In the beginning was the Word; the Word was in God’s presence, and the Word was God. God was present from the beginning. Through God all things come into being and apart from God nothing came into being.
From the Gospel of John, 1:1-2
St. Simon Catholic Parish History
All that we have and all that we are is a gift from God. In 1955, God sent Fr. James Spooncer of Los Altos to build a new church. Appointed by Archbishop John J. Mitty, and with encouragement and a shared desire, pioneering families came to help our founding pastor turn an apricot orchard into a parish. Aided by the power of the Holy Spirit, they raised the money to form St. Simon Parish. Groundbreaking for the Church was held on April 22,1956 and construction was completed in April, 1957. A convent, rectory and Saint Simon School were added over the course of the next seven years.
Monsignor Ludwig Andre, Pastor from September 1989 to July 2002, recognized that St. Simon infrastructure had changed little in more than twenty years and set out to revitalize and expand the Parish. In May, 1996 a Parish Center was added. Remodeling of the Church followed and was completed on June 1, 1999. Monsignor Andre retired in July, 2002 after fourteen years of dedicated service to our community. Our parish was then guided by Rev. Tony Mancuso, Pastor.
Fr. Tony brought to the parish a new set of dynamics, including the introduction of the Dominican sisters of Mission San Jose to add new life to our Adult Ministry as well as our children’s ministries. Father Tony was succeeded as Pastor by Rev.Warwick James who came to St. Simon with a vision for the future. Following the lead of Bishop McGrath’s Pastoral Plan, “Renewing the Church” promulgated in 2002, Fr. Warwick helped the people of St. Simon facilitate a planning effort including our mission and vision for the future. Fr. Warwick retired in 2020 during the covid19 pandemic and Rev. Brendan McGuire was appointed Pastor. Fr. Brendan McGuire is our current Pastor.
Currently, we have over 1700 families in our parish. From the days of our early founding families until now active members have lived their stewardship gifts of time, talent and treasure make St. Simon a united, active faith community. Through continued diligent planning and action we will assure a community of joyful disciples for Jesus for the future.
Who was St. Simon?
St. Simon Catholic Church was named after Simon, the Apostle, also known as Simon the Zealot.
- St. Simon was surnamed the “Zealot” for his rigid adherence to Jewish law and to Canaanite law.
- He evangelized and preached in Egypt, Cyrene, Mauritania, Ethiopia, and Persia.
- It is also believed that St. Jude (Patron Saint of those in Need) traveled throughout Mesopotamia, Libya, and Persia with St. Simon preaching and converting many people to Christianity.
- He was originally a fisherman prior to becoming an apostle.
- He was one of the original followers of Christ, not to be confused with Simon Peter.
- His feast day is on October 28th.