Roman Catholic Diocese of San Bernardino

The Diocese of San Bernardino (Latin: Dioecesis Sancti Bernardi, Spanish: Diócesis de San Bernardino) is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory, or diocese, in Southern California in the United States. Erected by Pope Paul VI on July 14, 1978, its jurisdiction extends over San Bernardino and Riverside counties. As of 2021, the diocese has 92 parishes and 12 missions in its territory.[1] Its cathedral is Our Lady of the Rosary Cathedral in San Bernardino.

Diocese of San Bernardino

Dioecesis Sancti Bernardi

Diócesis de San Bernardino
Our Lady of the Rosary Cathedral
Coat of arms
Location
Country United States
TerritoryCalifornia Counties of San Bernardino and Riverside, California
Ecclesiastical provinceLos Angeles
Statistics
Area70,689 km2 (27,293 sq mi)
Population
- Total
- Catholics
(as of 2019)
4,650,631
1,740,655 (37.4%)
Parishes92
Schools30
Information
DenominationCatholic
Sui iuris churchLatin Church
RiteRoman Rite
EstablishedNovember 6, 1978
CathedralOur Lady of the Rosary Cathedral
Patron saintSt. Bernardine of Siena
Our Lady of Guadalupe
Current leadership
PopeFrancis
BishopAlberto Rojas
Metropolitan ArchbishopJosé Gómez
Bishops emeritus
Map
Website
sbdiocese.org

The diocese has become known as a leader in implementing the "parish coordinator" model of parish leadership. The Diocese of San Bernardino is a suffragan diocese in the ecclesiastical province of the metropolitan Archdiocese of Los Angeles.

Demographics

In 2019, the Diocese of San Bernardino reported a population of 1,740,655 Catholics, a 22,000 increase from the previous year. That made San Bernardino the fifth largest Catholic diocese in the United States. The main cause of this increase was thought to be the increasing migration of Hispanics to the area in part due to the economic opportunities and affordable housing in comparison to the rest of California.[2]

History

1800 to 1821

During the 18th century, the San Bernardino and Riverside areas were part of the province of Las Californias in the Spanish colony of New Spain. In 1804, the Spanish Government split Las Californias into two provinces, with most of present day California becoming part of the new province of Alta California.

Spanish missionaries from the Mission San Gabriel Arcángel in present day Los Angeles established the first church in the San Bernardino area in 1810 at the village of Wa'aachnga, present day Politania.[3] Reverend Francisco Dumetz named the church San Bernardino after the feast day of St. Bernardino of Siena. The Franciscans also named the San Bernardino Mountains.[4] The first European settlement in present day Riverside County was an estancia, or farmer, established by the Mission San Luis Rey de Francia at the Luiseño village of Temescal. In 1819, Franciscan missionaries established the San Bernardino de Sena Estancia in what is today Redlands.

1821 to 1859

Alta California became a Mexican state after Mexico gained independence from Spain in 1821. In 1840, Pope Gregory XVI erected the Diocese of California (or Two Californias) to recognize the growth of the provinces of Alta California and Baja California. This diocese – with its episcopal see located in Monterey – included all Mexican territory west of the Colorado River and the Gulf of California (the modern U.S. states of California and Nevada, and parts of Utah, Arizona, and Colorado, as well as the modern Mexican states of Baja California and Baja California Sur).

Mexico ceded Alta California to the United States in 1848 after the Mexican–American War. At that time, the Mexican government complained to the Vatican about the Diocese of California. They didn't want American bishop to have jurisdiction over parishes in Mexico. In 1849, Pope Pius IX split the Diocese of Californian into American and Mexican dioceses; the American diocese was named the Diocese of Monterey.

1859 to 1978

In 1859, Pius IX renamed the Diocese of Monterey as the Diocese of Monterey-Los Angeles to recognize the growth of Los Angeles; the see was transferred to Los Angeles in 1876. In 1922, the diocese was again divided, with the southern portion becoming the Diocese of Los Angeles-San Diego. The Diocese of San Diego was established on July 11, 1936, including San Bernardino and Riverside Counties. These two counties would remain part of the Diocese of San Diego for the next 42 years.

1978 to present

Pope John Paul II erected the Diocese of San Bernardino on November 6, 1978, taking San Bernardino and Riverside Counties from the Diocese of San Diego. He appointed Reverend Phillip Straling of the Diocese of San Diego as the first bishop of San Bernardino.

