The Diocese of San José in California () is a

Latin Church The Latin Church () is the largest autonomous () particular church within the Catholic Church, whose members constitute the vast majority of the 1.3 billion Catholics. The Latin Church is one of 24 Catholic particular churches and liturgical ...

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, prov ...

, of the

Catholic Church The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

in Santa Clara County in California in the United States. It is a

suffragan diocese A suffragan diocese is one of the dioceses other than the metropolitan archdiocese that constitute an ecclesiastical province. It exists in some Christian denominations, in particular the Catholic Church, the Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandr ...

of the metropolitan Archdiocese of San Francisco. The mother church of the Diocese of San José in California is the Cathedral Basilica of St. Joseph in San Jose.

Statistics

The

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

s of the Diocese of San José in California are

Saint Joseph According to the canonical Gospels, Joseph (; ) was a 1st-century Jewish man of Nazareth who was married to Mary, the mother of Jesus, and was the legal father of Jesus. Joseph is venerated as Saint Joseph in the Catholic Church, Eastern O ...

and

Clare of Assisi Chiara Offreduccio (16 July 1194 – 11 August 1253), known as Clare of Assisi (sometimes spelled ''Clara'', ''Clair'' or ''Claire''; ), is an Italians, Italian saint who was one of the first followers of Francis of Assisi. Inspired by the te ...

. The diocese serves 525,000 Catholics, encompassing 54 parishes, missions, and pastoral centers, eight preschools, 26 TK/K-8th grade, 28 elementary schools and one high school, three college/university campus ministries, one of which part of a Catholic university, and several Catholic cemeteries. They also partner with two independent Catholic elementary schools, five independent Catholic high schools, Catholic Charities of Santa Clara County, and Villa Siena Retirement Community.

History

1777 to 1981

The first Catholic presence in the present-day San Jose area, then part of the Spanish province of

Alta California Alta California (, ), also known as Nueva California () among other names, was a province of New Spain formally established in 1804. Along with the Baja California peninsula, it had previously comprised the province of , but was made a separat ...

in New Spain, was the

Mission Santa Clara de Asís Mission 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 Franciscans. Named for Saint Clare of Assisi, who founded th ...

, built in 1777. The missionary Junipero Serra established the mission on the Guadalupe River to minister to the

Ohlone The Ohlone ( ), formerly known as Costanoans (from Spanish meaning 'coast dweller'), are a Native Americans in the United States, Native American people of the Northern California coast. When Spanish explorers and missionaries arrived in the l ...

Native Americans. San Jose de Guadalupe Church was dedicated in San Jose in 1803. It was the first church built for Spanish settlers in Alta California, as opposed to mission churches established for evangelizing Native Americans. In 1840, the Vatican moved Alta California, now part of the

Republic of Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

, into the Diocese of Alta and Baja California. After the

Mexican-American War Mexican Americans are Americans of full or partial Mexican descent. In 2022, Mexican Americans comprised 11.2% of the US population and 58.9% of all Hispanic and Latino Americans. In 2019, 71% of Mexican Americans were born in the United State ...

ended in 1848, Alta California became an American territory. In 1850, the Vatican transferred the new State of California from its Mexican diocese to the new American Diocese of Monterey.

Santa Clara College Santa Clara University is a private university, private Jesuit university in Santa Clara, California, United States. Established in 1851, Santa Clara University is the oldest operating institution of higher learning in California. The university' ...

, the first higher education institution in California, was founded in 1851 by Franciscan Fathers in Santa Clara. In 1853, the Vatican moved the northern half of Santa Clara County into the newly erected Archdiocese of San Francisco. In 1922, the Vatican transferred the southern half of Santa Clara County from the Diocese of Monterey to the Archdiocese of San Francisco. Saint Clare Parish was established in 1925 as the successor to the Mission Santa Clara de Asís.

1981 to 2000

Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II (born Karol Józef Wojtyła; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 16 October 1978 until Death and funeral of Pope John Paul II, his death in 2005. In his you ...

in 1981 erected the Diocese of San José in California, taking Santa Clara County from the Archdiocese of San Francisco. He named Auxiliary Bishop Pierre DuMaine of San Francisco as the first bishop of the new diocese. The Saint Patrick Proto-Cathedral was designated as the diocesan cathedral. The

1989 Loma Prieta earthquake On October 17, 1989, at 5:04 p.m. Pacific Time Zone, PST, the Loma Prieta earthquake occurred at the Central Coast (California), Central Coast of California. The shock was centered in The Forest of Nisene Marks State Park in Santa Cruz Cou ...

in Northern California cause $22 million in damage to St. Joseph's Cathedral. The earthquake also caused one death and extensive damage to Saint Joseph's Seminary in Mountain View. The diocese decided to closed Saint Joseph's, demolish the building and sell part of the property to a developer. It used the cash proceeds to repair the cathedral. The diocese donated the remaining to the country to created the Rancho San Antonio County Park. John Paul II named Auxiliary Bishop Patrick J. McGrath of San Francisco as coadjutor bishop of the diocese in 1998 to assist Dumain. After Dumain retired in 1999, McGrath automatically succeeded him as the next bishop of San José.

