St. Patrick’s Proto-Cathedral

i used to go to St. Patrick’s when i was a student at SJSU in the early 70s. it had a high percentage of Hispanics then. i left San Jose after i was done with my college education. i came back (road trip) with my son, and wanted to point out where i had gone to Mass on Sundays… and saw the church. my heart sank. i hadn’t heard about the fire, and i was so sad to see it in it’s present state. it was good to see that the parochial school, still there, seems to be thriving. i guess the name change will be ok. nothing stays the same forever. Long live St. Patrick’s. VIVA!

My family and I have been coming to this church for as long as I can remember. What stands out the most for me was the amazing Vietnamese choir St. Patrick had– upbeat music and amazing voices!
Due to a fire that occurred a while back, the church is now shut off and mass is being held in a tiny little gym. Chairs are lined up and the gym is filled to the brim in attempts to accommodate as many church goers as possible. The massive crowds that once flocked to this church every Sunday no longer exists. There is no longer that grand choir to sing all the amazing songs that I long to hear– However we are blessed enough with two pianists and Theresa who sings her heart out each and every Sunday.
The new church is in the works of being planned, eventually constructed, and given a whole new name… but until then, mass will continuously be held in the small gym :(

Predominantly Vietnamese with a large turnout each week. The Hispanic and Caucasian population, last I’ve checked, have become a small population with minimal attendance.
They parish does a great job addressing the needs of the old Vietnamese generation. Many Vietnamese folks 40 and above seemed to have grown content and found their needs met through the community here. The church provide multiple masses on the weekend especially for Vietnamese folks. If you roll with the traditional Vietnamese population, then this is your church.
The youth community is a mix of good and bad. Their strongest group there is the Vietnamese Eucharistic Troop (TNTT), which regularly meets every Sunday. This has shown a consistent strong commitment to developing their youth. There is an 8:30pm Youth Mass on Sunday nights, however, their liveliness has waned since their inception.
I would be weary of the priests in this community regardless of your belief. Their homilies has a consistent theme of: God love is for the deserving with some conditions, repeated mantra of investing and building their new church, but lack of investing in the youth community. Homilies are surface level regurgitation and rarely enters the hard discussions or
For those searching for a youth community: I recommend Most Holy Trinity, St. Francis of Assisi, Holy Spirit Church, St. John the Baptist, St. Elizabeth. With the exception of Holy Spirit, most of these churches are within 15 – 20 minutes driving distance from this church.
Despite all of this…
There is news that parish is starting to focus on the youth community. I am excited to see what they have in store.

So when your A) Vietnamese and B) Catholic, you will know that this church is your hood.
This church has a huge Vietnamese population and is densely populated by mostly older vietnamese catholics for the masses.
The general atmosphere of the church is pretty basic, there isn’t anything memorable of different in the church besides the Our Lady of La Vang Statue on the side. The masses are packed full on all Sunday Vietnamese masses but masses are generally quiet at the english and spanish service.
In terms of post mass adoration, there isn’t much. Most of the adoration is done in the chapel next door but everything is in Vietnamese. This is definitely not a church to find a large English community in!
A thing to note also is that this church recently burnt down and all masses are now in the Gym next door.
The church will be rebuilt again, possibly in the next few years and I hear that it will be renamed «Our Lady of La Vang». Interesting.

Volunteered with my fellow nursing students today and really enjoyed the hospitality from the staff and the pastor was more than gracious to all of us! I enjoyed helping out with the flu clinic and everyone that came out today was amazing! The church also cooked us food and goodies all day! (Your awesome btw) I will be coming back again in the future to help out with whatever they need help with!

The limited space that downtown San Jose offers cramps St. Patrick’s Proto-​Cathedral in a small lot. Parking is constantly a problem, with many Vietnamese parishioners illegally parking and blocking others from leaving the church. It’s quite problematic.
For a church that boasts having so many parishioners, they scrape by in their weekly collections (thank cheap Vietnamese people for that) and have cut many of the religious programs that they once had (including Fishes and Loves — a non-​profit group committed to feeding the underprivileged and homeless).
The homeless are staples there, and regulars panhandle, while some are content laying on the lawn. On more than one occasion, I’ve experienced the aftermath of a homeless man birdbathing in the restroom.
The décor is gawdy and cheap. the stained glass combined with the rock walls are a hideous combination. A tribute to their cost-​cutting, the church has decided to no longer use air conditioning and, in its place, installed dozens of oscillating fans throughout the church. Hot summer masses have the whirring sounds to accompany the musicians.
July has ushered in new priests to this place, but I’m hesitant at their ability to connect with community. I’m super thankful that Father Tuong is no longer with this parish because I could not stand his homophobic rants during his homilies. I know the new pastor, Father Loi, and am curious to see what he can bring to this church, but, for now, I’m content attending St. Elizabeth’s.

great vietnamese church.

I usually go to this church for special occasion with my family because my uncle and aunt loves going to Vietnamese masses. During the summer, this church depends on 6 fans to cool down everyone. Three on the left side and three on the right side. So if you get stuck sitting in the middle, probably the hottest spot and you end up sweating like a pig, well to me I did.

This a prodominately Vietnamese church at the 8:30 «Young Adult» mass, which really consists of high schoolers and the elderly (so it’s not quite as young adult as you’d expect).
The music and choir are delightful and bilingual. I definately enjoyed singing in Vietnamese, although it could be hard to follow if you are not a native speaker.
The priest, is very nice and I absolutely love when he came down from the pulpit and delivered the entire homily while walking up and down the middle of the church and moving side to side. He did this so prayerfully and skillfully that you just couldn’t help but follow him with your eyes and listen with your heart.
This ia the perfect church for anyone in the Vietnamese community and other downtown locals who want a new experience of mass.