Saint Elizabeth of Portugal Catholic Church sits on a twelve-acre parish site on Sequoia Drive in Milpitas, California, where it has served Catholic families on the east side of Santa Clara County since the late 1960s. Founded in 1968 as the second Catholic parish in the area, the church grew out of a rented storefront in the Fiesta Shopping Plaza into a multipurpose building consecrated in 1970, and it now runs one of the most linguistically diverse parish schedules in the region, with regular Masses in English, Spanish, and Vietnamese.
A Parish Built Around Three Languages
The weekly Mass schedule is structured to serve three language communities under one roof. On Saturdays, the 4:00 PM English Mass is livestreamed, and a Vietnamese Mass follows at 6:00 PM. Sundays bring a full slate of liturgies: 8:00 AM, 9:30 AM, and 11:00 AM in English; 12:30 PM in Spanish; 3:30 PM in Vietnamese; and a final English Mass at 5:30 PM. Each weekday morning, a daily Mass is celebrated at 8:30 AM in English. First Fridays add a Vietnamese celebration at 6:30 PM, and on the first Saturday of each month a special Healing Mass is offered at 8:30 AM. The parish also distributes a Sunday bulletin online each week, complete with a children's bulletin.
Reconciliation Around the Mass Schedule
Confessions are heard every Saturday immediately after the 8:30 AM English Mass, with no appointment required. The sacrament is also available by appointment on weekdays, and any priest who is free after a Mass will hear confessions then. The parish teaches that Reconciliation is one of the most distinctive and beautiful aspects of Catholicism, drawing on John 20:21-23 as the scriptural foundation for the sacrament.
A New Pastor with a Background in Catholic Education
Saint Elizabeth recently welcomed Fr. Steve Kim as its new pastor. A native of Palo Alto, Fr. Kim earned a B.A. in Philosophy from Santa Clara University before completing his M.A., M.Div., and S.T.B. in Theology at St. Patrick's Seminary in Menlo Park. He was ordained in 2011 and then served two years at St. John Vianney Parish in East San Jose, seven years at St. Lucy Parish in Campbell, and three years as pastor of St. Leo the Great Parish in San Jose.
Fr. Kim is also an educator. He holds an M.A. in Educational Leadership from Santa Clara University and a Doctorate in Education from the University of Southern California. He spent more than ten years at St. Francis High School in Mountain View, teaching theology and serving as Director of Campus Ministry, and taught graduate students in the ExCEL/CatMAT program at Santa Clara University. He also led lay leaders in the Diocese of San Jose's Institute for Leadership in Ministry. His most recent role was as president and principal of St. Joseph Notre Dame High School in Alameda for three years. He is the founder of several non-profits, including Camp Thrive, and serves as chaplain for the San Francisco 49ers, the Order of Malta, and Young Catholic Professionals. He is joined at Saint Elizabeth by Parochial Vicar Fr. Thuc Si Ho and Deacon Sam Milan, who also teaches the English baptism preparation class.
From a Storefront in the Fiesta Shopping Plaza to Sequoia Drive
Saint Elizabeth was established on June 10, 1968, after St. John the Baptist, the original Catholic parish in Milpitas founded in 1877, had grown to roughly 2,400 families. The growth and development of the Milpitas area and northeast San Jose created the need for a second parish, and the new community of about 1,200 families began operations in a rented store in the Fiesta Shopping Plaza on the third Sunday of September 1968. With a temporary worship space that seated only 350, planning began almost immediately for a permanent home.
Architects Fred T. Houweling and Robert W. Hagman were hired to design a multipurpose building for the twelve-acre Sequoia Drive site, and Freitas Construction Company broke ground on December 18, 1969. After 185 days of construction, the first Mass in the new structure was celebrated on October 4, 1970. Hundreds of parishioners pitched in to prepare the building for occupancy, contributing an estimated $14,000 in time, talent, and treasure. Recent years have brought a wave of upgrades: new stained-glass windows have been installed across the chapel and church; statues of Our Lady of La Vang, Our Lady of Guadalupe, and St. Elizabeth of Portugal have been added; and the altar, processional cross, candlesticks, candles, chapel chairs, and paint have all been renewed, again with significant savings from the contributed time, talent, and treasure of the parish.
