Why Is St. Jose Important

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As it was said, San Jose, which used to be the first capitol of California, can be considered as one of the oldest cities in the United States with its great historical depth and cultural influence. Importantly, San Jose is also well known by some specific landmarks, which have contributed to make the city be one of the attractive destinations for the tourists when they come to America. With the diversity and mixture of social and cultural features, San Jose has plenty of particular public buildings, architectures, and places, which are dedicated to different styles of art. Locating on the downtown of San Jose, the Cathedral Basilica of St. Joseph can be viewed as one of the most important religious symbol the city, as it is also called to …show more content…

And even until now, according to Marjorie Pierce, the author of San Jose and Its Cathedral, the Cathedral Basilica of St. Joseph is the heart and soul of the city because of its strong religious belief and the connection to the city’s past, present, and future.
In 1777, El Pueblo de San Jose de Guadalupe, as San Jose in the present, was founded, which had opened a new history for California. It was the first civilian town of the Spanish colony in Alta California. Since everything had already settled down in the pueblo, the original church was started to construct based on the desire and yearning for a religious place of the civilians in the pueblo. In the 12th day of July 1803, the first St. Joseph Church was built on the corner of Market and San Fernando Street. A lots of hand of the civilians, from men, women to children, and even Indians, were given to construct the building because it was everyone’s religious hope. According to some readings, the material that was used to build this first church was brick, the adobe ones. It was covered with a thatched roof, and spectacularly, the windows were designed that they were narrow outside but wider inside. The first church was finished on March 19th, and …show more content…

It could be considered the most important and solemn event at that time, with many ceremonies had been carried out. This has proved this piece of art and religious belief was widely accepted and expected by critics and the public. And then, on April 22nd, 1876, the dedication ceremony was conducted to the fifth and present structure, with the attendance of the Archbishop as well as the San Jose civilians after this church was put into its first service. The interest of the public in this building at that time could proceed from the deeply faith in the religion, and also the hope to the powerful existence of solemnly St. Joseph Church. The church didn’t have any serious structural problems when the earthquake in 1906 happened, just some interior features damaged. However, thanks to the decision on renovation of the church previously, it could survive after another earthquake in 1989. In 1985, Vatican approved St. Joseph Church as Cathedral of the Diocese of San Jose. Following with that honor, in 1997, Saint Joseph Cathedral is granted Basilica status from the Vatican, because of the acknowledgement of its deep history, architectural beauty and the service to the community. The name Cathedral Basilica of St. Joseph has come into the

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