We can't view the Croatian Parish of the Assumption of Mary in San Jose as the heir to the Croatian Parish in San Francisco because at one time the two existed side by side. However, I believe that the history of the parish in San Francisco will help to shed light upon the circumstances surrounding the founding of this parish. 

The first Croatian immigrants mariners from Dalmatia, came to the San Francisco Bay Area around 1850. Their numbers soon rose, and in 1857, they founded a Benevolent Society in San Francisco for assisting the ill and providing burial for the deceased. 

Reverend Stjepan Vladislavic from the island of Brac is mentioned as the first priest who regularly visited the Croatian immigrants. He unfortunately died very young, in 1883, at the age of 37. Next, a Slovenian priest came, Rev. Petar Jeram. He tried to persuade the Slovenes to go to Eden Valley and establish a Slovenian colony there. His attempts were fruitless due to his death by drowning in 1897. In 1901, a Jesuit priest, Father Henry Bontempo, arrived. He was born in Istria of Italian parents and learned Croatian through mission work in Dalmatia. Archbishop Patrick W. Riordan gave him the necessary faculties in 1902, to minister to the Catholic Slavs. Thus the Parish of the Nativity of the Virgin Mary was founded in San Francisco. It was intended as a parish for all Catholics of Slavic descent, and it remained so throughout most of its existence, with Croatians making up the majority of its parishioners. The very next year, 1903, the management of the parish was taken over by Slovenian priest, Rev. Francis Turk, who was given orders by the archbishop to build a new church. That church was built at a cost of $14,500. 

For many years, the parish priest was a Croatian, Father Ive Mihovilovic. When the parish was established in San Francisco, it included about 4000 parishioners, mostly Croatian from Dalmatia, about 300 families. The Slovenes had about 100 families, and about 80 families were Slovak. Czechs and Poles were never a part of the parish. After arriving in San Francisco, many Croatian immigrants did not remain in the parish for long, since they found work in outlying areas. A common occupation was fruit farming because the region was rich in orchards. Soon, other Croatian communities began to spring up. Economic opportunities in the Bay Area soon brought large numbers of Croatians from other parts of the USA. Many left San Francisco for other towns as soon as they became financially stable, as the city had become too crowded. This trend continued for many years until Archbishop Quinn finally shut down the Parish of the Nativity of the Virgin Mary in 1995. 

For centuries, Croatia was not independent. This caused people's national consciousness to remain largely undeveloped. Thus, many Croatians who came here called themselves Dalmatians, Austrians, and later Yugoslavs - everything except what they really were - Croats. After World War Two in particular, Yugoslav and American propaganda took its toll. Thus, people not only didn't call themselves Croats, they also began to dislike everything Croatian - to the point where they called the Croatian language "naski" or "our language". Along with the new wave of immigrants after WWII, there came a new national consciousness as well. Among those immigrants, there were also many priests. One of them was Father Petar Topic. In order to secure his situation and livelihood, he joined the Franciscan Province of St. Barbara, which assigned him various duties. Of these, his final office was that of chaplain for the nuns of Aptos. 

Father Petar came into contact with many Croatians and always tried to be of assistance to them. He attempted to unite them, but was not successful until the late 1960s. More specifically, he began to hold regular Masses in October 1969, in the basement of the Church of Saint Clare in Santa Clara. The first masses were humble ones, with only 12 attendees, like 12 apostles.
However, this did not discourage Father Petar or his helpers. Instead, they immediately began making plans for the establishment of a parish. In this endeavor, the Provincial at that time, Father Petar Capkun played a major role. He often came to this area to help advance the project. In fact, it was through his help, along with a reasonable offer on the part of Sele, that the building and parking lots were purchased. The rest was donated by Sele to the Franciscans with the understanding that they would continue to minister to the Croatians in this region. 

"Neither the building at 'Mary Ann Gardens' nor the land around it may be sold to anyone for any purpose other than that for which 'Mary Ann Gardens' was intended, i.e. for the Church's pastoral use..." 

So began the correspondence with the Archbishop, but all did not go smoothly, for Archbishop McGucken, as he himself admitted, was not familiar with the circumstances, and had to "seek guidance from the deans". Their opinion, however, was not at all favorable. Namely, they feared that the creation of a new Croatian parish would cause them to lose some parishioners. They were of the opinion that Croatians could have their cultural center and could hold only a few special Masses on certain holidays. Father Petar Topic wrote to them and visited them, persuading them that a Croatian parish would do them no harm. One of them admitted to knowing nothing about Croatians, not even how many Croats there were in his parish. There were also problems with this Franciscan Province of St. Barbara because friars from other communities were coming into their area, and their monastic life was at issues, for Franciscans are expected to live within a community. However, even this conflict was solved with the help of Father Petar Capkun. In the end, all the hurdles were cleared. This is what Father Petar Topic wrote in his first bulletin (October 12, 1975): 

"It was in October, 1969 that we had our first modest weekly Holy Mass in the Croatian language in the basement of the Church of St. Clare in Santa Clara, for at that time we were unable to find a better solution, particularly in light of Archbishop McGucken's decision. In fact, the permission we received then was only temporary - on an experimental basis. Nevertheless, thanks be to God and to the conscientiousness and perseverance of a not too large number of Croatian Catholics, that temporary permission has recently been replaced by the same archbishop with a much better arrangement. By a special decree, the Archbishop of San Francisco, Rev. Joseph McGucken, has established this mission as a permanent entity - for as long as it is deemed to be for the spiritual and national good of the Croatian Catholics of this area."

The archbishop's decree regarding the establishment of a Croatian Catholic Pastoral Mission bears the date June 23, 1975. 

Having received permission to build, the community rolled up its sleeves and began organizing a place where mass could be served. It was decided that the "Rumpus Room," or more accurately, the bar, would be best. There weren't many volunteers, but the small group worked steadfastly. First, it was necessary to clear the area. At times, there were comic moments. People would load things onto trucks and Sele would remove them, arguing that they were still useful. The blessing of the mission and the first mass were to take place on Sunday, August 17, 1975. As you have read, the combined solution for the parish in San Jose included Father Bozo Ancic. He happened to be in our area just in time for the renovation of the building and for the opening day festivities. His assistance in the preparations and organization of the celebration were of incalculable value. In fact, he directed everything. 

Since throughout the year, only a small number of faithful had been coming to mass, it was feared that the celebration would be small. To the contrary, the number of attendees exceeded even the most optimistic expectations. The place was packed. Before mass, there was a splendid procession. Mass was celebrated by Father Bona Prcela, with the help of Father Petar Topic, Father Bozo Ancic, Father Jozo and Father Milan Mikulic. After the religious part of the celebration, there was entertainment and a cultural program. 

And thus began our little community, which in the course of almost 50 years has grown and developed into a vigorous entity which serves the Croatian faithful of the Bay Area and beyond.