Roman Catholic Diocese of Sacramento

The first Catholic mass in northern California was celebrated in 1850 by Reverend Peter Anderson in a private home in Sacramento. One of the attendees that day was California Governor Peter Burnett, who later donated to Anderson a property in Sacramento for a new church.[3] Anderson built Saint Rose, a mission church of the Archdiocese of San Francisco.

In 1860, the Vatican erected the Vicariate Apostolic of Marysville, with jurisdiction over all of northern California and western Nevada. Eight years later, the Vatican suppressed the vicariate and established the Diocese of Grass Valley in its place. The pope named Reverend Patrick Manogue as its bishop. The Catholic population, centered in mining towns and farming communities, would rise and fall as economic conditions changed in them.[3]

Pope Leo XIII erected the Diocese of Sacramento in 1886, taking its territory from the Archdiocese of San Francisco and the Diocese of Grass Valley, which the Vatican suppressed. The new diocese covered the eastern section of northern California (excluding the coastal counties) and western Nevada.[4] The pope named Manogue, then bishop of Grass Valley as the first bishop of Sacramento.

In 1887, Manogue laid the cornerstone for the Cathedral of the Blessed Sacrament in Sacramento. When it was dedicated in 1889, the cathedral was the largest church of any denomination west of the Mississippi River.[5]Manogue died in 1895. Leo XIII in 1896 named Reverend Thomas Grace as his replacement as bishop.[6][7]

Grace dedicated St. Patrick Church in Scotia and St. Joseph Church in Redding in 1905.[8] In 1906, he received a property deed in Red Bluff to be used for a hospital run by the Sisters of Mercy.[9] In 1919, Grace dedicated St. Gall Catholic Church in Gardnerville, Nevada.[10]Grace helped launch the diocesan newspaper, The Catholic Herald, in 1908.[11] Grace died in 1921.

In 1922, Pope Pius XI named Reverend Patrick Keane of San Francisco as the third bishop of Sacramento.[12]During his six year tenure, Keane was instrumental in the formation of the parochial school system.[13] He also founded several new parishes and recruited new priests and vocations. Keane died in 1928.

The next bishop of Sacramento was Reverend Robert Armstrong of the Diocese of Seattle, appointed by Pope Pius XI in 1929.[14][15]Armstrong institutionalized social work within the diocese and upgraded its school system.[16]In 1931, Pius XI erected the Diocese of Reno, taking all the Nevada counties away from the Diocese of Sacramento.

By 1957, the Diocese of Sacramento had a Catholic population of 209,281, a 255% increase over 1940. Armstrong established 28 new parishes during his tenure.[17] Pope Pius XII named Auxiliary Bishop Joseph Thomas McGucken as coadjutor bishop in 1955 to assist Armstrong.[18]When Armstrong died in 1957 after 28 years as bishop, McGucken automatically succeeded him as bishop.[19]

In his five years as bishop, McGucken authorized, built or approved for development nine parishes, three high schools, 33 new church buildings and one minor seminary.[20]He became archbishop of San Francisco in 1962. To replace McGucken, Pope John XXIII named Auxiliary Bishop Alden John Bell of Los Angeles as the next bishop of Sacramento.

Bell was responsible for implementing the reforms from the Second Vatican Council in the diocese. Many parishes began parish councils at this time, and Bell encouraged the emergence of lay ministry in the diocese. At the same time, he needed to respond to the needs of a growing diocese. He focused on the development of high schools throughout the diocese. Bell initiated a fund drive to ease costs, build new schools, expand religious education programs, and build a home for the elderly.[21]

In 1962, the Vatican erected the Dioceses of Stockton and Santa Rosa, taking several counties from the Diocese of Sacramento. At the same time, the Vatican transferred Solano County from the Archdiocese of San Francisco to Sacramento. Four years later, the Vatican also moved Alpine County from Sacramento to Stockton.[22]

When Bell retired in 1979, Pope John Paul II selected Auxiliary Bishop Francis Quinn of San Francisco as the next bishop of Sacramento. From 1980 to 1992, Quinn establish seven new parishes, several missions, two elementary schools, and one high school in the diocese. He oversaw a ten-year pastoral plan for the diocese as well as a spiritual renewal program, reorganized the deanery structure, initiated a diocesan pastoral council, and celebrated the hundredth anniversary of the diocese. Quinn retired in 1993.

