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    San Fernando Cathedral

    4.7 (128 reviews)
    Closed 9:00 am - 5:00 pm

    San Fernando Cathedral Photos

    Recommended Reviews - San Fernando Cathedral

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    Concerts
    Gloria S.

    Too beautiful, this oldest cathedral in America has so much history. Part of the Alamo battles, once a hospital, survived a fire, etc Concerts here when there is no worship and the night light shows are every night for free! Acoustics are amazing, So thankful to witness this magnificent building and enjoy a magical musical night as well Free parking on Sundays sure helps too! In the middle of the city there's plenty of hotels, eateries, the river just steps away.

    Beautiful.
    Judy B.

    Went to their light show tonight. Even with no lights, it is a beautiful building. Lots of tables and chairs out front to watch the show. Great music and crazy wild images on the building. Can't believe I had never seen it. Perfect place to take visitors to town.

    John D.

    It was natural for me as a Catholic and a history buff to visit this centuries old house of worship, and I'm glad that my younger brother wanted to come here. San Fernando Cathedral played a distinct role in Texas's colonial past. The mother church of the Archdiocese of San Antonio was where Mexican Gen. Antonio Lopez de Santa Ana and his soldiers literally raised a red flag to warn the Texian rebels holed up at the Alamo that there would be no quarter, and speaking of the Alamo, the purported final resting place of William B. Travis, Jim Bowie, and Davy Crockett. Not too long ago, I learned that a friend of a friend descended from laborers who built the cathedral. That was on my mind as I explored the inside. The architecture, the works of art, and the nooks and crannies transported me back to the days before Texas became an independent republic. I did see the alleged tomb of the fallen Alamo commanders, which was near the church's front entrance. I prayed before it and mentally saluted the men for which the sarcophagus was for. Safe to say that I had an item on mental SATX bucket list crossed off. I do want to attend a Mass here in the future.

    Ann V.

    So pretty and clean. You are able to h wet super close to the altar. They do the saga show but late at night.

    Beautiful
    Joan M.

    Wow, The Catholic Cathedral is stunning and such history!! It's a very active church with several Masses per day and thousands of tourists per year. Pope John Paul visited here in 1987 and had an outdoor Mass. The church was founded by a group of people from The Canary Islands hundreds of years ago. It also houses the remains of Davy Crockett following his demise at The Alamo. The Cathedral puts on a light show every night 9pm I think, except Monday on the face of the Church it's called The Saga and is free. Chairs are located in the Plaza to sit and watch. I think it lasts about an hour. Don't miss this.

    Beautiful cathedral. At night they do an amazing light & music show projected onto the outside of the building.

    Outside
    Elaina B.

    Absolutely beautiful cathedral in San Antonio. The architecture is absolutely gorgeous. The inside of the cathedral is equally as beautiful and definitely worth seeing.

    Jasmine L.

    Attended a concert and enjoyed the acoustics and intamacy of this cathedral! However, it was fairly hot inside, and attendees were fanning themselves constantly. The bathrooms and water fountains are clean. The inside has lots of seating and is beautiful

    Stephanie E.

    What a beautiful cathedral inside and out! We went here for a wedding, and it is located in downtown San Antonio right near the Riverwalk. It's one of the oldest Catholic churches in Texas, and very well maintained. If you have an appreciation for history and architecture, it is a must visit!

    Sue G.

    Beautiful church, although we decided to not go inside since there was an ongoing service and we don't want our kids to make any noise, we just stayed outside. Too bad we missed the gift shop's open hours. The only reason why I gave this place 4 stars is because the maintenance of the restrooms.

    Tomb at the entrance with remains of the Alamo heroes
    Tanja N.

    Cathedral is just a few minutes walk from The Riverwalk, so in a case you're exploring the area by Riverwalk it's quiet convenient to add the cathedral as one of the quick diversions. Even if you are not religious, but interested in history, it is an interesting historic landmark, since the remains of the Alamo defenders (Crockett and Bowie among others) are placed in a tomb at the entrance to the left and you can access it without entering the main part of the cathedral. Light show at night (only Tue, Fri, Sat and Sun 9,9.30 and 10) brings the building back to life thru very special light show. Highly recommended.

    Atul S.

