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 José, 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 Roman Catholic parish established in the city of San José, following what it now the Cathedral Basilica of St. Joseph. The parish was founded in 1872 with Father Joseph Gallagher serving as the first pastor.[1]
The original parish church was a Gothic building at the intersection of Ninth and Santa Clara streets, which was completed in 1888. This church was destroyed in the 1906 San Francisco earthquake, but rebuilt less than a year later. The second church was replaced by the current church at the intersection of Eighth and Santa Clara streets in 1967.[1] From 1981 until 1990, St. Patrick’s served as the cathedral of the Diocese of San José; 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.
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