Bishop Patrick J. McGrath, the second bishop to lead the Diocese of San Jose, died Sunday, just a day after entering hospice care.
In a social-media post, a diocese account said “[w]ith great sadness, we notify you that Emeritus Bishop P.J. McGrath passed away this afternoon, May 7, 2023.”
“Let us offer our prayers for the repose of his soul and for the consolation of his family and his friends,” the post read in part. “We will inform you as soon as we can coordinate funeral arrangements.”
McGrath, 77, had reportedly been unable to overcome pneumonia contracted after undergoing surgery to repair a spinal disk injury. According to an earlier post, McGrath’s successor, Bishop Oscar Cantú, visited with him this weekend.
“He asks for your prayers for a peaceful transition to the Lord’s house,” Bishop Cantú wrote. ““He is very much at peace, and awaits the arrival of his family from Ireland.”
McGrath, who was born in Ireland, served as the bishop of the Diocese of San Jose for two decades, beginning in 1999. He retired in 2019 at age 74, and briefly found himself at the center of a controversy involving his purchase of a $2.3 million retirement home using diocesan funds. After public outcry, he sold the house at a $50,000 profit, which he donated to charity.
In the early 2000s, McGrath served on a priest abuse task force committee with former San Jose Mayor Tom McEnery. McEnery remembered McGrath as a proponent of a zero-tolerance policy for abusive priests. Some dioceses had recommended a one-strike policy.
“I know he tried, and that’s a lot more than you can say for many bishops at that period,” McEnery said in an interview Sunday.
The San Jose Diocese, originally part of the San Francisco Diocese, was established in 1981. McGrath was the second bishop to serve the diocese, following Bishop Pierre DuMaine.
Staff writer George Kelly contributed to this report.