    Cathedral looks great from outside and centrally located. Many photoshoot happens outside it seems. Huge from inside too. Nice architecture on sides but ceiling is plain unlike most great cathedrals. However it's nicely managed. From both interior and exterior.

    St Fernando Cathedral
    Kristina F.

    Unique light show, unlike anything we have seen elsewhere. Lasts about 25 minutes and captures and keeps your attention the whole time. Love that it is done onto the face of a cathedral. Large courtyard with seating a plus.

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    Beautiful cathedral. The architecture is stunning and when you sit in the church you can picture the history!

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    Page 1 of 4

    Ask the Community - San Fernando Cathedral

    What about parking on a Sunday?

    On Sunday, visitors to San Fernando Cathedral may park free of charge in the lot surrounding City Hall located behind the cathedral on Flores St. I do recommend arriving early for Mass. Be sure to pay attention to special reserved spaces, which I… Read more

    View All 4 Questions

    Review Highlights - San Fernando Cathedral

    I finally made it to to see this wonderful light show by the amazing French artist, Xavier De Richemont.

    Mentioned in 28 reviews

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    Community Bible Church - CBC students in small groups

    Community Bible Church

    4.5(98 reviews)
    12.9 mi

    So far we love it here! We never saw ourselves being interested in a "mega church," but out of…read morenowhere, a couple months ago, God called us to check this specific church. We understand we can't expect the same individualized care from the executive leadership that we could in a smaller congregation, but we look forward to navigating our walk here in the context of the system of delegation that is in place-- Thank God for the blueprint (Exodus 18). Anyway, there will likely be a learning curve. The campus is quite far from us, so we watched their services and podcasts online for a few weeks before deciding to make the drive to visit in person. Church is always better in person. We were welcomed warmly (not overly/fakely so but just enough), and we were given information on small groups which will be key for connection and discipleship. Pastor Ed and his wife Stephanie seem deeply rooted in and passionate about teaching the Word, and their love for each other and the flock appears genuine. Marge from the prayer team was so kind when I went up for prayer and anointing by an elder, and so far this has been a weekly option for those who want to obey the command of James 5:14-15. We're excited to learn more, go through the membership classes, and start serving on one (or several) their MANY weekend/community service teams.

    I had a buddy pass away who attended this church on a regular basis and contributed $300 each visit…read more(I know because I was not only his friend but the executor of his estate) One of his finale request to me 4 months before his passing he asked that Minister Ed say a few words at his viewing. Well once he passed I call the church and spoke with the lady that handles this. Well don't you know that Minister Ed is booked out 1 yr in advance and could not make the time. I said ok, well is the any other minister or church representative that can attend the viewing and say a few words (the viewing was a week away). Don't you know that NO ONE was gonna be available, PERIOD So much for caring for their church members. We had another church pastor attend with a couple days notice.

    Photos
    Community Bible Church - Monday night at CBC Southside BBOB

    Monday night at CBC Southside BBOB

    Community Bible Church - CBC West on December 24, 2025

    CBC West on December 24, 2025

    Community Bible Church

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    The RIM Church

    The RIM Church

    3.5(4 reviews)
    11.0 mi

    We attended The RIm Church with our daughter who is actively involved in the Church. Super-easy…read morelocation to find and parking did not appear to be a problem (but we parked in first time visitors parking). As we walked up to the entrance, it became clear there were lots of young adults and young families. Everyone was friendly and very welcoming. I had missed my morning coffee and it was great to be able to grab one which seemed to be part of the church routine for lots of folks. The kid church and classes for different age groups was extremely well organized. One thing that I noticed, was the mindset that if they didn't recognize you, they greeted you. It would have been difficult to feel ignored or that we weren't welcome. The music was contemporary but many songs were familiar. I thought the music was less of a show-production (no stage, or smoke & lights) And more about participation and preperation for the rest of the service. The music is very well done. Again, as I looked around it struck me that so many young adults filled up the room. Certainly there were more than a few of us gray-headed boomers so we didn't feel out of place. The message was well put together and nicely delivered but the thing that I truly took away was the sense that The Rim Church was a lot more than just a Sunday Service. They talked about their small home groups that meet Sunday evenings. We have attended a few of the Mega-Churches in San Antonio and while they are impressive and welcoming, Its not hard to get lost in the 1000's of attendees. The sense from The Rim Church is the opposite. If you find yourself looking for a welcoming Church to to make a home, I'd certainly recommend you check out The RIM Church. Sunday 10am...

