Lit votives twinkle inside Old St Mary's Church in San Francisco's Chinatown. Built in 1854, the 1906 earthquake damaged it as well as a destruction by a fire in the 1960's. Some of the restoration involved painting over some of the gilt and murals. The old-world atmosphere in this ancient church in this modern city transports church-goers into a spiritual realm of Catholicism and mysticism.

Loud cable cars defy the hills outside the old cathedral which is now a parish church inside Chinatown's boundaries. It contains brightly colored stained glass windows, marble statues and a large granite altar. Large dark wooden pews elicit a calm presence and lilies grace the altar in preparation for Easter Sunday, the next day. Odd to find such a Catholic presence inside the gateways of Chinatown, a community filled with oriental tradition and beliefs.

Outside standing tall above the chapel is a clock-tower that has a carving that says: "Son Observe the Time and Fly from Evil".