Roman Catholic Diocese of San Jose in California
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The Roman Catholic Diocese of San Jose in California is an ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Roman Catholic Church in the northern California region of the United States. It is comprised of Santa Clara County and is led by a prelate bishop, who is also the pastor of the Cathedral Basilica of St. Joseph, the motherchurch of the diocese, in Downtown San Jose. The diocesan offices are located in the neighboring City of Santa Clara. The diocese serves over 600,000 catholics in 52 parishs and missions, 3 university campus ministries, and over 30 schools.
The history of the Catholic Church in Santa Clara County dates to the founding of Mission Santa Clara de Asis in 1777. Originally a part of the Diocese of Sonora in Mexico, in 1840 San Jose and the rest of the Californias became part of the Diocese of Alta and Baja California, headquartered in Monterey. In 1850 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. In 1853, the northern half of the county became part of the Archdiocese of San Francisco, while the areas around Gilroy and Morgan Hill remained in the Diocese of Monterey-Los Angeles. In 1922 the southern half of the county was transfered to the Archdiocese of San Francisco.
The See of San Jose achieved independence by Pope John Paul II on January 27, 1981, and was canonically erected later that year by archbishops Pio Laghi, Apostolic Delegate to the United States, and John Quinn, Metropolitan Archbishop of San Francisco, on the feast day of Saint Joseph, March 18. The first Bishop of San Jose was Pierre DuMaine, and the first cathedral of the diocese was the Proto-cathedral of Saint Patrick. Today, the diocese remains a ceremonial suffragan of the ecclesiastical province of San Francisco. Its fellow suffragans include the Dioceses of Honolulu, Las Vegas, Oakland, Reno, Sacramento, Salt Lake City, Santa Rosa and Stockton.
Bishops of San Jose in California
- Bishop Roland Pierre DuMaine (1981 - 1999)
- Bishop Patrick Joseph McGrath (1999 - present)
Resources
- Roman Catholic Diocese of San Jose in California (http://www.dsj.org/)Template:RC-stub