Significance

The old name of the town was Danlog. Fr. Salvador Mendoza, the parish priest of Lagonoy, erected the church in San Jose in 1801. The church was built in Cabayawasnan, so named for the abundance of guava trees. The lot was owned by Laurenciano Barcellano, who did not agree to donate the church to the clergy, and yet it was given to the diocese much later.

The building of the colonial-era stone church was started in 1814. Its enormous cost was beyond the means of the local community, which only had about thirty homesteads. The townsfolk of Lagonoy partly funded the construction and the remaining half by the parishioners. Materials were also sourced out from Dolo such as sand and lime. It was completed in 1818 according to the design drawn up by Felix Paete. Its bronze bell was cast on donation provided by Dalmacia Obias.

It became a parish on March 19, 1816 and in 1818, the stone church was built.

The town separated from Lagonoy in 1813, with Fr. Mendoza as the first parish priest and Macario Agustin as the town’s first head. The town was renamed Patrocinio de San Jose after its patron, San Jose de Patriarca. In 1883, it was renamed to what it is known today as San Jose.

The parish became an archdiocesan shrine by Most Reverend Rolando T. Tirona, the Archbishop of Caceres, on May 19, 2019.