The Roman Catholic Diocese of San José in California ( la, Diœcesis Sancti Josephi in California; es, Diócesis de San José en California) is an ecclesiastical territory or

diocese In Ecclesiastical polity, church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop. History In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided Roman province, pro ...

of the

Roman Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

in the northern

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

region of the United States. It comprises

Santa Clara County Santa Clara County, officially the County of Santa Clara, is the sixth-most populous county in the U.S. state of California, with a population of 1,936,259, as of the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census. Santa Clara County and neighboring Sa ...

, and is led by a

bishop A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...

. Its

patron saint A patron saint, patroness saint, patron hallow or heavenly protector is a saint who in Catholicism, Anglicanism, or Eastern Orthodoxy is regarded as the heavenly advocate of a nation, place, craft, activity, class, clan, family, or perso ...

s are

Saint Joseph Joseph (; el, Ἰωσήφ, translit=Ioséph) was a 1st-century Jewish man of Nazareth who, according to the canonical Gospels, was married to Mary, the mother of Jesus, and was the legal father of Jesus. The Gospels also name some brothers of ...

and

Saint Clare of Assisi Clare of Assisi (born Chiara Offreduccio and sometimes spelled Clara, Clair, Claire, Sinclair; 16 July 1194 – 11 August 1253) was an Italian saint and one of the first followers of Francis of Assisi. She founded the Order of Poor Ladies, ...

. The diocese is a

suffragan A suffragan bishop is a type of bishop in some Christian denominations. In the Anglican Communion, a suffragan bishop is a bishop who is subordinate to a metropolitan bishop or diocesan bishop (bishop ordinary) and so is not normally jurisdictiona ...

of the

Archdiocese of San Francisco The Archdiocese of San Francisco (Latin language, Latin: ''Archdiœcesis Sancti Francisci''; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Archidiócesis de San Francisco'') is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Catholic Church in the north ...

. Its fellow suffragans include the Dioceses of

Honolulu Honolulu (; ) is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Hawaii, which is in the Pacific Ocean. It is an unincorporated county seat of the consolidated City and County of Honolulu, situated along the southeast coast of the island ...

Las Vegas Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vegas ...

Oakland Oakland is the largest city and the county seat of Alameda County, California, United States. A major West Coast port, Oakland is the largest city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area, the third largest city overall in the Bay A ...

Reno Reno ( ) is a city in the northwest section of the U.S. state of Nevada, along the Nevada-California border, about north from Lake Tahoe, known as "The Biggest Little City in the World". Known for its casino and tourism industry, Reno is the c ...

Sacramento ) , image_map = Sacramento County California Incorporated and Unincorporated areas Sacramento Highlighted.svg , mapsize = 250x200px , map_caption = Location within Sacramento ...

Salt Lake City Salt Lake City (often shortened to Salt Lake and abbreviated as SLC) is the Capital (political), capital and List of cities and towns in Utah, most populous city of Utah, United States. It is the county seat, seat of Salt Lake County, Utah, Sal ...

Santa Rosa Santa Rosa is the Italian, Portuguese and Spanish name for Saint Rose. Santa Rosa may also refer to: Places Argentina *Santa Rosa, Mendoza, a city * Santa Rosa, Tinogasta, Catamarca * Santa Rosa, Valle Viejo, Catamarca *Santa Rosa, La Pampa * Sa ...

and Stockton. The Cathedral Basilica of St. Joseph in

Downtown San Jose Downtown San Jose is the central business district of San Jose, California. Downtown is one of the largest tech clusters in Silicon Valley, as well as the cultural and political center of San Jose. History The town was first settled in 1777. T ...

is the

cathedral church A cathedral is a church (building), church that contains the ''cathedra'' () of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, Annual conferences within Methodism, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral ...

of the diocese. The diocesan offices are located at 1150 North First Street. The diocese serves approximately 600,000 Catholics in 54 parishes and missions, three university campus ministries, and 34 schools.

