About San Jose Chinese Catholic Mission · Santa Clara, California
The San Jose Chinese Catholic Mission (SJCCM; 聖荷西華人天主堂) is a Chinese-language Catholic personal parish and mission serving the San Francisco Bay Area's Chinese Catholic community from within St. Clare's Church in Santa Clara, California. It belongs to the Diocese of San Jose and offers Mass in three languages — Mandarin, Cantonese, and English — to families who trace their roots to Taiwan, Hong Kong, mainland China, and Chinese-American communities across the region. The Mission grew out of a Taiwanese Catholic Bible-study group in the early 1980s, was officially established as a Chinese community in November 1983, and was elevated to mission (personal parish) status on July 1, 2012, with Argentine-born Fr. Carlos Alberto Olivera as its first appointed pastor.
- Established
- 1983
- Patron
- St. Joseph (聖若瑟) — the parish is named in his honor
- Rector
- Fr. Carlos Alberto Olivera (歐維禮神父)
- Diocese
- Diocese of San Jose in California
Why belong here
SJCCM is a rare trilingual Catholic home where Mandarin, Cantonese, and English speakers worship side-by-side in the same church, and where children who grew up in the parish are now bringing up their own children in the faith. The Mission offers the full sacramental life of the Church — daily and Sunday Mass in Chinese, confession in Cantonese and Mandarin, Eucharistic adoration, and bilingual RCIA — together with a deep bench of ministries: the Catechetical Ministry for children, a Young Adult Group for English-speaking Catholics in their 20s and 30s, the long-running Watermark Youth Ministry, the Holy City Choir, the Legion of Mary, liturgical ministries, and active community-service outreach. For Chinese Catholics in the Bay Area — or anyone seeking a parish where faith is celebrated in their own language and across generations — SJCCM offers a familiar spiritual home that has drawn families back for forty years.
Mass times at San Jose Chinese Catholic Mission
Weekly Mass schedule
Confession times
- Sunday 1:00 PM – Cantonese, at St. Clare's Church
- Sunday 2:30 PM – Mandarin, at St. Clare's Church
- Saturday after the 7:45 AM Mass – at Ascension Church, Saratoga
- First Saturday of the month, 7:30–8:30 PM – during Eucharistic Adoration at St. Clare's Church
- By appointment with Fr. Olivera at St. Joseph of Cupertino Church, Cupertino ([email protected])
Adoration times
- First Saturday of the month, 7:30–8:30 PM – St. Clare's Church
Our Story: From Bible Study to Mission (1983–Today)
The Mission traces its roots to the late 1970s, when Taiwanese Catholic families in Silicon Valley formed a small Bible-study circle. With the encouragement of American Jesuit Fr. Ed Malatesta, founders including Joseph Ku met Bishop Pierre DuMaine in 1983 and received permission to organize as an ethnic Chinese Catholic community. St. Clare Parish in Santa Clara — pastored at the time by Fr. Rock — became the community's home, where the first Chinese Mass was celebrated on the Solemnity of Christ the King in November 1983. Forty years later, that same feast day marked the formal merger of the Mandarin and Cantonese communities into one trilingual Mission.
- 1970s–early 1980s: Taiwanese Catholic families in Silicon Valley form a Bible-study group
- Summer 1983: Founders meet Bishop Pierre DuMaine in Los Altos to request an ethnic Chinese community
- November 1983 (Solemnity of Christ the King): Chinese Mass begins at St. Clare's; community officially established with Fr. James E. Thornton as first chaplain
- 1984: Children's catechetical program (CCD, later CM) established
- 1995: Fremont Chinese community spins off (now Oakland Diocese)
- 2001: Mid-Peninsula Chinese community spins off (now Archdiocese of San Francisco)
- July 1, 2012: Bishop Patrick McGrath elevates the community to a Mission; Fr. Carlos Olivera appointed first pastor
- 2013: 30th anniversary celebrated
- November 26, 2023: 40th anniversary; Cantonese community formally joins SJCCM
Clergy and Pastoral Staff
Fr. Carlos Alberto Olivera (歐維禮神父) has served the Mission since 2008 and has been its pastor since the Mission was formally erected in July 2012. He is supported by a Pastoral Council and lay ministry leaders. Sacramental preparation is coordinated by Fr. Olivera together with the Director of Religious Education Rosemary DeAragon and the Chinese RCIA coordinator Shingmin Wu.
