Check out the Palace
By Bridget Maley | Special to The Examiner
Dec 17, 2025
An illuminated Grace Cathedral for Midnight Mass on Christmas Eve, 2022.
From its nascent days as a small wood-frame Gold Rush-era church near Union Square to the breadth of experiences offered from where it presides today atop Nob Hill, Grace Cathedral has been a bastion of San Francisco’s religious, cultural and social life for nearly 200 years.
Most recently, “Aura,” a nonreligious immersive experience, opened in October at Grace, marking its only American venue. After enthralling visitors at Les Invalides in Paris and Montreal’s Basilique Notre-Dame, “Aura” — created by Moment Factory and co-presented by Fever — has transformed the Gothic-revival cathedral into a light-filled sanctuary reverberating with captivating storytelling and music.
Grace, which celebrates its 175th anniversary in 2025, welcomes this latest experience, expected to continue for an extended period, to its extensive array of programing, which includes a traditional choir of men and boys; dynamic sermons from its historic pulpit; effective social-justice advocacy; a yearly artist-in-residence, weekly yoga and monthly sound-bath experiences; thoughtful weekly Forum conversations with the Very Rev. Malcolm Clemens Young and an engaging guest; and a newly established, hugely popular girls choir.
Building Grace: 175 Years of Community
Greg