Photograph by David Heller
Father Joseph Milani recently celebrated 50 years of service to the church.
Father Milani is golden after all these years
Longtime parish priest marks 50 years of service
By Michelle Alaimo
Father Joseph Milani, a popular priest in the West Valley and San Jose areas, recently celebrated 50 years of service to the church.
St. Joseph of Cupertino honored Milani with a Golden Jubilee celebration on June 25. A packed room of people whose lives Milani has touched over the years attended, along with three bishops.
Milani, a people person by nature, is well-known for being helpful and saying hello.
"He is very warm, very helpful and takes a genuine interest in the person," Parishioner Totsie Taylor says. She adds he is a very religious man who always remembers people's names.
Many changes have occurred in the Catholic faith since Milani was ordained on June 16, 1950. Milani says the biggest change came around 1965 when the English language was permitted instead of Latin in the church.
"Before, when we were using a foreign language, it made people feel lost," Milani says. As a result of the change, Milani says more laypeople became involved in the church because they felt more comfortable.
He adds that laypeople help priests in many areas, including giving Bible study classes and visiting the sick. Previously all those types of duties were in addition to some of the standard priestly duties, such as offering mass, communion, funerals and weddings.
Milani, who retired in 1995 at the age of 70, still officiates over many funerals, weddings and christenings when requested.
As one of the founding fathers of the Diocese of San Jose in 1981, Milani has seen other changes in religion, as well. When Milani first joined the seminary in 1939 at the age of 14, he attended seminary high school, college and then studied theology for four years.
"God calls on a person," Milani said. He adds that now it is not uncommon for those coming into the parish to already have completed college before taking a five-year seminary program.
Milani has had eight assignments in his 50 years. The first was at Sacred Heart Church in San Jose and the last 10 years at St. Joseph of Cupertino.
When he first began, priests were appointed to their assignments by the bishop. Now a board appoints priests, Milani says. Ironically, when Milani was working for five years at the Diocese of San Jose, he was living at St. Joseph's. Because of that, many people in the community already knew Milani before he became St. Joseph's priest in the mid-1980s.
Milani still lives at St. Joseph's, but this time in the retirement residence along with eight other retired priests.
Sunnyvale, California Since 1994
