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June 19, 2006 • VOL. 44, NO. 12 • Oakland, CA
Fremont parish
to break ground for new church
near Mission San Jose
By Luisa Montes
Voice correspondent
Members of
St. Joseph Parish in Fremont will gather June 23 to break ground for their
new church on Mission Boulevard. The event begins with a procession from
the current temporary church to the site of the new church at 6 p.m.,
followed by the groundbreaking ceremony at 6:30 p.m.
Fremont Mayor Bob Wasserman and a representative of the Ohlone Indians
will help St. Joseph’s pastor, Msgr. Manuel Simas, and a group of
parishioners serving on the project’s coordinating team break ground
for the new church.
St. Joseph Parish started in 1797 as part of Mission San Jose which served
the Ohlone Indian community for a number of years.
The parish’s 3,000 parishioners have worshipped in a multi-purpose
building for over 30 years. The building also serves as the parish hall.
“The parish is squeezed for office, meeting, and multi-use facility
needs,” according to Mary Hernandez, chairwoman of the coordinating
team.
The new church will have a maximum seating capacity of 850 people and
will be located on the site of the parish’s rectory less than a
mile north of Mission San Jose. The rectory will move just up the road,
east of the location it occupies now.
The project will begin in late summer and early fall with actual construction
starting in the spring of 2007. In addition to funds that have already
been raised, another campaign will take place in the fall to fund the
estimated $12-14 million cost of the project.
Construction is expected to be completed in 2008.
The parish has created a website to keep parishioners informed about the
project: lwww.strikersclub.com/CAD/Rom/stjoseph_website/sj_buildachurch.html.
