Church Renovation Project
We have moved all masses to the Mission church during construction. If you would like to help this project, please donate Thank you for your generosity. Scroll down to learn more about our church renovation. Pictures of the work in progress can be found by scrolling to the bottom of this page. Remodeled Worship SpaceHere’s a first look at our updated sacristy. In the sanctuary we will be using four of the eight stained glass windows originally acquired for the new church project. These windows were restored and have been in storage. The four stained glass windows we will place in the sanctuary depict four gospel stories about Jesus: The Holy Family, Jesus the Good Shephard, Jesus and the Little Children, and Jesus’ Agony in the Garden. Scroll down to see pictures of all eight restored stained glass windows.
The movable wall separating our worship space from the church hall will be replaced with a permanent, soundproof wall to enable activities in the church hall at the same time as Mass and other liturgical celebrations in the church. The worship space side of the new dividing wall will display two more of our restored stained glass windows, new organ pipes, and a San Damiano Cross painted for us by parishioner Jose Isla. We will also have two new beautiful votive candle stands, similar to those pictured here, one depicting Jesus and the other depicting Mary. In our Catholic tradition we light votive candles in prayer. The light reminds us of Christ. With the light of faith, we petition our Lord in prayer (or petition the saint for intercession.) The light also shows a special reverence and our desire to remain present to the Lord in prayer even though we may leave and go about our daily business.
The new back wall of our worship space will feature a 50 foot long by 7 feet high oil painting commissioned from religious artist Michael Corsini. The painting will show a symbolic representation of the joyful communion between Christ and his Church. Images of Christ the Bridegroom, Our Lady (as the embodiment of the Bridal Church), and St. Joseph (Guardian and Patron of the Church) will be centered at the baptismal font, the place of of our deepest identity in the Church. The entire painting will be filled with beautiful and heavenly garden imagery. Saints from all eras, ancient and modern, along with people from all cultures will be pictured. The painting be bright, mystical, and filled with many biblical references and images.
The windows on the side walls of our renovated worship space will be enlarged and filled with twelve new stained class windows commissioned from a studio in Florida for our church. Scroll down to see illustrations of our new windows. Our old pews and kneelers will be replaced. Wood planks created from the old pews will clad columns and beams. Wood, tile, and stone will be added to the interior to recall the type of buildings St Joseph may have helped to build. NEW ORGAN AND SOUND SYSTEM
We will replace our aging organ with a new, state of the art digital organ and upgrade our sound system. The organ console has been completed and is ready for shipment. Our old sound system will be replaced with amplifiers and new speakers to improve everyone’s ability to hear the presider and lectors. A new, separate sound system will be added for the parish hall. Improvements in technology mean the new speakers will be smaller but more effective.
New AltarA new altar generously donated by the St Joseph Chinese Community is being carved from olive wood taken from the dead olive tree removed from the front of the church in 2021. This olive tree was more than 200 years old. The carvings on the new altar show the Last Supper on the front, an Indian woman making bread on one end panel, and Christ, the holy wine-presser, on the other end panel. The columns framing the Last Supper have four carved animals traditionally used to represent the four gospel authors (Mark, Mathew, Luke, and John). The columns were made in Jerusalem using olive wood from Jesus’ land. Click here for more about our new altar.
Restored Stained Glass WindowsIn addition to the two stained glass windows of The Holy Family, Jesus with the Children, Jesus the Good Shepherd, and Jesus’ Agony in the Garden that will be placed behind the altar in the sacristy, our other four windows portray Jesus with Martha and Mary, St Anthony with the Infant Jesus, Saints Agnes, Lucy and Agatha, and St Margaret Mary with the Sacred Heart of Jesus. Two will be located on the new back wall of the worship space and two in the new side entry from the parking lot.
12 New Stained Glass WindowsThe exterior windows on each side of the worship space will be enlarged for 12 new stained glass windows. These new windows will depict St Mary Magdalene, St Francis of Assisi, St Claire of Assisi, St Dominic, Blessed Augustus Tolton, St Lorenzo Ruiz, Vietnamese Martyrs, Chinese Martyrs, Joseph from the Old Testament, St Kateri Tekakwitha, St Mother Teresa of Calcutta, and St Gianna Beretta Molla.
New Entry VestibulesThe entry porches on both sides of the church will be enclosed with glass and new doors to create welcoming transitions into the worship space. The stairs on the parking lot side of the church will be removed and replaced with a wide, gently sloping, and accessible walkway from the parking lot to the floor of the church.
Other ImprovementsThe old gas heaters (original to the building) will be replaced with a modern, energy-efficient electric heat pump system to heat and cool the building and improve ventilation. The old men’s and women’s restrooms will be replaced with larger, fully accessible restrooms that will accommodate more people. The parish hall will receive new flooring and lighting and an improved sound system. The kitchen will be reduced in size and refinished. A larger food pantry storage space will be created for our St. Vincent de Paul chapter. Dry rot and cracked stucco will be repaired and the church will be repainted inside and out. All exterior windows will be replaced with new, energy efficient security glass. All the exterior doors will be replaced with new steel doors with exit hardware. Progress PhotosCreating the new stained glass windows for the enlarged exterior openings on each side of our worship space.
Interior Demolition Began the Week of June 26. The wood from the old pews will be used as part of the interior renovation.
The movable wall between the worship space and parish hall is being removed and will be replaced by a new sound proof stationary wall.
Demolition of the old restrooms. They will be replaced with larger, fully accessible men’s and women’s restrooms.
The old window openings on each side of the worship space have been enlarged for our new stained glass windows. Notice the columns that divided each window opening into two parts have been removed.
Interior demolition work is complete. New floors and painting are next.
Parish volunteers are refinishing the old frames and assembling our eight restored stained glass windows for use inside the renovated worship space, All eight will be backlighted.
Preparing the building exterior for repainting. Stucco cracks have been repaired and walls are primed for final exterior repainting. The building exterior will be white when we are finished.
Framing the walls for the new, larger women’s restroom.
Installing new tile floor in the Sanctuary. Notice also the four pedestals ready to support four of our restored stained glass windows.
Wood from our old pews has been added to columns and horizontal beams.
Painting the ceiling and interior walls.
Framing interiors of new restrooms continues.
Demolition of steps at parking lot entrance to the church – the first “step” towards providing barrier free access to our renovated church and hall.
Installing tile on the floor of the worship space.
Our new windows are made of high-security unbreakable glass to protect the new stained glass windows that will be installed over the inside surfaces of the windows.
Painting continues. Notice the electrical for the new vestibule light fixtures.
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Saint Joseph Catholic Church
We are excited to share our plans for the upcoming renovation of our church and hall! Work began on June 26 with removal of the Blessed Sacrament and a blessing of the building. 
The restored baptismal font saved from our 1869 parish church will replace our existing font. The 1869 church was built of redwood and stood on the site of the original Mission church, which destroyed by an earthquake in 1868 on the Hayward Fault. The 1869 church was built directly above the tile floor and stone foundation of the original adobe church. The old wooden church was moved to make way for rebuilding Mission San Jose. 