During Straling's episcopate, the diocese grew from about 235,000 people to 800,000, and from 85 parishes to 105.[5] For the formation for ministry, he established a diaconate program, and started the Straling Institute in 1980 for laymen. In 1995, John Paul II named Straling as bishop of the Diocese of Reno and replaced him in the Diocese of San Bernardino with Auxiliary Bishop Gerald Barnes.

Under Barnes, the diocese operated three high schools, twenty-three elementary schools and three pre-schools. In 2001, Barnes inaugurated the Annual Bishop's Golf Classic to fund scholarships to families who are unable to afford a Catholic education for their children. During his tenure, Barnes closed four primary schools in the California communities of Barstow, Banning, Apple Valley[6] and San Bernardino.[7] The high desert portion of the diocese currently has no Catholic schools. On December 2, 2019, Auxiliary Bishop Alberto Rojas of the Archdiocese of Chicago was appointed as coadjutor bishop of the Diocese of San Bernardino by Pope Francis to assist Barnes.[8]

The current bishop of the Diocese of San Bernardino is Alberto Rojas. When Barnes retired in 2020, Rojas automatically succeeded him as bishop.

Sex abuse

On April 3, 2003, the Diocese of San Bernardino filed a lawsuit against the Archdiocese of Boston. The diocese charged that the archdiocese gave them false information on Paul R. Shanley, a priest who transferred to San Bernardino from Boston in 1990. Despite Shanley having a record of sexual abuse of minors in Massachusetts, the archdiocese described him to the diocese as "a priest in good standing". In 1990, Shanley was accused of abusing a teenager at a hotel in Palm Springs, California.[9] On July 6, 2003, after speaking to the new archbishop of Boston, Sean O'Malley, Barnes decided to drop the lawsuit.[10]

In 2018, the diocese released a list of 34 priests with credible accusations of sexual abuse of minors since the founding of the diocese in 1978.[11]The diocese announced in 2019 its participation with other Southern California dioceses in a voluntary compensation plan for victims of sexual abuse by clergy.[12]

Bishops

Bishops of San Bernardino

  1. Phillip Francis Straling (1978–1995),[13] appointed Bishop of Reno
  2. Gerald Richard Barnes (1995–2020)
  3. Alberto Rojas (2020[14]–present)

Coadjutor Bishops

  1. Alberto Rojas (2019–2020)[15]

Auxiliary Bishops

High schools

See also

References

  1. "Frequently Asked Questions". Diocese of San Bernardino. Retrieved March 25, 2021.
  2. "The Hispanic community is bringing our numbers up". California Catholic Daily. December 19, 2019. Retrieved January 3, 2019.
  3. Crafts, E. P. R. (1906). Pioneer Days in the San Bernardino Valley. Redlands, California: Kingsley, Moles & Collins Co. pp. 12–13.
  4. Van de Grift Sanchez, Nellie (1914). Spanish and Indian place names of California: their meaning and their romance. A.M. Robertson. p. 74. Retrieved June 25, 2017.
  5. "Past Bishops". www.sbdiocese.org. Retrieved May 16, 2010.
  6. Victor Valley Daily Press January 22, 2009
  7. San Bernardino County Sun November 6, 2011
  8. "Nomina del Coadiutore di San Bernardino (U.S.A.)". Holy See Press Office. December 2, 2019. Retrieved December 2, 2019.
  9. Sims, Calvin (April 3, 2003). "Boston Archdiocese Is Sued By San Bernardino Diocese". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved November 17, 2021.
  10. ncs-import. "San Bernardino Diocese pulls complaint against Boston Archdiocese". www.nevadaappeal.com. Retrieved November 17, 2021.
  11. "Diocese of San Bernardino lists 34 priests accused of abuse". www.cbsnews.com. Retrieved March 23, 2023.
  12. Estacio, Martin. "Program would aid church sex abuse victims". Victorville Daily Press. Retrieved March 23, 2023.
  13. Stammer, Larry B. (March 23, 1995). "Bishop of San Bernardino Diocese Reassigned to Reno". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved May 22, 2009.
  14. "Rinunce e nomine". Holy See Press Office (Press release). December 28, 2020. Retrieved December 28, 2020.
  15. "Nomina del Coadiutore di San Bernardino (U.S.A.)". Holy See Press Office. December 2, 2019. Retrieved December 2, 2019.
  16. "Priest in Riverside Is Named Auxiliary Bishop". Los Angeles Times. July 27, 2005. Retrieved May 22, 2009.
Diocesan Pastoral Center


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