tvc.dsj.org | May 7, 2019
THANK YOU BISHOP MCGRATH
49
From Youth in Ireland to Coadjutor Bishop
Continued from page 48
After three years at St. Anne’s, he
was assigned to the archdiocesan
tribunal where he began his career in
canon law. From 1974 to 1977 he studied
in Rome, living at Casa Santa Maria at
North American College.
“I enjoyed those years in Rome and
I still love Italians and Italy,” he smiled.
On June 11, 1977, he received his doc-
torate in canon law from the Pontifical
Lateran University. His dissertation
was titled “A Comparative Study of the
Code of Canon Law and the Civil Code
of California.”
In the fall of 1977 Bishop McGrath
returned to San Francisco where he
was assigned to the tribunal which he
eventually headed. During his nine
years in that office he presided over lo-
cal implementation of the “new” Code
of Canon Law which was promulgated
in 1983.
He was also involved in the for-
mation of the Marriage Preparation
program which was implemented in
the archdiocese in 1980 and which was
immediately adopted by the Diocese of
Bishop McGrath celebrated Mass (second from left) at his episcopal ordination in 1989 at
St. Mary’s Cathedral, San Francisco.
Photos courtesy of Evelyn Zappia, Archdiocese of San Francisco.
San Jose when it was created in 1981.
In 1986, he was named pastor and
rector of St. Mary’s Cathedral in San
Francisco and there, with then San
Francisco Archbishop John R. Quinn,
Bishop McGrath,
As you give thanks for
your many years of
ministry as the Bishop
of the Diocese of San
José, we the people of
Saint Lawrence the
Martyr Parish, thank
you and thank God for
your pastoral care!
journey of faith and life!
“Together in Christ”
we have walked and
been blessed on this
Be assured of our prayers and may you be
blessed in the years ahead!
From the Priests, Staff and Parishioners of
Saint Lawrence the Martyr Catholic Church
he hosted Pope John Paul II in his
historic 1987 visit to the United States.
As a priest, Bishop McGrath had
many assignments and responsibili-
ties which put him in touch with a
variety of religious, clerical and lay
organizations and consultative bod-
ies. He chaired the Council of Priests,
served as professor of canon law at
St. Patrick Seminary in Menlo Park,
chaired the archdiocesan Commit-
tee on Women in the Church, served
as chaplain to the St. Thomas More
Society, served as a dean and was a
member of the archdiocesan priests
personnel board.
On January 25, 1989, he was or-
dained an Auxiliary Bishop of San
Francisco and has served as Vicar Gen-
eral, Vicar for Clergy, Moderator of the
Curia and Vicar for Parishes.
In the National Conference of Catho-
lic Bishops he serves as NCCB liaison
to the National Federation of Catholic
Youth Ministry and serves on the sub-
committee on youth.
In his nine and half years as an
auxiliary bishop, he has dealt with an
array of administrative and pastoral
issues and encountered some rough
spots with priest personnel cases and
the closure of several churches.
Continued on page 50
Dear Bishop McGrath
God Bless You
Today and Always!
With Many Thanks from Your Church Family
In 2013, His Excellency, the Most Reverend Patrick
McGrath, Bishop of the Diocese of San José, CA,
erected the Immaculate Heart of Mary Oratory at Five
Wounds Portuguese National Church to serve as the
center for the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Latin
Rite in this Diocese and entrusted the ministry of the
Oratory to priests of the Institute of Christ the King.
Immaculate Heart of Mary Oratory
Five Wounds Portuguese National Church
1375 Santa Clara Street
San José, CA 95116
[email protected]