History

Mission Santa Clara de Asís Benjamin Frazier (cropped)

Church of the Five Wounds, San Jose, California (cropped)

USA-Santa Clara-Carmelite Convent-1 (cropped)

The Roman Catholic Church in present-day Santa Clara County dates to the founding of

Mission Santa Clara de Asís Mission Santa Clara de Asís ( es, Misión Santa Clara de Asís) is a Spanish mission in the city of Santa Clara, California. The mission, which was the eighth in California, was founded on January 12, 1777, by the Franciscan order. Named for ...

(a Spanish mission) in 1777, during the era of the

Provincias Internas The Provincias Internas, also known as the Comandancia y Capitanía General de las Provincias Internas (Commandancy and General Captaincy of the Internal Provinces), was an administrative district of the Spanish Empire created in 1776 to provide m ...

New Spain New Spain, officially the Viceroyalty of New Spain ( es, Virreinato de Nueva España, ), or Kingdom of New Spain, was an integral territorial entity of the Spanish Empire, established by Habsburg Spain during the Spanish colonization of the Am ...

. Originally a part of the

Diocese of Sonora The Archdiocese of Hermosillo ( la, Archidioecesis Hermosillensis) is a Roman Catholic Diocese, Archdiocese located in Hermosillo, Sonora, Mexico. Its area is 90,959 sq. miles, and its population (2004) 1,067,051. The bishop resides at Hermosill ...

in Mexico, in 1840 San Jose and the rest of

the Californias The Californias (Spanish: ''Las Californias''), occasionally known as The Three Californias or Two Californias, are a region of North America spanning the United States and Mexico, consisting of the U.S. state of California and the Mexican stat ...

became part of the Diocese of Alta and Baja California, headquartered in Santa Barbara. In 1850, two years after the

Mexican Cession The Mexican Cession ( es, Cesión mexicana) is the region in the modern-day southwestern United States that Mexico originally controlled, then ceded to the United States in the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo in 1848 after the Mexican–American War ...

, the Diocese of Alta and Baja California was split between the American and Mexican territories, and San Jose became a part of the

Diocese of Monterey ''This article describes the present Diocese of Monterey in California. The entity previously known as the Diocese of Monterey from 1849 until 1859, and subsequently known as the Diocese of Monterey-Los Angeles from 1859 until 1922, is the presen ...

. In 1853, the northern half of the county became part of the

, while the areas around Gilroy and

Morgan Hill Morgan Hill is a city in Santa Clara County, California, at the southern tip of Silicon Valley, in the San Francisco Bay Area. Morgan Hill is an affluent residential community, the seat of several high-tech companies, and a dining, entertainmen ...

remained in the Diocese of Monterey. In 1922 the

American Catholic Church American Catholic Church and American Catholic commonly refer to: * Catholic Church in the United States, the Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, in the US American Catholic Church may also refer to: * American Catholic Chur ...

decided to use

county A county is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesChambers Dictionary, L. Brookes (ed.), 2005, Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, Edinburgh in certain modern nations. The term is derived from the Old French ...

boundaries for dioceses, and the southern half of the county was transferred to the Archdiocese of San Francisco.

Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II ( la, Ioannes Paulus II; it, Giovanni Paolo II; pl, Jan Paweł II; born Karol Józef Wojtyła ; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 1978 until his ...

granted the See of San Jose independence on January 27, 1981; the diocese was canonically erected later that year by

archbishop In Christian denominations, an archbishop is a bishop of higher rank or office. In most cases, such as the Catholic Church, there are many archbishops who either have jurisdiction over an ecclesiastical province in addition to their own archdi ...

Pio Laghi Pio Laghi (21 May 1922 – 10 January 2009) was an Italian cardinal of the Catholic Church. His service was primarily in the diplomatic service of the Holy See and the Roman Curia. He served as Apostolic nuncio to several countries and as the P ...