The Patroness: A Spanish Princess with a Daily Mass Habit
The church's namesake, St. Elizabeth of Portugal, was a thirteenth-century princess married at age twelve to King Denis of Portugal. Known for her beauty, her devotion, and her habit of attending daily Mass, she endured a difficult marriage as her husband's sins of impurity became public scandal. According to the legend recorded in the parish history, a jealous page falsely accused Elizabeth's favorite page of impropriety, and the king ordered the accused page delivered to a lime-burner to be thrown into his furnace. The faithful page stopped to attend Mass on his way, first staying for the Mass already in progress and then for a second one; in the meantime the jealous page arrived at the lime-burner and was himself cast into the fire. The miracle convinced the king of Elizabeth's innocence and led him to reform his life. Elizabeth cared for him through his final illness and, after his death, devoted eleven more years to charity and peacemaking among her own family and between nations. The parish holds her up as a model of fidelity to daily Mass and kindness to the poor.
Sacraments for Every Stage of Life
The parish prepares Catholics for each of the seven sacraments. Baptisms for children up to age seven are scheduled in English on the first Saturday of the month, in Vietnamese on the second Saturday, and in Spanish on the third Saturday, each at 10:00 AM. Parents and main godparents must take a baptism preparation class within three years of the ceremony, and godparents must be practicing Catholics who have received Baptism, Communion, and Confirmation. Private baptisms can also be arranged, and the registration form is available online. Children aged seven and older receive preparation through the parish's Catechetical Ministry, while unbaptized adults and adults baptized in other Christian traditions prepare through the OCIA, the Order of Christian Initiation of Adults.
First Communion typically falls around age seven, with coordinators Sr. Theresa Doan for English and Vietnamese and Ana Maria Chavolla Leon for Spanish. Confirmation is coordinated by Christi Bradford, and the parish also runs a teen program with its own registration form. Couples preparing for marriage are asked to meet with a parish priest at least six months before their tentative wedding date. Requirements include marriage preparation classes offered at the parish, an introduction to Natural Family Planning through the Diocese of San Jose, and the FOCCUS pre-marriage inventory. Standard paperwork includes birth and recently issued baptismal certificates, self-testimony and witness-testimony forms, and a dispensation form in cases of interfaith marriage. A $150 deposit secures the date, and a Wedding Coordinator is assigned in English (Imelda "Mel" Manaloto), Spanish (Filimon Figueroa and Cristina Plascencia), or Vietnamese (Allison Haro).
Anointing of the Sick is offered for the seriously ill, injured, and elderly, with the oil blessed by the bishop at the Chrism Mass during Holy Week. The parish's Homebound Ministry brings communion and pastoral care to parishioners who cannot attend Mass because of illness, disability, advanced age, or recovery from surgery. Funeral services are coordinated through the parish office for a fee of $300, with viewing or vigil services available at $150 per hour; coordinators Annie Henzel and Imelda Manaloto handle English funerals, Romelia Ortiz handles Spanish, and Harrison Tran, Mary Nguyen, and Nghi Nguyen handle Vietnamese funerals. Catholic Cemeteries of the Diocese of San Jose handles burial arrangements for those who need them.
Religious Education in Three Languages
The parish Catechetical Ministry runs faith formation classes in English, Spanish, and Vietnamese, with downloadable registration forms for each language as well as a separate teen program form. OCIA is offered in all three languages as well: in English with Rosalio Haro, in Spanish with Oscar Leon, and in Vietnamese with Thuy Tran Nguyen and Kim Dang. Children aged seven and older who have not yet been baptized also follow the OCIA path toward the Sacraments of Initiation, while baptized adult Catholics who have not received First Communion and Confirmation prepare for those sacraments through the same process.
