The Cathedral Clergy

Rev. Msgr. J. Patrick Browne, Pastor
408.283.8100, ext. 2219

Fr. Michael Hendrickson
408.283.8100, ext. 2220
email

Fr. Tomás Beccar Varela
408.283.8100
email

Rev. Msgr. J. Patrick Browne, Pastor

Monsignor J. Patrick Browne has been pastor of the Cathedral Basilica for the past eleven years. He is the first Diocesan priest to hold this position. A native of Sunnyvale, Msgr. Browne attended Sacred Heart Grammar School in San Jose and the seminaries of the Archdiocese of San Francisco. He was ordained in 1967. After fifteen years of teaching at St. Patrick's Seminary in Menlo Park, The Catholic University of America in Washington and Santa Clara University, he was appointed pastor of Santa Teresa Church in South San Jose, then to Saint Lucy Church in Campbell and finally to the newly restored Saint Joseph Cathedral. He serves as dean of the eight Catholic parishes of downtown San Jose and has served as Consultor to the Bishop of San Jose for the past fifteen years. Msgr. Browne holds a Masters in Divinity from St. Patrick's Seminary in Menlo Park, a Masters in Sacred Theology from St. Mary's Seminary and University in Baltimore, MD and a Ph.D. in Sociology from The Catholic University of America in Washington D.C. He has conducted postdoctoral research at Stanford University, the University of Chicago and Princeton University.

Fr. Michael Hendrickson

Fr. Michael Hendrickson is a California native and grew up in Morgan Hill. After graduating from Live Oak High School, he entered the U.S. Naval Academy in July 1986, was commissioned as a naval officer in May 1990, and served as a Surface Warfare Officer. After leaving the Navy in 1994, he entered St. Patrick's Seminary and was ordained a priest of the Diocese of San Jose in June 2001. His first assignment was to the Cathedral Basilica, where he was assigned for two years. Following this assignment, he reentered the Navy as a chaplain, serving the Marines on Okinawa, Japan, and aboard USS IWO JIMA, homeported in Norfolk, Virginia. After his three-and-a-half year tour as a chaplain, he has now returned to the cathedral as a parochial vicar.

Fr. Tomás Beccar Varela

Reverend Tomás Beccar Varela was born in Buenos Aires , Argentina , in 1978. He entered into the Minor Seminary in 1994, and then into the Major Seminary in 1996. He was ordained Priest in September 24, 2002. After that he was sent to Rome to continue his studies at the Pontific Biblical Institute, where he got his post grade in Sacred Scriptures in April 2006. He has been working in this Diocese since July 1, 2006. He currently serves as Parochial Vicar of the Cathedral Basilica of St Joseph in San Jose , California.