Bombing of the Saints Peter and Paul Church

In 1926 and 1927, Saints Peter and Paul Church in San Francisco's North Beach neighborhood was bombed four times. Opened in 1924, this Catholic church was predominantly used by San Francisco's Catholic Italian community. Though these bombs were relatively small, they did create enough damage to the church that its insurance provider refused to offer further insurance to the church.

While the majority of Italians and Italian immigrants to America were religiously Catholic, there was also a very strong anti-clerical movement within Italy and within the Italian immigrant community. One reason for anti-clerical activism was due to the Catholic Church's constant support of right wing political parties. Many leftist Italians were active in anti-clerical activism, and anti-clerical papers were widely circulated within the Italian community of San Francisco.

No one took credit for the bombings of Saints Peter and Paul Church. Instead, a bomb would go off every few months, first in January 1926, then again in May and October. Another bomb went off inside the church in January 1927. Though there was a police officer monitoring the church by then, he was unable to catch the bombers.

The bombs were always placed at night and no one was ever injured.

There was a lot of speculation as to who was responsible for these bombs. Many believed the bombings were the work of insurrectionary anarchists. There was a strong current of insurrectionary activity in the Italian anarchist community. These anarchists believed that political violence was a means to creating mass social revolution.

On the night of March 6th, 1927 the bombers came back to yet again bomb the church. After months of staking out the church the police were sitting in wait. The police were able to catch the bombers in the act. One bomber was shot and killed. The other was shot and wounded. The dead man was identified as G. Ricca, and the wounded was identified as Celsten Eklund. Eklund refused to cooperate with the police and refused to answer any questions, so little is known about either man or their motivation. Eklund died a few months later from his gunshot wound.

It is speculated that Eklund was sympathetic to the Industrial Works of the World, a radical labor union and was influenced by insurrectionary Italian anarchist Luigi Galleani.

Saints Peter and Paul Church continues to tower over the North Beach neighborhood at 666 Filbert St.