Apostolic Delegate An apostolic nuncio ( la, nuntius apostolicus; also known as a papal nuncio or simply as a nuncio) is an ecclesiastical diplomat, serving as an envoy or a permanent diplomatic representative of the Holy See to a state or to an international o ...

to the United States, and John R. Quinn,

Metropolitan Metropolitan may refer to: * Metropolitan area, a region consisting of a densely populated urban core and its less-populated surrounding territories * Metropolitan borough, a form of local government district in England * Metropolitan county, a typ ...

Archbishop of San Francisco The Archdiocese of San Francisco (Latin: ''Archdiœcesis Sancti Francisci''; Spanish: ''Archidiócesis de San Francisco'') is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Catholic Church in the northern California region of the Unite ...

, on March 18, the vigil of the

feast A banquet (; ) is a formal large meal where a number of people consume food together. Banquets are traditionally held to enhance the prestige of a host, or reinforce social bonds among joint contributors. Modern examples of these purposes i ...

. The first Bishop of San Jose was

Pierre DuMaine Roland Pierre DuMaine (August 2, 1931 – June 13, 2019) was an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as the first bishop of the Diocese of San José in California from 1981 to 1999. He also served as an auxiliary bish ...

, and the first

cathedral A cathedral is a church that contains the '' cathedra'' () of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral" are usually specific to those Christian denomination ...

of the diocese was

Saint Patrick Proto-Cathedral Parish Our Lady of La Vang Parish ( vi, Giáo Xứ Đức Mẹ La Vang, es, Iglesia Católica Nuestra Señora de La Vang), formerly Saint Patrick Proto-Cathedral Parish, is a Vietnamese national parish and former cathedral of the Roman Catholic Dioces ...

. The

1989 Loma Prieta earthquake The 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake occurred on California's Central Coast on October 17 at local time. The shock was centered in The Forest of Nisene Marks State Park in Santa Cruz County, approximately northeast of Santa Cruz on a section of t ...

damaged St. Joseph's Cathedral, resulting in the need for $22 million in repairs;Diocese Expected to Seal St. Joseph's Land Deal / Parkland and homes slated for Cupertino site
a July 8, 1998 article from the ''

San Francisco Chronicle The ''San Francisco Chronicle'' is a newspaper serving primarily the San Francisco Bay Area of Northern California. It was founded in 1865 as ''The Daily Dramatic Chronicle'' by teenage brothers Charles de Young and M. H. de Young, Michael H. de ...

'' it also damaged Saint Joseph's Seminary of Mountain View, resulting in the death of someone working in the tower. St. Joseph's, a

Sulpician The Society of Priests of Saint-Sulpice (french: Compagnie des Prêtres de Saint-Sulpice), abbreviated PSS also known as the Sulpicians is a society of apostolic life of Pontifical Right for men, named after the Church of Saint-Sulpice, Paris, ...

seminary at one time affiliated with Saint Patrick Seminary, was subsequently closed and demolished, with the intent to sell part of the land to build luxury homes and use the proceeds to repay a $20 million loan used to repair the cathedral. As part of the deal with the Cupertino City Council, were donated to the county park system, to be added to

Rancho San Antonio County Park Rancho San Antonio County Park and Rancho San Antonio Open Space Preserve are a conjoined public recreational area in the Santa Cruz Mountains, in the northwest quadrant of Santa Clara County, California. The County Park is bordered by Los Altos ...

Reports of sex abuse

On October 18, 2018, the Diocese of San Jose released the names of 15 former priests who served the Diocese and were "credibly accused" of sexual abuse. It was also reported that the Diocese knew about the allegations against these priests and shielded them from potential prosecution. From May to December 2019, the Diocese of San Jose along with six five dioceses provided numerous documents to California State Attorney

Xavier Becerra Xavier Becerra ( ; ; born January 26, 1958) is an American lawyer and politician serving as the 25th United States secretary of health and human services since March 2021. Becerra previously served as the attorney general of California from Jan ...

in preparation for a series of pending lawsuits which are expected to be filed after a new California law which will temporarily remove the statute of limitations goes into effect on January 1, 2020.

