Saint Margaret Mary Catholic Church

1219 Excelsior Avenue
Oakland

Saint Margaret Mary was established as a parish in 1922 by Archbishop Edward J. Hanna.  The first pastor was Rev. Peter E. Doyle.  A rectory and small wooden chapel were built at the corner of Excelsior and Emerson.

In 1930, Rev. William J. Quirke was appointed pastor and immediately started work on a new church.  Oakland architect William Edward Schirmer, a parishioner, designed the beautiful Gothic structure.  Construction began on the rectory late in 1930 and was completed early in 1931.  The cornerstone of the church was laid on March 1. 1931.  The general contractor was Thomas F. Furlong of Oakland.  The new church was dedicated on October 18, 1931 by Archbishop Hanna.  The original windows in the church were rose quartz.

The beautiful stained glass windows in the church were created by Carl Huneke, Century Stained Glass Studio, San Francisco.  He completed the thirteen large windows in the nave and sanctuary in 1957.  The narthex window, St. Francis Xavier, was completed in 1965.

The clerestory medallions of the Sacraments, the St. Stephen and St. Mary Magdalene window in the narthex, and the choir windows were created by John and Nick Lukas, Lukas Church Art Glass Studio, San Francisco in 1991.