The next bishop of Sacramento was Bishop William Weigand of the Diocese of Salt Lake City, named by John Paul II in 1993.[23] In 2007, Pope Benedict XVI named Auxiliary Bishop Jaime Soto from the Diocese of Orange as coadjutor bishop to assist Weigand. When Weigand retired in 2008, Soto became the next bishop. His self-proclaimed greatest achievements have been counseling Hispanics diagnosed with HIV/AIDS, leading monthly services for inmates at the Orange County Jail, and promoting such Hispanic rituals and events as the Procession of Our Lady of Guadalupe and the Day of the Dead.[24]

As of 2023, Soto is the current bishop of the Diocese of Sacramento.

Reverend Gerardo Beltran Rico, a diocesan priest in several parishes between 1982 and 1991, left the country to avoid an arrest warrant in 1991. By 2023, 15 men and women had accused Rico of sexually abusing them when they were children. In 1995, Reverend Francisco Javier Garcia, a diocesan priest who served in five parishes, fled to Mexico to avoid arrest. He was ultimately accused of sexually abusing 24 boys over a 22 year period.[25] Reverend Mario Blanco Porras, who was laicized in 1973 for misconduct unrelated to sexual abuse, had been accused by 2023 of sexually assaulting 21 boys in several parishes.[25] The Diocese of Sacramento in 2005 agree to pay a $35 million dollar settlement to 33 victims of sexual abuse by diocesan clergy.[26]

In April 2019, the Diocese of Sacramento provided the names of 46 priests and deacons who were credibly accused of sexually abusing 130 minors and adults, ages 25 or younger, from 1950 to 2019.[27] In 2019, the Diocese of Sacramento and five other dioceses were subpoenaed by California State Attorney Xavier Becerra to investigate their procedures for handling sexual abuse allegations against clergy.[28][29]

In February 2023, the diocese reported that it was facing over 200 lawsuits relating to sexual abuse by clergy or scouting leaders. A large number of these lawsuits were related to allegations against Rico, Garcia, and Porras.[25] Bishop Soto said that filing for bankruptcy protection was a real possibility.[30]

1. Patrick Manogue (1886–1895)
2. Thomas Grace (1896–1921)
3. Patrick Joseph James Keane (1922–1928)
4. Robert John Armstrong (1929–1957)
5. Joseph Thomas McGucken (1957–1962), appointed Archbishop of San Francisco
6. Alden John Bell (1962–1980)
7. Francis Anthony Quinn (1979–1993)
8. William Keith Weigand (1993–2008)
9. Jaime Soto (2008–present)

• Joseph Thomas McGucken (1955-1957)
• Jaime Soto (2007-2008)

• Patrick Joseph James Keane (1920–1922), appointed Bishop of Sacramento
• John Stephen Cummins (1974–1977), appointed Bishop of Oakland
• Alphonse Gallegos, O.A.R. (1981–1991)
• Richard John Garcia (1997–2006), appointed Bishop of Monterey in California
• Myron Joseph Cotta (2014–2018), appointed Bishop of Stockton

Richard Brendan Higgins, appointed auxiliary bishop of the US military in 2004

• Christian Brothers High School – Sacramento
• Cristo Rey High School – Sacramento
• Jesuit High School – Carmichael
• Mercy High School – Red Bluff
• St. Francis High School – Sacramento
• St. Patrick-St. Vincent High School – Vallejo

• Bishop Manogue High School – Sacramento (closed 1993). Merged with Christian Brothers High School to create a coed campus.
• Bishop Quinn High School – Palo Cedro (closed 2008) [32]
• Loretto High School – Sacramento (closed 2009)
• St. Stephen Academy – Sacramento (closed 2009)

St. Pius X Minor Seminary – Rio Dell (1955-1961) then moved to Galt (1961-1978) [33]