The Cathedral Basilica of St. Joseph () is a historic

Catholic 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 ...

church in Downtown San Jose that serves as the

cathedral A cathedral is a church (building), church that contains the of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, Annual conferences within Methodism, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral" are usually s ...

for the Diocese of San José in California, with the distinction of

minor basilica Basilicas are Catholic church buildings that have a designation, conferring special privileges, given by the Pope. Basilicas are distinguished for ceremonial purposes from other churches. The building need not be a basilica in the architectura ...

. The basilica is named for

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 ...

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 ...

of the Catholic Church and the namesake of

San Jose, California San Jose, officially the City of San José ( ; ), is a cultural, commercial, and political center within Silicon Valley and the San Francisco Bay Area. With a city population of 997,368 and a metropolitan area population of 1.95 million, it is ...

History

The original St. Joseph's

Church Church may refer to: Religion * Church (building), a place/building for Christian religious activities and praying * Church (congregation), a local congregation of a Christian denomination * Church service, a formalized period of Christian comm ...

was called San Jose de Guadalupe built on the site of the current basilica in 1803, and was the first non- mission

parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christianity, Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest#Christianity, priest, often termed a parish pries ...

built in California for the benefit of Spanish settlers instead of the Mission Indians (Ohlone). The Pueblo de San Jose de Guadalupe was connected with Mission Santa Clara by The Alameda which was part of the historic El Camino Real. The original

adobe Adobe (from arabic: الطوب Attub ; ) is a building material made from earth and organic materials. is Spanish for mudbrick. In some English-speaking regions of Spanish heritage, such as the Southwestern United States, the term is use ...

structure was damaged by

earthquake An earthquakealso called a quake, tremor, or tembloris the shaking of the Earth's surface resulting from a sudden release of energy in the lithosphere that creates seismic waves. Earthquakes can range in intensity, from those so weak they ...

s in 1818 and 1822. In 1835, prominent

Californio Californios (singular Californio) are Californians of Spaniards, Spanish descent, especially those descended from settlers of the 17th through 19th centuries before California was annexed by the United States. California's Spanish language in C ...

businessman Antonio Suñol donated the land at the northeast corner of the Plaza del Pueblo (modern

Plaza de César Chávez The Plaza de César Chávez is an urban plaza and park in Downtown San Jose, California. The plaza's origins date to 1797 as the ''plaza mayor'' of the Alta California, Spanish ''Pueblo de San José de Guadalupe'', making it the oldest public sp ...

) for the construction of a new, larger adobe church. Suñol, alongside his brother-in-law Antonio María Pico (who served as Alcalde of San José at the time), oversaw the construction of the church for the next eight years until its completion and consecration in 1846. In 1842, Suñol petitioned Francisco García Diego y Moreno, the Bishop of the Californias, for proper religious vestments and relics for the church. The second church was severely damaged by the 1868 Hayward earthquake. Work on the third church began in 1869. The third church was destroyed by fire in 1875, and a temporary fourth church was built a few blocks away while the fifth and current church was being constructed. The fifth church was dedicated by Joseph Alemany, Archbishop of San Francisco, in 1877 while construction continued. The current

portico A portico is a porch leading to the entrance of a building, or extended as a colonnade, with a roof structure over a walkway, supported by columns or enclosed by walls. This idea was widely used in ancient Greece and has influenced many cu ...

was completed in 1884, and the large

dome A dome () is an architectural element similar to the hollow upper half of a sphere. There is significant overlap with the term cupola, which may also refer to a dome or a structure on top of a dome. The precise definition of a dome has been a m ...

was finished in 1885. In 1981, a major renovation project was begun at the church, which was to become the

for the new Roman Catholic Bishop of San Jose. In 1985, the church was elevated to a cathedral, pending completion of the restoration in 1990. It replaced Saint Patrick Proto-Cathedral Parish, located a few blocks away, as the cathedral of the diocese. The cathedral was made a minor basilica by

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 1997. The Cathedral Basilica of St. Joseph is listed as a

California Historical Landmark A California Historical Landmark (CHL) is a building, structure, site, or place in the U.S. state of California that has been determined to have statewide historical landmark significance. Criteria Historical significance is determined by meetin ...

and is listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

Architecture

Plaques at entrance

Just inside the entrance to the cathedral are two plaques that read:

Joseph bible quotes

The top of the walls of the inside of the cathedral include quotes from the

Vulgate The Vulgate () is a late-4th-century Bible translations into Latin, Latin translation of the Bible. It is largely the work of Saint Jerome who, in 382, had been commissioned by Pope Damasus I to revise the Gospels used by the Diocese of ...

