St. Vincent de Paul parish was formed by Archbishop Patrick J, Riordan on August 24, 1901. The first Mass was offered in a hall on Fillmore Street on September 22, 1901 by Father Martin Ryan, the first Pastor. In 1902 the rectory and a one-story church over a hall was built at the present site at Green and Steiner streets. Both structures survived the earthquake of 1906. In 1911, work began on the superstructure which is the present church.

The first Mass in the new church was celebrated by the Archbishop on October 26, 1913. It became known as the "Church of the Exposition", the Panama-Pacific Exposition for which the Marina was created to celebrate the City's recovery from the earthquake. A parish school was erected in 1924. In the 1940s the noted stained glass windows were made by Carl Hunecke of the Century Stained Glass Studio of San Francisco. In 1948 the gymnasium and junior high school building were added. The church was retrofitted after an earthquake in 1957.

Rev. Martin P. Ryan 1901-1941
Rev. James H. Long 1941-1951
Rev. Thomas N. O'Kane 1951-1964
Rev. Msgr. William J. Clasby 1965- 1986
Rev. John K. Ring 1986-2011
Rev. Kenneth Westray 2011-2020