    A truly awful excuse for a church. I was there multiple times over a year ago. On my first time, I…read morewalked in and sat down for a while (which churches are not supposed to let happen) and it was so awkward. Real churches have somebody there to greet people at the door which they I noticed they did on subsequent visits. Eventually somebody chatted with me and welcomed me, but talk about not doing basics. The pastor said in the sermon that they wanted to get to knew newcomers. If they did, they would just introduce themselves like a normal true Christian, not tell people to sign up at a table for a dinner. That is asinine and surreal. Talk about dystopian crassness and low class. The next time I went a girl at the front door that visited my old church Bible study saw me and did not have the decency and class to greet me and introduce me to other people in the church, which is what a traditional church greeter does, which creates community in love. And she, I found out later, was "in ministry". The church breaks up the sermon to have short Bible study groups instead of before or after the service. That is bizarre and ridiculous. That does not create true community as it is not enough time to connect. Several people will sit next to you and introduce themselves to you, but that is not spontaneous, and they will never see you again or have you sit next to them next time. That is contrived fake Christian love. If you love people you introduce yourselves to them. That is what "class" is- kindness and graciousness. Everyone is supposed to greet people who are new and introduce themselves. That is basic Christianity for over 1,000 years that most churches in San Antonio do not have. The pastor's tats at the time make him look like a meth addict. Tats are an indication of a very erratic personality per psychological studies, and a effacement of God's creation. That's why God mentioned no tattoos in Leviticus. The final coup de grace was when I got a text inviting me to a "leadership conference" which the church charged 15 dollars for! This is not a church, but rather an ego project and a country club. And I am not going to talk about the music that is hokey, modern and lacking in depth that Biblical praise, what God's word calls us to sing prescribes --Psalms and hymns. If you look at which church planted this church, it makes complete sense, because it is the same failed pattern--full churches but empty of real love of Christ or real community.

    Photos
    The RIM Church - Music is great

    Music is great

    The RIM Church - No strangers

    No strangers

    The RIM Church

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    Pearl St. Church - In my broken star they helped me see my purpose by pointing me to Jesus and a community that's didn't give up on me.

    Pearl St. Church

    3.8(21 reviews)
    1.3 miEastside

    This Church loved me when I was in my hardest forms to love and be loved, Without this Church I…read morewould be in a club dead or in the street dead spiritually or even literally. The people at this church DO CARE, they are imperfect as ALL of us are. Before church I had never continually gone to a church before. I found Pearl Street right before my life fell apart. The staff here, such as Briana Ortiz, Pastor Faith, Pastor Maria & Pastor Greg are some of the people that stewarded my pain with love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. But the main reason I believe that this church is worth attending and making your home is because Pastor Brent truly seeks the lord and dwells in the secrets place. People are imperfect and so is Pastor Brent but it's our job as Christians to trust that the Lord will appoint leaders perfectly in the perfect timing, even though they are in perfect in your/our eyes. So take a chance, stay until your Betterness goes away, every church you go to will have something you don't like. I've been attending Four years and three years of being baptized, and really coming to my salvation in Christ Jesus. My names Michaela and I would love to embrace you the ways I was embraced by this community. Love you hope to see you soon

    Obnoxiously loud, they take up the whole street and road considering they are a "church" they are…read morevery self absorbed

    Photos
    Pearl St. Church
    Pearl St. Church
    Pearl St. Church

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    Luminous Church - A father and his sons learning how to joyfully obey Jesus on the journey!

    Luminous Church

    5.0(16 reviews)
    7.1 mi

    Luminous a great church to help come and bring people together! Pastor Ben is very relatable and…read morelove how much passion he has when he preaches. I've been coming here for about 6 months now, since I moved from Hawaii. They are a sister church from my previous location on Oahu. We are also an Every Nation Campus and love the diversity of the church. Please come join us every Sunday at 10am at the Palladium! All is welcome!

