The Diocese of San Jose makes its home in a fertile valley surrounded by rolling hills and pine-covered mountains. Known from the 19th century as “the Valley of the Heart’s Delight,” ours is a history and legacy of abundance—orchards heavy with sweet fruit—apricots, prunes, cherries and pears.

Today, Santa Clara County is identified as Silicon Valley—a world-renowned center of computer technology. Over the years, orchards have given way to industrial parks and crops of “dot-coms” have replaced the fruit. As Northern California’s most populous county, our valley is filled with the opportunity and challenges of economic, cultural and ethnic diversity.

We are the Diocese of San Jose, the Catholic Church in Santa Clara County. We are a community rooted in Baptism—hearing and keeping God’s word and recognizing our relationship to one another as children of God. We welcome and encourage all to join us in our community and in making a difference by proclaiming and building up God’s coming kingdom. We are a community of 600,000 Catholics, encompassing 52 parishes and missions, 29 elementary schools and 2 high schools, and 3 college and university campus ministries. We serve the people of this valley in collaboration and conjunction with scores of Catholic organizations—high schools, universities, hospitals and social service agencies and other ministries—dedicated to carrying out Christ’s mission on earth.