A Parish Council, Finance Council, and Stewardship Council
The Parish Pastoral Council, made up of twelve parishioners and the pastor, advises on pastoral matters in keeping with the principles of Vatican II and Canon Law 536. Fr. Steve Kim presides over the Council as pastor, with chairperson Joseph Thu Huynh and members Cecile Nga Nguyen, Paolo Rico Sioco, Rosita Ecura, Diane Bayona, Amudhan Manickaraj, Carlos Chavez, George Sanchez, Andrew B. Dyson Jr., Sathish Thurai, Richie Le, and Jinky Peralta. The Council meets every third Thursday from 7:00 to 8:30 PM in the Parish Ministry Center. A separate Finance Council, chaired by Oscar Leon, and a Stewardship Council round out the parish's lay leadership.
Parish Groups and Cultural Communities
Saint Elizabeth hosts an unusually broad mix of parish groups. The Knights of Columbus (Council 8747) is led by Grand Knight Manuel Mallabo III and coordinator Andy Dyson. The Society of St. Vincent de Paul, the parish's main outreach arm, meets every third Wednesday at 7:00 PM in the St. Martin De Porres Room under president Ron Avanzino. Legion of Mary operates in two Vietnamese branches: La Vang, led by Thanh Nguyen, and Full of Grace, led by Maria Xuan Mai and Thu Nguyen. Couples for Christ, Cursillo, the Filipino Ministry under Ramon Sico, the Hispanic Ministry under Romelia Ortiz, the Vietnamese Ministry, and a Vietnamese Eucharistic Youth Movement (TNTT-TDV) all keep regular schedules.
Spiritual life groups include the Third Order Carmelite group led by Hoa Le, the Third Order Dominican group led by Dawn Ho, and St. Monica's Group under Annie Nguyen, traditionally associated with parents praying for their children. A Spanish-language prayer group, Grupo de Oración, is led by Gisela Martinez, and the Spanish-language youth group Jóvenes Para Cristo is led by Elizabeth Chavez. Liturgical ministries include Altar Serving, with English coordinators Brenda Wong and Rory Flores, Spanish coordinator Celia Bracamontes, and Vietnamese coordinators Minh Tuan Nguyen and Lan Pham; Arts and Environment under Truc To and Kimmee Do; and Sacristans Annie Nguyen and Romelia Ortiz. Communications are handled by Media Communication Coordinator Nghi Nguyen.
Reaching Out Through the St. Vincent de Paul Helpline
Through its St. Vincent de Paul Conference, the parish runs a helpline at 408-205-4359 for anyone in need of food or financial assistance. The Vincentians follow the international society's model of person-to-person service, treating each encounter with the poor as an encounter with Christ and maintaining the confidentiality and dignity of those they serve. The conference maintains a referral network that includes the Milpitas Food Pantry, Second Harvest of Silicon Valley, CalFresh, the Santa Clara County Housing Authority, LifeMoves, HomeFirst, the Salvation Army of Silicon Valley, Catholic Charities of Santa Clara County, the PG&E CARE, FERA, and REACH utility-assistance programs, and a range of employment, addiction-recovery, and government benefit services across the county.
Office, Location, and Stewardship
The parish office is open Monday through Friday from 9:30 AM to 5:30 PM at 750 Sequoia Drive, Milpitas, California 95035. The main parish number is (408) 262-8100, with a cell line at (669) 699-8741 for text and calls. Stewardship offerings can be made through Our Sunday Visitor online giving or via Venmo to the parish account. Weddings and baptisms can also be reserved through the parish's Zeffy ticketing pages, and the parish keeps an active presence on Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube, where the Saturday 4:00 PM English Mass is livestreamed. Parishioners who wish to be formally registered can do so through a downloadable registration form, and bulletins are posted online each week in both adult and children's versions.