A dolphin-shaped door handle from the entrance to the South Tower of Grace Cathedral.

San Francisco is named for Saint Francis, the "troubadour saint", whose love of Creation and all creatures spilled over into joyful song and dance. In the same jubilant spirit, details in Grace Cathedral's stained glass windows, murals, bronze doors and other furnishings celebrate the world of fin, feather and fur. The following is a sampling of the cathedral's fauna, presented in the sprit of a medieval bestiary -- a book of familiar and fabulous animals.

The transformation of a caterpillar, entombed in its chrysalis, into a gorgeous winged butterfly, is a symbol or rebirth and the resurrection of Christ. The cathedral's bronze butterfly samples a flower on the New Testament Children's Door to the north tower (Bruce Moore, 1970).

Grace Cathedral's emblem is the Holy Spirit descending in the form of a Dove of Grace, sign of God's abundant love and grace for all people and all Creation. A prominent contemporary-style dove is seen in the rosette of the New Testament Baptism window in the south aisle (Marguerite Gaudin, Willet Studios, 1966).

Having just left Noah's ark, this elephant is a little unstable on its feet. The net on its back the type worn by elephants in Roman gladiator spectacles. This bronze elephant can be found on the Doors of Paradise, the cathedral's main doors. The doors are duplicates of the famed Renaissance masterpiece of Florentine sculptor Lorenzo Ghiberti, completed in 1452.

Jesus told the parable of the young sheep that wandered away from the flock and was found and brought back safely by the shepherd. Jesus described himself as the Good Shepherd, who gives up his life for the sheep. In the Seraphim window (Charles Connick Studios, 1931) at the west end of Grace Cathedral, Jesus is shown as the Good Shepherd, cradling the lamb in his arms.

The eagle-like phoenix is a mythical Egyptian bird. Every five hundred years it would sacrifice itself to the sun god and rise reborn from the ashes. In Christian symbology, it represents Resurrection and immortality. The Phoenix is also the emblem of the city of San Francisco, which rose newborn from the ashes of the 1906 earthquake and fire. This bronze phoenix is seen on the New Testament Children's doors to the north tower (Bruce Moore, 1970).

Despite intense urbanization, the raccoon has always been present in the San Francisco Bay area. A nocturnal creature whose name means "hand-scratcher" in Algonquian, the raccoon "washes" its food. This charming raccoon family appears in the north aisle's Grace Chapel mural (Antonio Sotomayor, 1982) which shows the founding of Grace parish in gold-rush San Francisco.

Eight of these two-legged winged dragons perch around the base of the cathedral's fleche or central spire (Weihe, Frick & Krause, 1964). They are not gargoyles which double as drainspouts, but decorative "grotesques." These mythical creatures serve as "holy pit bulls," warding off evil forces from cathedral and city.

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