1945

• Patrick Joseph McGrath is born in Dublin, Ireland

1964

• enters St. John’s seminary in Waterford, Ireland at 19 years old

1970

• is ordained a priest in Ireland and assigned to St. Anne’s Parish in San Francisco as pastor

1977

• earns a Ph.D. In Canon Law in Rome; returns to the Archdiocese of San Francisco

1979

• is named the judicial vicar for the Archdiocese

1989

• becomes auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese

1989 – 1996

• serves as the vicar for clergy in the Archdiocese; meets Mother Theresa during her 1986 visit to the United States

1996-1998

• serves in various posts in the Archdiocese’s chancery