Diocese of San José in California
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The Diocese of San José in California (Template:Langx) is a diocese of the Catholic Church in Santa Clara County in California in the United States. It is a suffragan diocese of the metropolitan Archdiocese of San Francisco. The mother church is the Cathedral Basilica of St. Joseph in San Jose.
Statistics
The patron saints of the Diocese of San José in California are Saint Joseph and Clare of Assisi. 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 or 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.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
History
1777 to 1981
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The first Catholic presence in the present-day San Jose area, then part of the Spanish province of Alta California in New Spain, was the Mission Santa Clara de Asís, built in 1777. The missionary Junipero Serra established the mission on the Guadalupe River to minister to the Ohlone Native Americans.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
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.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In 1840, the Vatican moved Alta California, now part of the Republic of Mexico, into the Diocese of Alta and Baja California.
After the Mexican-American War 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.<ref name=":1">Template:Cite web</ref> Santa Clara College, the first higher education institution in California, was founded in 1851 by Franciscan Fathers in Santa Clara.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
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.<ref name=":1" /> Saint Clare Parish was established in 1925 as the successor to the Mission Santa Clara de Asís.
1981 to 2000
The Diocese of San José in California was erected in 1981, taking Santa Clara County from the Archdiocese of San Francisco.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Auxiliary Bishop Pierre DuMaine of San Francisco as the first bishop.<ref name=":0">Template:Catholic-hierarchy</ref> The Saint Patrick Proto-Cathedral was designated as the diocesan cathedral.
The 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake in Northern California caused $22 million in damage to St. Joseph's Cathedral.<ref name="sfc98">Template:Cite web</ref> The earthquake also caused one death and extensive damage to Saint Joseph's Seminary in Mountain View.<ref>ID. Wilshire, H.G. 12ct from the U.S. Geological Survey Photographic Library</ref> The diocese decided to closed Saint Joseph's, demolish the building, and sell part of the property. It used the cash proceeds to repair the cathedral. The diocese donated the remaining Template:Convert to the country to created the Rancho San Antonio County Park.<ref name="sfc98"/> Auxiliary Bishop Patrick J. McGrath of San Francisco was made coadjutor bishop of the diocese in 1998. After DuMaine retired in 1999, McGrath succeeded him as the next bishop of San José.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
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 and tax evasion after stealing US$1.4 million in donations to the center.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Bishop Oscar Cantú of the Diocese of Las Cruces was made coadjutor bishop of San José in 2018 to assist McGrath.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Cantú took office after McGrath retired in 2019.
Reports of sex abuse
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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 of San Francisco.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
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 allegations against these priests and shielded them from potential prosecution.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Bishops
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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)<ref name="NCR coadjutor">Template:Cite news</ref>
Auxiliary Bishop
- Thomas A. Daly (May 25, 2011 – May 20, 2015), appointed Bishop of Spokane
- Andres (“Andy”) C. Ligot (2025-present)
Other diocesan priest who became bishop
- Richard John Garcia, appointed auxiliary bishop of Sacramento in 1997, appointed Bishop of Monterey in 2006
Education
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As of 2025, the Diocese of San Jose contains 28 Catholic elementary schools, six Catholic high schools with an enrollment exceeding 14,000 students.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> 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.
University
Santa Clara University is a Jesuit-run university at the site of Mission Santa Clara.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Primary schools
As of 2025, the following primary schools are in the Diocese of San Jose:<ref name=":2">Template:Cite web</ref>
- Canyon Heights Academy – administered by the Legionaries of Christ
- 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
- Sacred Heart School – Saratoga
- Saint Catherine of Alexandria School – San Jose
- Saint Christopher School – San Jose
- Saint Clare School – 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 – 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:<ref name=":2" />
- Archbishop Mitty High School – San Jose
- Bellarmine College Preparatory – San Jose
- Cristo Rey San José Jesuit High School – San Jose
- Notre Dame High School – San Jose
- Presentation High School – San Jose
- Saint Francis High School – Mountain View
Parishes
Arms
Media
The Diocese of San José in California publishes a quarterly trilingual magazine, The Valley Catholic.
References
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Specific references
General references
External links
- Template:Official website
- Parishes in Diocese of San José in California
Template:Roman Catholic Diocese of San Jose in California Template:Roman Catholic Ecclesiastical Province of San Francisco Template:Coord