- Fr. Carlos Alberto Olivera — Pastor ([email protected] / [email protected]; 408-509-6960)
- Fr. James E. Thornton — First chaplain, 1983–1993
- Monsignor Matthew Koo — Second chaplain, 1993–2008
- Rosemary DeAragon — Director of Religious Education ([email protected])
- Shingmin Wu — Chinese RCIA coordinator ([email protected])
- Tedmund Chan — English RCIA contact ([email protected])
- Mingshu Hsu — Children's RCIA contact ([email protected])
- Lucy Chou — Infant baptism contact (408-517-0880)
Faith Formation and Religious Education
SJCCM runs a Catechetical Ministry (CM) for children from pre-K through 12th grade that meets every Sunday during the school year at St. Clare School, 725 Washington Street, Santa Clara. The parish also offers the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults (RCIA) in both Mandarin and English for adults preparing for Baptism, Confirmation, and First Communion, and welcomes Catholics of any age or ability into the sacramental life of the Church.
- Catechetical Ministry (YCM/CM) — Sundays 3:00–4:15 PM at St. Clare School (PK–12th grade); 2025–2026 school year begins September 14, 2025
- Chinese (Mandarin) RCIA — Sundays 1:30–2:45 PM, St. Clare School Science Classroom
- English RCIA — Sundays 4:15 PM, St. Clare Lower Church Conference Room
- Generations of Faith — required for families preparing children for First Communion and Confirmation
- Safe Environment training for all volunteers working with minors
- Preparation for Persons with Disabilities — contact Fr. Olivera
Sacraments
All seven sacraments are celebrated at SJCCM, with detailed preparation tracks posted on the parish website. Infant Baptism is celebrated twice a year on Easter Sunday and Holy Family Sunday during the 3 PM Mass, while older children prepare through the Catechetical Ministry and adults through RCIA. Marriage preparation begins at least six months in advance.
- Baptism — Infant (twice yearly), Children (7–17, through CM), Adult (through RCIA)
- First Communion — Two-year preparation via the Catechetical Ministry
- Confirmation — Youth through CM; Adults through RCIA
- Matrimony — Six months of marriage preparation with Fr. Olivera required
- Reconciliation (Confession) — See Confession schedule above
- Anointing of the Sick and other pastoral sacraments — by request through the parish office
Music and Liturgical Ministries
The Holy City Choir (聖詠團) was born from a Bible-study singing group in 1981 and was formally established together with the parish on Christ the King 1983. It serves primarily at the Sunday 3 PM Mandarin and combined Masses, and joins larger multi-ethnic celebrations at St. Clare such as Easter. Other liturgical ministries are filled by parish volunteers.
- Holy City Choir (聖詠團) — directed and led by 林谷 with current accompanists including 呂珍, 胡季祺, Alan Hsia, Patrick Ku, Damian Wang, Andy Wang, Lucia Lin, and Jessie Chan
- Ushers — seating and hospitality during Mass
- Altar Servers — assist the priest at the altar
- Lectors — proclaim the Scriptures
- Eucharistic Ministers — distribute Communion during Mass and to the homebound
Youth, Young Adults, and Community Life
Beyond the Catechetical Ministry, SJCCM nurtures faith across generations through its long-running Watermark Youth Ministry and the English-speaking SJCCM Young Adult Group for Catholics in their 20s and 30s. The parish also hosts the Legion of Mary and an active Community Service outreach, and participates in wider Bay Area Chinese and Catholic events.
- Watermark Youth Ministry — high-school and college youth group (Facebook: @watermarkyouth)
- SJCCM Young Adult Group (YAG) — English-speaking 20s and 30s; communicates via [email protected] and a 'Live Bulletin' Google Slide deck
- Legion of Mary (聖母軍) — active for more than 20 years; holds annual retreats and a Christmas gathering each December
- Community Service — outreach to the local Chinese and broader Santa Clara County community
- Bible-study circles by district, Holy City monthly newsletter, retreats, seminars, Chinese school (historical)
Contact, Giving, and Visiting
SJCCM can be reached by phone (voice message), email, or through the website. The parish encourages online giving through its website and welcomes visitors — particularly Chinese-speaking Catholics across the Bay Area — to any of its Masses or to its livestreamed Mandarin Mass on Sundays.
- Church address: 941 Lexington Street, Santa Clara, CA 95050
- Mailing address: SJCCM, St. Clare Parish, 725 Washington Street, Santa Clara, CA 95050
- Phone: 408-758-8917 (voice message)
- Email: [email protected]; [email protected]
- Website: https://sjccm.com
- Online Giving available through the parish website
Pastors & rectors through the years
- Fr. James E. Thornton (陶雅谷神父)1983–1993
First chaplain of the Chinese Catholic community; a retired priest who had served at Fu Jen Catholic University in Taiwan.
- Monsignor Matthew Koo (顧光中蒙席)1993–2008
Second chaplain; guided the community for more than twenty years as it grew into a vibrant lay-led organization.
- Fr. Carlos Alberto Olivera (歐維禮神父)2008–present
Argentine priest, fluent in Mandarin, who served twelve years in Taiwan; became the Mission's first pastor when Bishop McGrath elevated the community to Mission status in July 2012.