With great sadness, we notify you that Emeritus Bishop Patrick J. McGrath passed away on May 7, 2023. Bishop P.J. was loved by so many who knew him and the Diocese was blessed by his ministry as our bishop for 20 years (1999-2019). Let us offer our prayers for the repose of his soul and for the consolation of his family and his friends. His funeral services commence on Wednesday and are listed in the document below (scroll down) and on the Diocese of San Jose website here.
Bishop P.J. was born June 11, 1945 in Dublin, Ireland where he attended Catholic schools of the Sisters of the Holy Faith and Marist Fathers. He entered St. John Seminary, Waterford, Ireland in 1964 and was ordained to the priesthood in Waterford June 7, 1970 for the Archdiocese of San Francisco. In 1977 he earned his doctorate in canon law at the Pontifical Lateran University in Rome. In 1979, Bishop McGrath became Officialis of the Archdiocese of San Francisco and was appointed Rector and Pastor of Saint Mary Cathedral in 1986. Ordained Auxiliary Bishop of San Francisco on January 25, 1989, he then served the Archdiocese as Vicar for Clergy, Moderator of the Curia and Vicar for Parishes.
On June 30, 1998 he was named by Pope John Paul II to be Coadjutor to the Bishop of the Diocese of San Jose and was formally received into the diocese at a Mass of Welcome on September 17, 1998. Upon the retirement of Bishop Pierre DuMaine on November 27, 1999, Bishop Patrick Joseph McGrath became the second bishop of San José. Bishop PJ was loved by so many who knew him and the Diocese was blessed by his ministry as our bishop for 20 years (1999-2019).
Schedule of Funeral Services and obituary are listed below. Through the intercession of St. Joseph, St. Clare, and all the Saints, may God bless Bishop P.J. with eternal rest from his labors and bless our Diocese of San José with consolation and peace. Eternal rest grant unto him, O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon him.