Where was Sister Act filmed?

Sister Act gets underway with a trip back in time. The film opens at St Anne’s Academy in 1968, the religious school attended by a young Deloris. However, it becomes clear pretty quickly that Deloris has little respect for the nuns tasked with giving her an education. “Who can name all the apostles?” a nun asks her class, and young Deloris’ hand shoots up straight away. “John, Paul, George, and Ringo,” she smiles cheekily, much to the delight of her classmates. The nun, however, is far from amused. “Deloris Wilson, you are the most unruly, disobedient girl in this school,” she responds sternly, before telling Deloris her poor behavior will lead straight to the devil. This Sister Act filming location is St Thomas Aquinas Cathedral in Reno. You can find it at 310 West Second Street, more or less right in the heart of the city.

Fast-forward to the present day and we learn that Deloris’ life is a mess. After performing to a disinterested crowd at the Moonlite Lounge, we see Deloris in her apartment with her boyfriend Vince. But Vince, we soon learn, is a married man, and Deloris is just his little something on the side. “You still haven’t told me what she said,” Deloris says, and she’s less than happy when Vince tries to play dumb. “The one with the mustache, the one you’re married to,” she continues, but Vince’s evasiveness reveals that he hasn’t told his wife about his relationship with Deloris. Vince swears he wants to be together with Deloris as an honest couple, and that he went to confession to tell a priest about his love for Deloris. Unfortunately, the priest’s response was less than accepting: “He said that if I got divorced I’d burn in hell for all eternity,” Vince claims. Deloris’ Reno apartment is found at 195 North Virginia Street in Reno, just 0.2 miles from St Thomas Aquinas Cathedral which features in the scene above.

Having witnessed a brutal murder and with Vince’s goons hot on her tail, Deloris flees in terror. She heads straight for the police station, where her whole world is about to be turned upside down. A frazzled Deloris explains to the police about the murder, but they’re quick to point out that she is Vince’s girlfriend. “You realize he’s a major underworld figure, don’t you?” asks Eddie. Deloris is stunned to learn that Vince is involved in drug dealing and money laundering and has been under investigation by the police for 18 months. “Apparently there’s a lot you don’t know about Vince,” Eddie continues. “I mean, the last two people that saw him in action kind of disappeared.” Deloris thought she was in love with Vince, but in truth, she didn’t know him at all. The building exterior you see in the film isn’t actually Reno’s police department headquarters but is instead what was at the time the Reno Post Office. If you want to check out this pretty Art Deco building for yourself, you can find it at 50 South Virginia Street on the southern bank of the Truckee River.

After finding out she’ll be sent to witness protection in the last place on earth Vince will think to look for her, Deloris is flown to San Francisco. There, we get our first look at the front of St Katherine’s, the convent where Deloris will hide out as Sister Mary Clarence. “It’s the safest place in the world. You think Vince is going to look for you in a convent?” Eddie asks a skeptical Deloris. “You’re a lunatic. Put me in a damn convent with these people. These people don't even have sex!” she spits, storming out of the church. The exterior of the church used as a Sister Act filming location is St Paul’s Catholic Church in San Francisco. You can find it at 221 Valley Street, just south of Dolores Heights, and you might be surprised to learn that the neighborhood certainly isn’t as seedy as it’s presented in the film.

Adjusting to life in a convent is proving to be a whole lot easier said than done. The strict rules, the rigid routine, and the stern presence of Reverend Mother are all a lot for Deloris to take. And when it all gets too much, she decides to sneak out late at night to the bar across the street. It’s a pretty rough place, and the sight of a nun strolling in through the front door attracts plenty of bemused chuckles. A couple of bar goers try to intimidate her, but Deloris is in her element and quickly puts them in her place before ordering a beer. But as she sits at the bar and enjoys the music, feeling the best she has since she arrived at St Katherine’s, little does Deloris know that Sister Mary Robert (Wendy Makkena) and Sister Mary Patrick (Kathy Najimy) have followed her to the bar. Dismayed, she tries to get rid of them, but the naive nuns believe Deloris is in the bar to do God’s work. And when Sister Mary Patrick enthusiastically takes to the dance floor, Deloris can’t help but smile, but she eventually shepherds her friends out the door. “If this turns into a nun’s bar, I’m outta here,” says one customer to another as the three women exit. This film shoot location for the scene at Basgo’s Disco was 3909 West Sunset Boulevard in the Silver Lake neighborhood of LA. As you can see, that’s quite a long way away from where St Katherine’s is located in San Francisco.

Deloris was horrified when she found out she’d be spending witness protection in a convent, but little did she know that her time in the nunnery would help her make lifelong friends. After Vince kidnaps Deloris and Sister Mary Robert, Deloris helps her meek and mild friend escape. Meanwhile, the rest of the nuns are stunned to learn the truth about the woman they know as Sister Mary Clarence. “Why would anyone kidnap a nun?” asks a confused Sister Mary Patrick. “She isn’t a nun,” responds a dejected Reverend Mother. “She’s a lounge singer. Her real name is Deloris Van Cartier. She witnessed a vicious crime and has been hiding in our convent.” At first they’re shocked to learn Deloris’ true identity, but then they vow to do whatever they can to help her. United, the nuns decide to go to Reno, where Vince is taking Deloris, and rescue their friend. After guilting a helicopter pilot into getting them there, they race through the streets of Reno to find the Moonlite Lounge, stopping traffic as they run across the road in front of the Reno Arch. The famous Reno Arch, on which the city’s slogan (“The biggest little city in the world”) can be seen, is found at 345 North Virginia Street. It’s well worth stopping by to grab a photo if you’re ever spending a day or three as a tourist in Reno.