St Teresa of Avila

Welcoming community church with wonderful homilies.
I used to go to a much bigger church in the city, but was unhappy with the homilies so I decided to check out St. Teresa of Avila. I’m so glad I did! The two, friendly, Carmelite priests give great, often thought-​provoking homilies. I thought the feeling of anonymity and detachment I felt at my previous church was just part of living in a big city like SF. Apparently not! The friendly and welcoming priests and parishioners are reminiscent of the churches I went to when I lived in much smaller cities in the country. St. Teresa of Avila is truly a faith community and not just a church.

St Teresa’s is community which is somewhat unusual for a Catholic Church. Catholics tend to show up for Mass and take off quickly at the end. Here you know most people by name. It would be most unusual for a new attendee to not be welcomed by at least one member of the community.
St. Teresa’s is a warm, welcoming, inclusive community. Come see for yourself.

Truly a wonderful community. I’ve been attending for few years now. Very friendly group of parishioners and also really like the homilies — down to earth and relateable. also great group of singers during services.

I discovered St. Teresa in 2010 after moving back to the Bay Area and attending several masses at different churches in the city. The service we kept returning to is the one at St. Teresa’s. I can’t tell you how wonderful the church is– the priests are warm and truly caring, the parishioners warm and open. If you’re looking for welcoming and open-​minded place to worship, this is it!

My husband and I are parishioners of St Teresa’s since moving into the neighborhood in 2008. The pastors are intelligent and immersed in the community. Every Sunday’s homily gives me something to ruminate as I walk home after mass. We take away meaningful messages and lessons and definitely tools for growth in the faith. For a small community and physical space, it is not intimidating nor are you compelled to participate in more ways than you can or would like to. There are wonderful neighborhood restaurants and cafes that make Sunday morning mass and brunch a very pleasant tradition. The walk up the hill is invigorating and just a perfect way to start a new day and week.
D and R
San Francisco

St. Teresa’s is a welcoming and friendly Catholic community under the pastoral care of two Carmelite priests. It is a parish with a long history to social justice. It is a growing parish and there are many opportunities for involvement.

Wonderful small and friendly church.
In 2001, we shopped around the city looking for a good fit and found it here when a parishioner turned around at the end of our first mass and said «I noticed you are new here and I just wanted to welcome you». At other churches around the city, they didn’t seem to notice each other and certainly didn’t reach out to us with such warmth.
We have since had two children and both were baptized here and have met some of our best friends along the way at this church.
We are Catholic, but in a modern since of the term and we love St. Teresa of Avila in Potrero Hill. That is not to say that there are not many very traditional Catholics as parishioners as well, but St. Teresa’s has a way of welcoming all Catholics no matter where they are in their journey and building a strong sense of community along the way.

I suppose I count as a representative of this parish now, since I’ve just joined the pastoral council. But I never would have considered doing that if I didn’t want to make a contribution to the unique and welcoming culture they have here.
St. Teresa’s is one of the most welcoming parishes EVER. The first time I walked in there, the people around me introduced themselves, and made me feel like a welcome addition to the parish, even if it was just for that week. Father Paul always closes mass by thanking everyone there for coming. And they still have the donuts after 10 am mass.

I love this church! Simple sweet services that make you feel rejuvenated. I was baptized here along with my grandmother, mother and aunts. They were all married in this church before it became ‘church in the round’. My great-​grandmother donated one of the windows when my great-​grandfather died. I have wonderful memories and they only haunt me in a good way when I go. The 1^st service of each month welcomes newcomers and a get chance to meet old timers.

This is where I was baptized, made my first communion, did some other stuff, and made my conformation. I lived grew up a few blocks away from here and grew up coming here not every Sunday, but often enough to go to Sunday School.
I have not been here, or any church for that matter in a few years since I have moved away, but I have really fond memories growing up here and taking part in masses. In particular, they have donuts downstairs after mass, and really encourage the community to get involved. I for one read as a lector for awhile. Also, I know they recently retired, but the sisters that used to work here were some of the nicest and kindest people I knew, they also did a ton of outreach.
Overall, I’m not really a huge religious person, but being a part of this community was very nice, and inspiring. Sermons were more about politics or social injustices, or philosophy than religion, which was a nice change of pace. This is really a pretty liberal church, and they are very accepting of everyone beliefs.

The church has a nice set up. Every first weekends, they have a «meet your neighbors» theme where you socialize with other parishoners after the mass over refreshments.
They’re more liberal here. That’s why we chose this place to host our daughter’s baptism.