Bishops

The bishops who served in this diocese and their tenures of service:

Bishops of San José in California

(January 27, 1981 – November 27, 1999) #

Patrick Joseph McGrath Patrick Joseph McGrath (pronounced ; born June 11, 1945) is an Irish-born American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as bishop of the Diocese of San Jose in California from 1999 to 2019 and as an auxiliary bishop of the Archdi ...

(November 27, 1999 – May 1, 2019) #

Oscar Cantú Oscar Cantú (born December 5, 1966) is a Mexican-American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church who has been serving as bishop of the Diocese of San Jose in California since 2018. He served as bishop of the Diocese of Las Cruces in New Mexico fro ...

(May 1, 2019–present)

Coadjutor Bishops

* Patrick Joseph McGrath (1998–1999) *

(2018–2019)

Auxiliary Bishop

* Thomas A. Daly (May 25, 2011 – May 20, 2015), appointed Bishop of Spokane

Other priest of this diocese who became Bishop

Richard John Garcia Richard John Garcia (April 24, 1947 – July 11, 2018) was an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as the fourth bishop of the Diocese of Monterey in California from 2007 until his death in 2018. He previously served as an ...

, appointed auxiliary bishop of Sacramento in 1997 and later appointed Bishop of Monterey in 2006

Education

Notre_Dame_High_School_(San_Jose,_California)_4129

In terms of student population, the diocese is the second largest education provider in the county, trailing only San Jose Unified School District. Most of the

primary school A primary school (in Ireland, the United Kingdom, Australia, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, and South Africa), junior school (in Australia), elementary school or grade school (in North America and the Philippines) is a school for primary e ...

s are parochial, or operated by a parish, while all the

high school A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper seconda ...

s are operated by either the diocese or by a

religious institute A religious institute is a type of institute of consecrated life in the Catholic Church whose members take religious vows and lead a life in community with fellow members. Religious institutes are one of the two types of institutes of consecrate ...

Santa Clara University Santa Clara University is a private Jesuit university in Santa Clara, California. Established in 1851, Santa Clara University is the oldest operating institution of higher learning in California. The university's campus surrounds the historic Mis ...

is a

Jesuit , image = Ihs-logo.svg , image_size = 175px , caption = ChristogramOfficial seal of the Jesuits , abbreviation = SJ , nickname = Jesuits , formation = , founders ...

-run

university A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, t ...

at the site of

Mission Santa Clara Mission (from Latin ''missio'' "the act of sending out") may refer to: Organised activities Religion *Christian mission, an organized effort to spread Christianity *Mission (LDS Church), an administrative area of The Church of Jesus Christ of ...

Primary schools

*Canyon Heights Academy ''administrated by the

Legionaries of Christ The Congregation of the Legionaries of Christ ( la, Congregatio Legionariorum Christi; abbreviated LC; also Legion of Christ) is a Roman Catholic clerical religious order made up of priests and candidates for the priesthood established by Marcia ...

'' *Holy Family School (San Jose, CA) *Holy Spirit School (San Jose, CA) *Most Holy Trinity School *Queen of Apostles School *Sacred Heart Nativity School ''sponsored by the

Society of Jesus , image = Ihs-logo.svg , image_size = 175px , caption = ChristogramOfficial seal of the Jesuits , abbreviation = SJ , nickname = Jesuits , formation = , founders ...

'' *

Sacred Heart School (Saratoga, California) Sacred Heart School in Saratoga, California, USA is a private co-educational Roman Catholic school. The school grades range from pre-school for 4–5 year olds through junior high school (8th grade). The school is attached to Sacred Heart Church ...

