Built in 1877, Saint Joseph’s Cathedral is an architectural masterpiece that could last forever

Chuck Toeniskoetter opened the doors of Saint Joseph’s Church in downtown San Jose late on a Tuesday afternoon in 1989 to show his family what he had been working on.

He brought his wife and the three kids inside and gestured up to the ceiling, where two artists were lying on scaffolding, repainting murals.

Toeniskoetter, who oversaw the five-year restoration process necessary for the century-old cathedral to receive Vatican basilica title, was astounded by the painters’ skill. The 1928 original murals were beginning to gleam once again.

The floor started to tremble as his family was in awe of the beauty.

It marked the start of the 6.9-magnitude Loma Prieta earthquake, which claimed at least 63 lives and left over $6 billion in damage. As items started to fly from all sides, Toeniskoetter hurried his family beneath the scaffolding and clung to them.

Toeniskoetter was shocked to learn that no one had been hurt in the church.

Since its initial construction in 1877, the structure has largely remained intact.

Maybe a miracle. or simply excellent timing.

“My family, the artists, and I would have probably been devastated if we hadn’t just done all that work to restore the ceiling,” Toeniskoetter recently stated.

Only a few weeks prior, Toeniskoetter’s construction team had noticed that the church’s roof—a set of triangular trusses without any supporting columns—was beginning to give way. After promptly contacting some engineers, Toeniskoetter started repairing the roof using fiberglass and copper, a material combination that he claims would last forever.

The ceiling murals, which are original 1928 oil paintings by Italian artist Father Luigi Sciocchetti, were painted as soon as the roof’s construction was finished.

Then there was an earthquake.

According to Toeniskoetter, “that roof would have collapsed and we would all have been gone if we hadn’t redone it.” Yes, that building holds great significance for me.

The church was dedicated as a cathedral the year after Toeniskoetter’s team of 50 to 60 workers finished their five-year renovation project.

It received basilica status from the Vatican in 1997.

Only 93 churches in the US currently hold that distinction, which recognizes churches with exceptional architectural beauty and grants them the authority to receive popes, cardinals, and bishops, among other distinctions.

The church has changed significantly on its path to becoming the Cathedral Basilica of Saint Joseph.

Built in 1777 on the intersection of San Fernando and Market Streets, the original St. Joseph’s adobe stood until the church collapsed due to an earthquake in 1818. Another earthquake in 1868 damaged a new one constructed in 1846. In 1875, children playing with matches unintentionally set the next one on fire. The church’s final design was built in 1877.

The church, which was constructed using Roman Corinthian Cruciform style, greets guests through three tall doors that are tucked away behind four Greek columns, giving the impression that the structure was built during the Roman Empire. To get a sense of the church’s grandeur, enter through the lobby.

The well-lit ceilings are surrounded by a pomegranate red, sky blue, and gold glow. During the installation, the church ran out of funds, so not all of the giant lanterns could be coated in genuine gold, but some of them light brighter than the others.

A collection of artworks created by Sciocchetti throughout the 1920s is displayed on the ceiling. Oil paintings of New Testament biblical characters Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John were adhered to the dome and encircled by additional ceiling art. The paintings’ larger torsos were intended to give the impression of depth from below. It is surrounded by gold-colored angels with wings and heads. When one of them collapsed during Mass in the 1970s, parishioners were shocked to see it floating, even though they had previously assumed they were composed of plaster. Papier-m ch was used to make it.

All of the walls have original stained glass windows, however the ones facing north are dark since the building next to it was built too close to the church and blocks the light. The majority of the window glass’s colors are still vivid despite being mouth-blown.

Large Italian marble shrines flank the church, although the upper half of the shrines is really constructed from wood from former sailing ships and painted to resemble marble.

The walls are adorned with lifelike figures of Saint Joseph (for Saint Joseph) and Saint Clara (for Santa Clara).

The church’s layout is still in accordance with its original design, which is a cross with a distinctive shape that resembles a plus sign because each of its symmetrical arms has precisely the same area. The new altar, which was relocated during the restoration effort in the late 1980s, is located just beneath the center of the church. According to church docent Annette Wen, the Vatican mandated that the altar be accessible to everyone present in order to promote greater involvement.

Currently located in the rear of the church, the original altar from 1877, which weighs 20 tons, was reoriented to provide a little space for private prayer. The restoration also included the addition of three new stained glass windows across from the altar.

Only basilicas are permitted to have the enormous umbrella to its right; it is currently closed but could open if the pope were to visit, though he hasn’t done so yet.

During busy festivals and special occasions like the yearly blessing of the sacred oils, the church may accommodate up to 800 people.

in a recent Friday, people were spotted praying in the pews, kneeling at the north and south marble shrines, waiting for confessions in the south end, and strolling around the church’s pews to see the artwork.

According to Wen, people go from all over the world to view it. But maintaining it is very difficult and expensive.

Toeniskoetter continues to visit frequently and reflects on the years of labor that the hundreds of construction workers put in to restore the church to its current state of strength and architectural wonder.

He also considers how he completed the roof on schedule and how it shielded his family from the 1989 earthquake.

He remarked, “Look what it means to downtown San Jose—it’s the centerpiece.” This is what we wanted to do when we first launched our company. And because of what we achieved with the cathedral, we were able to go inside and redo the old Santa Clara court houses on Saint James Square following that earthquake. Following that, we were able to work on several historic structures because to the experience we had with that particular building.