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

Archdiocese 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 ...

from 1988 to 1998.

Biography

Early life

Patrick McGrath was born in

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of th ...

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

, on June 11, 1945. He is the youngest of three sons of Patrick Joseph McGrath, Sr., and Eileen Gaule McGrath. For secondary school, Patrick McGrath attended Chanel College in Dublin. In 1964, at age 19, McGrath entered St. John's Seminary in

Waterford, Ireland "Waterford remains the untaken city" , mapsize = 220px , pushpin_map = Ireland#Europe , pushpin_map_caption = Location within Ireland##Location within Europe , pushpin_relief = 1 , coordinates ...

. His father died while he was in seminary. Reprinted in

Priesthood

In 1970, McGrath was

ordained Ordination is the process by which individuals are consecrated, that is, set apart and elevated from the laity class to the clergy, who are thus then authorized (usually by the denominational hierarchy composed of other clergy) to perform va ...

to the priesthood in Waterford by Michael Russell (bishop of Waterford and Lismore) for service in the

. McGrath moved to San Francisco, where he was assigned as parochial vicar of St. Anne of the Sunset Parish and as a member of the archdiocesan tribunal. In 1974, he was sent to Rome to continue his education, earning a

Doctor of Canon Law Doctor of Canon Law ( la, Juris Canonici Doctor, JCD) is the doctoral-level terminal degree in the studies of canon law of the Roman Catholic Church. It can also be an honorary degree awarded by Anglican colleges. It may also be abbreviated ICD ...

degree from the

Pontifical Lateran University The Pontifical Lateran University ( it, Pontificia Università Lateranense; la, Pontificia Universitas Lateranensis), also known as Lateranum, is a pontifical university based in Rome. The university also hosts the central session of the Ponti ...

on June 11, 1977. After returning to San Francisco. McGrath was appointed the vice-dfficialis, then

officialis An official is someone who holds an office (function or mandate, regardless whether it carries an actual working space with it) in an organization or government and participates in the exercise of authority, (either their own or that of their su ...

, of the archdiocesan tribunal. In 1986, he became pastor, then rector of the Cathedral of St. Mary of the Assumption Parish in San Francisco.

Auxiliary Bishop of San Francisco

Pope Paul II Pope Paul II ( la, Paulus II; it, Paolo II; 23 February 1417 – 26 July 1471), born Pietro Barbo, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 30 August 1464 to his death in July 1471. When his maternal uncle Eugene IV ...

appointed McGrath as an auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of San Francisco and titular bishop of Allegheny on December 6, 1988. He was consecrated on January 25, 1989, at the Cathedral of Saint Mary of the Assumption in San Francisco. Archbishop Quinn served as his principal consecrator.

Bishop of San Jose

John Paul II named McGrath as

coadjutor bishop A coadjutor bishop (or bishop coadjutor) is a bishop in the Catholic, Anglican, and (historically) Eastern Orthodox churches whose main role is to assist the diocesan bishop in the administration of the diocese. The coadjutor (literally, "co ...

of the Diocese of San Jose on June 30, 1998. When Bishop

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 ...

retired on November 27, 1999, McGrath automatically succeeded him. On August 23, 2018, the diocese, with McGrath's approval, paid US$2.3 million for a 3,269 square foot, five-bedroom home in

Silicon Valley Silicon Valley is a region in Northern California that serves as a global center for high technology and innovation. Located in the southern part of the San Francisco Bay Area, it corresponds roughly to the geographical areas San Mateo County ...

to serve as McGrath's retirement residence. McGrath explained that the money for house came from a fund that was dedicated only for housing expenses for retired bishops However, facing criticism about the purchase, McGrath said a day later that the parish would sell the house and he would eventually retire in a parish

rectory A clergy house is the residence, or former residence, of one or more priests or ministers of religion. Residences of this type can have a variety of names, such as manse, parsonage, rectory or vicarage. Function A clergy house is typically ow ...

instead. On October 23, 2018, McGrath released a list of 15 priests with credible allegations of sexual abuse against minors. As part of the investigative process, McGrath held several listening session with individuals impacted by the alleged crimes.

Retirement

Having reached the mandatory retirement age of 75 for bishops, McGrath submitted his letter of resignation as bishop of the Diocese of San Jose to

Pope Francis Pope Francis ( la, Franciscus; it, Francesco; es, link=, Francisco; born Jorge Mario Bergoglio, 17 December 1936) is the head of the Catholic Church. He has been the bishop of Rome and sovereign of the Vatican City State since 13 March 2013. ...

. The pope accepted it on May 1, 2019.

References

External links

Roman Catholic Diocese of San Jose Official SiteDiocese of San Jose biographyTwitter Handle @BishopMcGrath (Bishop P.J. McGrath)

Episcopal succession

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mcgrath, Patrick Joseph Irish emigrants to the United States Irish expatriate Catholic bishops 21st-century Roman Catholic bishops in the United States Roman Catholic bishops of San Jose in California People from County Dublin People from San Jose, California 1945 births Living people Pontifical Lateran University alumni People educated at Chanel College, Dublin