*Saint Catherine of Alexandria School *Saint Christopher School (San Jose, CA) * Saint Clare School *Saint Elizabeth Seton School ''sponsored by the

Daughters of Charity of Saint Vincent de Paul The Company of the Daughters of Charity of Saint Vincent de Paul ( la, Societas Filiarum Caritatis a Sancto Vincentio de Paulo), commonly called the Daughters of Charity or Sisters of Charity of Saint Vincent De Paul, is a Society of Apostoli ...

'' *Saint Frances Cabrini School *Saint John the Baptist School *Saint John Vianney School * Saint Joseph of Cupertino School *St. Joseph Catholic School (Mountain View, California) *Saint Justin School *Saint Lawrence Elementary and Middle School *

Saint Leo the Great School (San Jose) Saint Leo the Great School is a private Catholic Church, Catholic school (pre-k to 8th) located in the St. Leo's, San Jose, St. Leo's neighborhood of central San Jose, California. Founded in 1915, the school is associated with the Saint Leo the Gr ...

*Saint Lucy School *Saint Martin of Tours School *Saint Mary of the Immaculate Conception School *Saint Mary School Gilroy *Saint Nicholas School * Saint Patrick School ''sponsored by the

'' *Saint Simon School *

Saint Victor School Saint Victor School is a Catholic elementary school, elementary and junior high school operated by Saint Victor Parish in San Jose, California, United States. It serves families of the Catholic Diocese of San Jose in California, Diocese of San Jo ...

High schools

Archbishop Mitty High School Archbishop Mitty High School (commonly known as Mitty) is a private, Roman Catholic high school located in San Jose, California, United States. The school is named for the late John Joseph Mitty, the fourth Archbishop of San Francisco. It was the ...

Bellarmine College Preparatory Bellarmine College Preparatory is an all-male, Jesuit, private secondary school located in San Jose, California. Founded in 1851, it is the oldest secondary school in California and the second-oldest west of the Mississippi River. In 2020, Niche ...

Cristo Rey San José Jesuit High School Cristo Rey San José Jesuit High School is a Private school, private Catholic school, Catholic high school, located in San Jose, California, in the United States. Founded by the California Province of the Society of Jesus in 2014, the school is a ...

* Notre Dame High School *

Presentation High School Presentation High School is a private, Catholic, college preparatory school for girls established in 1962. It is owned and run by the Sisters of the Presentation, and operates within the Diocese of San Jose in California. The school is located i ...

* Saint Francis High School

Closed Schools

* Saint Lawrence Academy * Catholic Academy of Sunnyvale

Parishes

Sacred Heart Church, Washington-Guadalupe, SJ

USA-Gilroy-Saint Mary Catholic Church-2 (cropped)

Alphabetical

;Campbell (1) : Saint Lucy Parish ;Cupertino (1) :

Saint Joseph of Cupertino Parish Saint Joseph of Cupertino Parish is a territorial parish serving Latin Rite Catholics in Cupertino, California, United States. The parish is named for Joseph of Cupertino, and had its origin in a small wooden chapel at the Villa Maria retreat loc ...

;Gilroy (1) :Saint Mary Parish ;Los Altos (2) :Saint Nicholas and Saint William Parish :Saint Simon Parish ;Los Gatos (1) :Saint Mary of the Immaculate Conception Parish ;Milpitas (2) :Saint Elizabeth Parish :Saint John the Baptist Parish ;Morgan Hill (1) :Saint Catherine of Alexandria Parish ;Mountain View (2) :

Saint Athanasius Parish Saint Athanasius Parish is a territorial parish of the Roman Catholic Diocese of San Jose in California. The parish was established June 19, 1959, by John J. Mitty, Doctor of Divinity, D.D., Archbishop of San Francisco, to serve Catholics of Mount ...

: Saint Joseph Parish ;Palo Alto (1) : Saint Thomas Aquinas Parish ;San Jose (30) : Cathedral Basilica of St. Joseph :Christ the King Parish :

Church of the Transfiguration The Church of the Transfiguration ( he, כנסיית ההשתנות) is a Franciscan church located on Mount Tabor in Israel. It is traditionally believed to be the site where the Transfiguration of Jesus took place, an event in the Gospels in ...

