San Jose community says goodbye to late Bishop Patrick J. McGrath

Hundreds of clergy, family and community members attended Friday's funeral Mass at St. Joseph Cathedral Basilica.

Scores of clergy joined family and community members at a funeral Mass on Friday for the Rev. Patrick J. McGrath, the bishop emeritus of the Diocese of San Jose who died May 7 at age 77.

Bishop Oscar Cantú, McGrath’s successor, presided over the service at St. Joseph Cathedral Basilica in downtown San Jose. McGrath’s brother, Tom, was along with nephews, nieces and extended family members. Dignitaries in attendance included Cardinal Roger Mahony of Los Angeles, U.S. Rep. Anna Eshoo, San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan and Santa Clara County Supervisor Cindy Chavez, as well as several interfaith leaders who knew McGrath.

McGrath, known as “Bishop PJ” to many, was born in Ireland and came to the Bay Area in the 1970s to serve in the Archdiocese of San Francisco. He was appointed bishop of the Diocese of San Jose in 1999 and served in that role until his retirement in 2019. He  entered hospice earlier this month, unable to recover from pneumonia following surgery to repair a spinal disk injury.

Monsignor Daniel Whelton, a longtime friend who met McGrath when both entered the seminary in Ireland in 1964, delivered the homily at Friday’s service. “I think for most of us, PJ’s death is like a light that has gone out, or like a tree that has fallen in the forest,” he said. “A giant in our midst has fallen and we will miss him.”

Following the Mass, clergy members gathered outside and sang “Salve Regina” as McGrath’s casket was carried from the cathedral. McGrath was buried later Friday at Gate of Heaven Catholic Cemetery in Los Altos.