In the beginning was the Word; the Word was in God's presence, and the Word was God. God was present from the beginning. Through God all things come into being and apart from God nothing came into being.From the Gospel of John, 1: 1-2
All that we have and all that we are is a gift from God. In 1955 God sent Fr. James Spooncer of Los Altos to build a new church. Appointed by Archbishop John J. Mitty, and with encouragement and a shared desire, pioneering families came to help our founding pastor turn an apricot orchard into a parish. Aided by the power of the Holy Spirit, they raised the money to form St. Simon Parish. Groundbreaking for the Church was held on April 22,1956 and construction was completed in April, 1957. A convent, rectory and Saint Simon School were added over the course of the next seven years.
Monsignor Ludwig Andre, pastor from September, 1989 to July, 2002, recognized that St.
Simon infrastructure had changed little in more than twenty years and
set out to revitalize and expand the Parish. In May, 1996 a Parish Center
was added. Remodeling of the Church followed and was completed on
June 1, 1999. Monsignor Andre retired in July, 2002 after 14 years
of dedicated service to our community. Our parish was then guided by Rev. Tony Mancuso, Pastor. He brought to the parish a new
set of dynamics, including the introduction of the Dominican sisters of
Mission San Jose to add new life to our Adult Ministry as well as our children's
ministries. Father Tony was succeeded as Pastor by Rev.Warwick
James who came to St. Simon with a vision for the future. Following the lead of Bishop McGrath's Pastoral Plan, "Renewing the Church" promulgated in 2002, Fr. Warwick helped the people of St. Simon facilitate a planning effort including our mission and vision for the future.
Currently, we have over 1700
families in our parish. From the days of our early founding families until now active members have lived their stewardship gifts of time, talent and treasure make St. Simon a united, active faith community. Through continued diligent planning and action we will assure a community of joyful disciples for Jesus for the future.