Five Wounds Portuguese National Parish Five Wounds Portuguese National Church ( pt, Igreja Nacional Portuguesa das Cinco Chagas) is parish church of the Latin Rite of the Roman Catholic Church in San Jose, California, in the Little Portugal, San Jose, Little Portugal neighborhood of E ...

: Holy Cross Parish :Holy Family Parish :Holy Korean Martyrs Parish :Holy Spirit Parish :Most Holy Trinity Parish :Oratory of the Immaculate Heart of Mary : Our Lady of Guadalupe Parish :

Our Lady of La Vang Parish Our Lady of La Vang Parish ( vi, Giáo Xứ Đức Mẹ La Vang, es, Iglesia Católica Nuestra Señora de La Vang), formerly Saint Patrick Proto-Cathedral Parish, is a Vietnamese national parish and former cathedral of the Roman Catholic Dioces ...

(formerly

) :Our Lady of Refuge :Our Lady Star of the Sea Parish :Queen of Apostles Parish :Sacred Heart of Jesus Parish :Saint Anthony Parish :

Saint Brother Albert Chmielowski Polish Mission Saint Brother Albert Chmielowski Polish Mission ( pl, Polska Misja Katolicka Św. Brata Alberta Chmielowskiego w San Jose) is the parish church of a Polish mission located in San Jose, California. History Upon the creation of the Roman Catholic ...

:Saint Christopher Parish : Saint Frances Cabrini Parish :Saint Francis of Assisi Parish :Saint John Vianney Parish : Saint Julie Billiart Parish :

Saint Leo the Great Parish Saint Leo the Great Church is a Roman Catholic church in the St. Leo's neighborhood of San Jose, California. Founded in 1923, it is a territorial parish of the Roman Catholic Diocese of San Jose in California and named for Pope Leo I, a Doctor o ...

: Saint Maria Goretti Parish :

Saint Martin of Tours Parish In religious belief, a saint is a person who is recognized as having an exceptional degree of holiness, likeness, or closeness to God. However, the use of the term ''saint'' depends on the context and denomination. In Catholic, Eastern Ortho ...

:Saint Mary of the Assumption Croatian Mission :Saint Thomas of Canterbury Parish :

Saint Victor Parish St. Victor Parish is a territorial parish of the Roman Catholic Diocese of San Jose in California, located in the Berryessa, San Jose, California, Berryessa neighborhood of San Jose, California. The parish was founded in 1961 by the Rev. James Prend ...

:Santa Teresa Parish ;Santa Clara (6) :Chinese Catholic Mission :

(''distinct from Saint Clare Parish, located across the street'') : Our Lady of Peace Parish (''sponsored by the

Institute of the Incarnate Word The Institute of the Incarnate Word (IVE) ( es, Instituto del Verbo Encarnado) is a Catholic religious institute founded in Argentina by Fr. Carlos Miguel Buela on March 25, 1984. It is a religious institute of diocesan right. The institute is t ...

'') : Saint Clare Parish :Saint Justin Parish :Saint Lawrence the Martyr Parish ;Saratoga (2) :Church of the Ascension : Sacred Heart Church ;Stanford (1) :Catholic Community at Stanford ;Sunnyvale (3) : Church of the Resurrection :Saint Cyprian Parish :Saint Martin Parish

Arms

Media

The diocese publishes a quarterly tri-lingual magazine, ''

The Valley Catholic ''The Valley Catholic'' is the official quarterly magazine of the Roman Catholic Diocese of San Jose in California. It is primarily written in English but includes sections in Spanish and Vietnamese. Its motto is "The Good News of the Diocese of S ...

''.

References

Specific references: General references: *

External links

*
Parishes
in Diocese of San Jose in California {{DEFAULTSORT:Roman Catholic Diocese Of San Jose In California Culture of San Jose, California San Jose In California San Jose San Jose in California Santa Clara County, California 1981 establishments in California