    I've been attending Luminous Church for several years now & I can give an honest review at this…read morepoint. A little about my background - I was raised Catholic but my family was not really active in the church life. Growing up, I feared God. I never felt comfortable with my faith/beliefs but I always felt like I wanted to believe in and pursue God. Well, in college I joined a Christian non-denominational group on campus and got a taste of what it could mean to have a relationship with Jesus. Ultimately, the group was not for me although I am grateful to have encountered them. I moved to San Antonio in 2014/2015 and my good friend friend TJ invited me to Luminous Church. I thought it was weird that they met at a movie theater but decided to go check it out. I met Pastor Ben who is the lead pastor that day as "PB" and one of my first impressions of him was that perhaps he was "loud" and "high energy" which was odd to me at first but I think that helped me feel more at ease as a new prospective member. I've always known leaders of a church to have this intimidating seriousness about them - so this was different but not so bad lol. Then in one of his first sermons I heard him say "MAN, I'm all Jacked Up!!" I thought to myself - MEE TOO!!" meaning that we are messed up humans and we need Jesus! It's funny now but I love Pastor Ben's REALNESS. Very knowledgeable and I have always been able to take some encouraging word from his preachings. In the past, I've struggled with feeling of unworthiness and a false idea of what a "Christian" is supposed to look like. There's no such thing as a perfect Christian. YOU ARE WORTHY OF God's Love, come as you are. This is what I learned at Luminous Church. I am very grateful to be a part of this church and that my children are growing up in the church - a life I never knew but my kids now get to experience. Oh, we still meet at a theater (for now)but I think it's actually fun now. For those shy peeps, you can kinda sneak in and out and it's dim hehe.

    Photos
    Luminous Church - Pastor Adrian Crawford from Engage Church Tallahassee preaching on a New Reality!

    Pastor Adrian Crawford from Engage Church Tallahassee preaching on a New Reality!

    Luminous Church - From CrossFit at the Tribe to now growing closer to Jesus in church!

    From CrossFit at the Tribe to now growing closer to Jesus in church!

    Luminous Church - Military family finding life in community!

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    Military family finding life in community!

    Grace Point Church - Medical Center - Christmas Eve service

    Grace Point Church - Medical Center

    4.2(13 reviews)
    9.3 mi

    Pastor Jeff is amazing. We will deeply miss his sermons. But have no choice but to leave the…read morechurch. The youth pastor Levi Yancy not so good. He took my children out of my home while I was at work without my permission. He took Joselyn Wilson with him. My kids were at her home without my permission. My kids both later told me they didn't wanna go with her without my permission, but she cohersed them. I have tried to reach out to talk to the lead pastor but not able to get an appointment. The leaders in the youth side OVERSTEP AND DO NOT RESPECT BOUNDARIES. They brainwashed my kids. Eucharia is a leader there also who said God told her that my kids were in danger. They take their job with them everywhere. They go thinking that they are CPS. I had to call the police to get my kids back. And then they accuse me of being a negligent parent and the cases were dropped. I have gone to Church for 45 years grew up in a Christian home with parents that have been married for 57 years and I have never had a bad experience in a church until now. I am so scared that the church is going to take my kids again from me. Why are adults texting and messaging my kids and not talking to me first?!! it is so weird and bizarre and now we are scared to go back to church. This is not ok.

    My husband and I have been members of Grace Point for 9 years. Bible-centric teaching and unique…read moreSunday school program for kids 1st to 5th grade. My husband has been a Sunday school teacher for as long as we've been attending. The same Bible story is taught 6 different ways and the kids go through the rotation. Often I hear that the kids are the ones that bring the parents to church after attending Sunday school here. This Easter the church had the egg catapult as a unique way for kids to collect Easter eggs. Hot dogs and roasted corn were served for free. Recently the church had Kite day/Sunday funday where there were food and activities for kids including alpacas. There are Lifegroups that meet at people's home throughout the city to grow, have community and have Bible Study together. Ministries including prison, foster and adopt and human and sex trafficking. Local and global missions as well! Come check it out!

    Photos
    Grace Point Church - Medical Center - DeJuan and the coffee and tea station

    DeJuan and the coffee and tea station

    Grace Point Church - Medical Center - Mission and apples

    Mission and apples

    Grace Point Church - Medical Center - Mission trip team to Piedras Negras

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    Mission trip team to Piedras Negras

    San Fernando Cathedral - churches - Updated July 2026

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