FATHER WILLIAM J LANDE
Closely identified with all the
movements that aim to encourage and strengthen the moral and
uplifting forces of the community, Father William J. Lande, the
well-beloved pastor of the church of St. Joseph at Cupertino, at the
town of Cupertino, and also Sacred Heart Church at Saratoga, is among
the most active and progressive of the clergy. A native of
Ireland, he was born in County Limerick on April 14, 1875, a son of
William J and Ellen (Cummins) Lande, natives of that country who were
engaged in farming pursuits until they were called by Providence to the
world beyond.
William J. Lande was educated in Christian Brothers College at Doon,
where after completing his classics he entered St. Patrick's
Theological Seminary and dogmatics, after which he was ordained a
priest at Thurles Cathedral by the great Archbishop Croke, for the
Archdiocese of San Francisco, on June, 18, 1899. Among his class
mates ordained at the same time were Bishop John J. Cantwell, of Los
Angeles; Father Sampson of Sacred Heart, Oakland; Father Kiely of
Petaluma; Father Quinn of St. Anthony's East Oakland Father Butler of
San Francisco; and Father William Cantwell of Ross Valley. Soon
after his ordination Father Lande came to America, arriving at San
Francisco December 4, 1899. His first charge was at St. Brendan's
Church, San Francisco, then for two years he served the parish of St.
Patrick's Church, San Jose. The next ten years he was located at
St. Peter's Church, San Francisco, and during the last two years, there
he was acting pastor. Eight years of this period this time was
given principally to the work of the City and County Hospitals of San
Francisco, also the Contagious Pavilion, Pest House, St. Catherine's
Home and to the tubercular patients around the Bay, ministering
faithfully to them and looking after their spiritual welfare, doing his
duty with unselfish devotion, to that his name is a household word in
many homes around the Bay. Father Lande was next appointed
assistant pastor of St. James Church, San Francisco, where he remained
for three years, and in 1915 he took up his present charge, at
Cupertino and Saratoga.
For twenty-five or thirty years, services had been held at Villa Marie,
on Stevens Creek the country home of the Jesuit Fathers of Santa Clara,
in the chapel near the entrance to the property. Succeeding
Father Ricard, J. J., who had succeeded Father Cichi, Father Gabriel
took charge of the chapel in 1902. As the larger portion was
coming, not from Montebello, as formerly, but from the valley, it
was decided in 1907 to close the chapel and build a church at
Cupertino. Alex Montgomery donated the site of one acre and
the church was erected at a cost of $9,000-, with Father Gabriel in
charge. After this Rev. W. McMillan, S. J., was in charge for
three years, being again replaced by Father Gabriel, the last Jesuit
father to have charge of the parish, for in 1913 Archbishop Riodran, D.
D., transferred authority in most of the missions in Santa Clara
County to the secular priests, when Father Thomas O'Connell, the
present pastor of St. Patrick's Church, Oakland, was appointed the
first rector of the parish. In August, 1915, Archbishop Riordan
appointed Father Lande to take charge, Father O'Connell being
transferred to Mission San Jose.
The parish, thought rather new, is progressing rapidly, as the
territory, with its wonderful orchard development, is coming in to
world-wide notice. Recently Archbishop Hanna purchased the Snyder
farm on Cupertino Hillside, within the parish of St. Joseph's in
Cupertino, and soon plans to establish a $5,000,000 preparatory college
for boys studying for the priesthood. The farm is beautifully
located on Permanent Creek at the foot of Bald's Peak and commands a
magnificent view of the valley. Father Lande is greatly beloved in his
parish for his deeds of charity, and his friends and parishioners
appreciate him for his true worth as a citizen of the community.