about Joseph: * - ANGELVS DOMINI APPARVIT IN SOMNIS JOSEPH NOLI TIMERE ACCIPERE MARIAM CONIVGEM TVAM * - EXSVRGENS JOSEPH A SOMNO FECIT SICVT PRÆCEPIT ET ANGELVS DOMINI ET ACCEPIT CONIVGEN SVAM * - FVTVRVM EST VT HERODES QVÆRAT PVERVM AD PEDENDVM ET MATREM EIVS NOCTE ET SECESSIT IN ÆGYPTVM * - DIXIT MATER EIVS ECCE PATER TVVS ET EGO DOLENTES QVÆREBVS TE * - DESCENDIT CVM EIS ET VENIT NAZARET ET ERAT SVBDITVS ILLIS * - ET JESVS PVTABATVR FILIVS JOSEPH

Stained glass windows

The stained glass windows going counter clockwise from the east transept depict: # Agony in the Garden # Crucifixion # Saint

Aloysius Gonzaga Aloysius de Gonzaga, SJ (; 9 March 156821 June 1591) was an Italian people, Italian aristocracy (class), aristocrat who became a member of the Society of Jesus. While still a student at the Roman College, he died as a result of caring for the v ...

# Saint

Catherine of Alexandria Catherine of Alexandria, also spelled Katherine, was, according to tradition, a Christian saint and Virginity, virgin, who was martyred in the early 4th century at the hands of the emperor Maxentius. According to her hagiography, she was both a ...

Saint Patrick Saint Patrick (; or ; ) was a fifth-century Romano-British culture, Romano-British Christian missionary and Archbishop of Armagh, bishop in Gaelic Ireland, Ireland. Known as the "Apostle of Ireland", he is the primary patron saint of Irelan ...

# Saint John # Saint Luke # The Holy Family # Saint Casimir # Saint

Edward the Confessor Edward the Confessor ( 1003 – 5 January 1066) was King of England from 1042 until his death in 1066. He was the last reigning monarch of the House of Wessex. Edward was the son of Æthelred the Unready and Emma of Normandy. He succeede ...

# Saint John the Baptist # Saint Mark # Saint Matthew # Saint

Margaret Mary Alacoque Margaret Mary Alacoque (; 22 July 1647 – 17 October 1690) was a French Order of the Visitation of Holy Mary, Visitation nun and mysticism, mystic who promoted Catholic devotions, devotion to the Sacred Heart, Sacred Heart of Jesus in its moder ...

& The Sacred Heart of Jesus # Saint

Francis Xavier Francis Xavier, Jesuits, SJ (born Francisco de Jasso y Azpilicueta; ; ; ; ; ; 7 April 15063 December 1552), venerated as Saint Francis Xavier, was a Kingdom of Navarre, Navarrese cleric and missionary. He co-founded the Society of Jesus ...

# Saint Claude de la Colombière # Resurrection # Ascension

Odell pipe organ

The Odell pipe organ was built in 1886 by the J. H. and C. S. Odell Company in Yonkers, New York. It is the only such Odell instrument surviving in its original condition in the United States. It has 40,000 parts. It has 27 ranks of 60 pipes each. It was restored in 1987–90.

Gallery

File:StJoseph1.jpg , From the baptismal font, looking up the nave to the altar. File:StJoseph3.jpg , The south semitransept, from the altar File:StJoseph4.jpg , The nave from the altar, showing the baptismal font, with organ loft above File:StJoseph5.jpg , The altar from the top of the nave with the ambo and cathedra behind it File:StJoseph6.jpg , The altar, from the north semitransept File:Interior dome - Cathedral Basilica of Saint Joseph, San Jose, California - DSC03764.JPG , Interior of the large dome over the crossing

References

External links

Official Cathedral Site

Roman Catholic Diocese of San Jose Official SiteCathedrals of California
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cathedral Basilica Of St. Joseph (San Jose)

Joseph Joseph is a common male name, derived from the Hebrew (). "Joseph" is used, along with " Josef", mostly in English, French and partially German languages. This spelling is also found as a variant in the languages of the modern-day Nordic count ...

Roman Catholic Diocese of San Jose in California Roman Catholic churches in San Jose, California National Register of Historic Places in Santa Clara County, California Churches on the National Register of Historic Places in California 1803 establishments in New Spain Roman Catholic churches completed in 1885 19th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in the United States Tourist attractions in San Jose, California Churches in Santa Clara County, California Church buildings with domes California Historical Landmarks Cathedrals in San Jose, California