Saint Patrick Proto-Cathedral Parish

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Saint Patrick Proto-Cathedral Parish is a national parish of the Roman Catholic Diocese of San Jose in California serving the Vietnamese community. The proto-cathedral is located in Downtown San Jose, one block north of San José State University, and is named for Patrick, Archbishop of Armagh and patron saint of Ireland.

St. Patrick's was the second Catholic parish established in the City of San Jose, following what it now the Cathedral Basilica of St. Joseph. The original church was destroyed in the 1906 San Francisco earthquake, but later rebuilt. From 1981 until 1990, St. Patrick's served as the cathedral of the Diocese of San Jose; the cathedra was then transferred to the newly renovated St. Joseph's, at which time the parish was redesignated a proto-cathedral.

In 2002, the parish changed from being a "regular" territorial parish to being a national parish for the Vietnamese population. In addition to the several services offered in Vietnamese, the parish also offers English and Spanish Masses.