St. Paul's traces its history back to 1876 when George Shadbourne communicated a desire to Archbishop Joseph Alemany, OP to have a new parish established, as well as a willingness to help collect money, purchase land, and construct a parish church.

Archbishop Alemany approved the request, and in 1880 a church building and a residence for the curé was built.

In 1897, growth led the parish to construct the current 1,400 seat English Gothic structure.

At one point, the archdiocese seriously considered closing St. Paul's because of the potential costs of reinforcing the church and adjacent buildings; this decision was later reversed.

While the parish – called "St. Katherine's Monastery" in the film – is actually in the upscale middle class neighborhood of Noe Valley, the surrounding area was set redressed to make it appear that the church was in a much poorer community like the Tenderloin or Bayview.