2000 to present

In 2017, Hien Minh Nguyen, director of the Vietnamese Catholic Center in San Jose, was sentenced to three years in prison for

bank fraud Bank fraud is the use of potentially illegal means to obtain money, assets, or other property owned or held by a financial institution, or to obtain money from depositors by fraudulently posing as a bank or other financial institution. In many ins ...

and

tax evasion Tax evasion or tax fraud is an illegal attempt to defeat the imposition of taxes by individuals, corporations, trusts, and others. Tax evasion often entails the deliberate misrepresentation of the taxpayer's affairs to the tax authorities to red ...

after stealing US$1.4 million in donations to the center. In 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 is 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 area of the Santa Clara Valley ...

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 diocese would sell the house and he would retire to a parish

rectory A clergy house is the residence, or former residence, of one or more priests or ministers of a given religion, serving as both a home and a base for the occupant's ministry. Residences of this type can have a variety of names, such as manse, p ...

instead.

Pope Francis Pope Francis (born Jorge Mario Bergoglio; 17 December 1936 – 21 April 2025) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 13 March 2013 until Death and funeral of Pope Francis, his death in 2025. He was the fi ...

appointed Bishop Oscar Cantú of the Diocese of Las Cruces as

coadjutor bishop A coadjutor bishop (or bishop coadjutor) ("co-assister" in Latin) is a bishop in the Latin Catholic, Anglican and (historically) Eastern Orthodox churches whose main role is to assist the diocesan bishop in administering the diocese. The coa ...

of San José in 2018 to assist McGrath. As of 2023, Cantú is the current bishop of San José, having taken office immediately after McGrath retired in 2019.

Reports of sex abuse

In 2005, the Archdiocese of San Francisco agreed to a $21 million financial settlement to 15 alleged victims of sexual abuse. The plaintiffs were abused by several priests during the 1960s and 1970s when they were minors in the San Jose area, then part of the archdiocese. In 2018, the diocese released the names of 15 former diocesan priests who were "credibly accused" of sexual abuse of minors. It was also reported that the diocese knew about the allegations against these priests and shielded them from potential prosecution. In 2019, California State Attorney

Xavier Becerra Xavier Becerra (; born January 26, 1958) is an American attorney and politician who served as the 25th United States secretary of health and human services, a position he held from March 19, 2021 to January 20, 2025. He is the first Latino to h ...

subpoenaed personnel records from the diocese. This was in preparation for a new California law that temporarily removed the

statute of limitations A statute of limitations, known in civil law systems as a prescriptive period, is a law passed by a legislative body to set the maximum time after an event within which legal proceedings may be initiated. ("Time for commencing proceedings") In ...

on sexual abuse lawsuits.

Bishops

Bishops of San José in California

# Pierre DuMaine (January 27, 1981 – November 27, 1999) # Patrick Joseph McGrath (November 27, 1999 – May 1, 2019) # Oscar Cantú (May 1, 2019–present)

Coadjutor Bishops

* Patrick Joseph McGrath (1998–1999) * Oscar Cantú (2018–2019)

Auxiliary Bishop

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

Other diocesan priest who became bishop

Richard John Garcia, appointed auxiliary bishop of Sacramento in 1997, appointed Bishop of Monterey in 2006

Education

As of 2025, the Diocese of San Jose contains 28 Catholic elementary schools, six Catholic high schools with an enrollment exceeding 14,000 students. Most of the primary schools are parochial, or operated by a parish, while all the high schools are operated by either the diocese or by a

religious institute In the Catholic Church, a religious institute is "a society in which members, according to proper law, pronounce public religious vows, vows, either perpetual or temporary which are to be renewed, however, when the period of time has elapsed, a ...

University

Santa Clara University Santa Clara University is a private university, private Jesuit university in Santa Clara, California, United States. Established in 1851, Santa Clara University is the oldest operating institution of higher learning in California. The university' ...

is a

Jesuit The Society of Jesus (; abbreviation: S.J. or SJ), also known as the Jesuit Order or the Jesuits ( ; ), is a religious order (Catholic), religious order of clerics regular of pontifical right for men in the Catholic Church headquartered in Rom ...

