After burning down in mysterious fire, Holy Cross Church prepares to open its doors

San Jose Mercury News (CA)

May 23--SAN JOSE -- Frances Valdez has spent nearly her entire 72 years worshiping and celebrating the milestones of her life at the historic Holy Cross Church, a place that's become like a second home. It's where she received her First Holy Communion and the Sacrament of Confirmation, and where her children were baptized.

On Friday, she'll witness the church's remarkable rebirth.

Like many parishioners, Valdez watched in horror one November morning as the century-old church -- a cultural and religious icon east of Japantown -- was ravaged by a mysterious four-alarm fire in 2014.

"It broke everybody's heart," said Valdez. "It was part of the family."

But Valdez was certain she'd see the church rise again. That affirmation will come Friday when the freshly-rebuilt Holy Cross church on N. 12th and Jackson Streets is inaugurated, ready to welcome the city's faithful Catholics for generations to come.

Bishop Patrick McGrath of the Diocese of San Jose will consecrate the new church with a liturgical celebration on Friday, marking a new era for a parish that has welcomed waves of San Jose's most faithful immigrants -- from Italian to Portuguese, Latino, Vietnamese and Filipino -- for over a century.

Families are already rushing to book the church for quinceañeras, baptisms and weddings that were postponed while it was still under construction, said the Rev. Livio Stella, pastor of the church.

"This is a dream come true for a lot of people who are part of this community," he said.

For nearly four years, the church's 800 parishioners have worshiped in the bingo hall next door, where a makeshift altar is taken down on weekdays and small laminated images taped to the wall serve as the stations of the cross.

Esperanza Ortiz Becerra, of San Jose, said she's looking forward to having a stable place to worship again. "Worshiping in the hall hasn't been the same," she said.

Holy Cross was originally built for working-class Italian immigrants who were settling in the area, and was designated an Italian National Parish in 1911. But while services are still offered in Italian, it has since become a multi-ethnic congregation.

The new church is a "contemporary interpretation" of its original Italian design -- a blend of old and new -- according to project architect Ramiro Torres of San Jose-based Topa Architecture.

"It became clearer and clearer to me that I wanted to retain the essence of the old Italian church but at the same time look into the future," he said. "We couldn't replicate the old Italian details but we made sure that we designed something that would last another 100 years."

Crews with Strawn Construction moved in the tan-colored pews last week -- one of the finishing touches before parishioners walk in for the first time Friday. An abundance of natural light pours into the small, modern church through eight, 12-foot stained glass windows that were salvaged after the fire and restored.

With a traditional, basilica-style floor plan, Torres and project manager Jared

Casto designed the altar to be simple and closer to the parishioners. It's flanked by a baptismal font, sacramental items and seating for priests and altar boys and girls. A large crucifix hangs on a striking curved wall made of rich blue and yellow stained glass, symbolic of heaven and god as "the king of heaven," Torres said.

The crucifix is special -- immediately after the fire, parishioners wondered aloud if it was possible that the carved, medieval-style image of Jesus nailed to the cross had survived. It had, and was retrieved from the wreckage with much care and fanfare by a fire crew and crane the following day amid cries of "milagro" -- Spanish for "miracle."

Insurance covered the vast majority -- about $7.2 million -- of the cost for reconstruction, according to the Diocese of San Jose. The church is paying the remaining $383,400 to cover enhancements, including the clay tile roof, the baptismal font and the signature curved art glass wall behind the altar.

Becerra lives just two blocks from the church and walks to 8 a.m. services on Sundays. She remembers seeing the charred church for the first time after the blaze.

"They were fighting tooth and nail to salvage it," she said. "But now it looks beautiful. It's a huge accomplishment that God has allowed us to fulfill."

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