other faiths, such as Stars of David and Kwanzaa books. I can’t put my finger on it but I really do feel righteous the moment I step foot inside.

After accidentally losing the crucifix I’ve worn for years, I wanted to get a new one as quickly as possible as it has both cultural and spiritual significance to me. After checking out The National Shrine of St. Francis of Assisi, I was kindly referred to Old Saint Mary’s Gift Shop (formerly called the Paulist Center and Bookstore).
To my pleasant surprise, I found a wide variety of Catholic faith-​based items, including a necklace from Ireland that I ended up purchasing. Although the store was busy with visitors checking out everything from the books to the music, a sales person was quite helpful in assisting me to try on a few options and answering all my questions.
Even if you’re not Christian, the gift shop and adjoining church make for a nice stop to get some sanctuary from the hectic rumblings of the city.