-run

university A university () is an educational institution, institution of tertiary education and research which awards academic degrees in several Discipline (academia), academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase , which roughly ...

at the site of Mission Santa Clara.

Primary schools

As of 2025, the following primary schools are in the Diocese of San Jose: * Canyon Heights Academy – administered by the

Legionaries of Christ The Legionaries of Christ (in , abbreviated L.C.) is a Roman Catholic religious congregation of pontifical right founded on January 3, 1941, by the Mexican Catholic priest Marcial Maciel. It belongs constitutively to the spiritual family of Regn ...

* Holy Family School – San Jose * Holy Spirit School – San Jose * Most Holy Trinity School – San Jose * Queen of Apostles School – San Jose * Resurrection School - Sunnyvale * Sacred Heart Nativity Schools – San Jose, sponsored by the

Society of Jesus The Society of Jesus (; abbreviation: S.J. or SJ), also known as the Jesuit Order or the Jesuits ( ; ), is a religious order of clerics regular of pontifical right for men in the Catholic Church headquartered in Rome. It was founded in 1540 ...

* Sacred Heart School – Saratoga * Saint Catherine of Alexandria School – San Jose * Saint Christopher School – San Jose *

Saint Clare School Saint Clare School is a Roman Catholic elementary school operated by Saint Clare Parish in Santa Clara, California, in the United States. Founded in 1856, it is the second oldest continuously operating elementary school in California and serve ...

– Santa Clara * Saint Elizabeth Seton School – Palo Alto, sponsored by the Daughters of Charity * Saint Frances Cabrini School – San Jose * Saint John the Baptist School – Milpitas * Saint John Vianney School – San Jose * Saint Joseph of Cupertino School – Cupertino * Saint Joseph School – Mountain View * Saint Justin School

– The dash is a punctuation mark consisting of a long horizontal line. It is similar in appearance to the hyphen but is longer and sometimes higher from the baseline. The most common versions are the endash , generally longer than the hyphen ...

Santa Clara * Saint Lawrence Elementary and Middle School

Santa Clara * Saint Leo the Great School – San Jose * Saint Lucy School

Campbell * Saint Martin of Tours School

San Jose * Saint Mary of the Immaculate Conception School

Los Gatos * Saint Mary School – Gilroy * Saint Nicholas School

San Jose * Saint Patrick School – San Jose, sponsored by the Daughters of Charity of Saint Vincent de Paul * Saint Simon School

Los Altos * Saint Victor School – San Jose

High schools

As of 2025, the following high schools are in the Diocese of San Jose: *

Archbishop Mitty High School Archbishop Mitty High School affectionately known as Mitty by its staff, students and alumni is a private Catholic high school located in San Jose, California, United States. The school is named for John Joseph Mitty, the fourth Archbishop of S ...

– San Jose *

Bellarmine College Preparatory Bellarmine College Preparatory is an all-boys, Jesuit, private secondary school located in San Jose, California. Founded on May 8, 1851, it is the oldest Jesuit secondary school in California and the second-oldest west of the Mississippi River. ...

– San Jose *

Cristo Rey San José Jesuit High School Cristo Rey San José Jesuit High School is a private Catholic high school, located in San Jose, California, in the United States. Founded by the California Province of the Society of Jesus The Society of Jesus (; abbreviation: S.J. or ...

– San Jose * Notre Dame High School – San Jose *

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 ...

– San Jose * Saint Francis High School – Mountain View

Closed schools

* Saint Lawrence Academy – Santa Clara * Catholic Academy of Sunnyvale – Sunnyvale

Parishes

File:Sacred Heart Church, Washington-Guadalupe, SJ.jpg, Sacred Heart of Jesus Church, San Jose (2021) File:USA-Gilroy-Saint Mary Catholic Church-2 (cropped).jpg, Saint Mary Church, Gilroy (2011) File:Sjpmv.jpg, Saint Joseph Church,Mountain View (2010) File:Santa Clara Parish Church 1506.jpg, Saint Clare Church,Santa Clara (2021) File:St. Thomas Aquinas Church, 751, Waverley Ave., Palo Alto, CA 5-27-2012 5-35-22 PM.JPG, Saint Thomas Aquinas Church. Palo Alto (2012)

Arms

Media

The Diocese of San José in California publishes a quarterly trilingual magazine, '' The Valley Catholic''.

References

Specific references

General references

External links

*
Parishes
in Diocese of San José 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