The Roman Catholic Diocese of Fresno is a particular church of the

Latin Church , native_name_lang = la , image = San Giovanni in Laterano - Rome.jpg , imagewidth = 250px , alt = Façade of the Archbasilica of St. John in Lateran , caption = Archbasilica of Saint Joh ...

of the

Roman Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

in the western region (XI) of the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

, in the State of

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

. It is a

suffragan diocese A suffragan diocese is one of the dioceses other than the metropolitan archdiocese that constitute an ecclesiastical province. It exists in some Christian denominations, in particular the Catholic Church, the Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria ...

of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles. Geographically, the diocese consists of of the Southern

San Joaquin Valley The San Joaquin Valley ( ; es, Valle de San Joaquín) is the area of the Central Valley of the U.S. state of California that lies south of the Sacramento–San Joaquin River Delta and is drained by the San Joaquin River. It comprises seven c ...

of California, a portion of the

Sierra Nevada The Sierra Nevada () is a mountain range in the Western United States, between the Central Valley of California and the Great Basin. The vast majority of the range lies in the state of California, although the Carson Range spur lies primarily ...

and some eastern valleys. The diocese consists of all of the Counties of Fresno,

Inyo Inyo may refer to: Places California * Inyo County, California * Inyo National Forest, USA * The Inyo Mountains * The Mono–Inyo Craters Other uses * Japanese for yin and yang Yin and yang ( and ) is a Chinese philosophy, Chinese p ...

, Kern,

Kings Kings or King's may refer to: *Monarchs: The sovereign heads of states and/or nations, with the male being kings *One of several works known as the "Book of Kings": **The Books of Kings part of the Bible, divided into two parts **The ''Shahnameh'' ...

, Madera, Mariposa,

Merced Merced (; Spanish for "Mercy") is a city in, and the county seat of, Merced County, California, United States, in the San Joaquin Valley. As of the 2020 Census, the city had a population of 86,333, up from 78,958 in 2010. Incorporated on April 1 ...

, and Tulare. The total population of the diocesan region is about 2.4 million inhabitants, of whom 1,074,944 are registered Catholic as of 2012. For administrative purposes the diocese is sub-divided into five deaneries: Fresno City, Fresno (rural), Tulare/Kings, Kern/

, and Merced/Mariposa.

History

The see was created in 1967 by splitting the

Diocese of Monterey-Fresno The Roman Catholic Diocese of Monterey-Fresno was formerly a Latin suffragan diocese of the Roman Catholic Church in California, United States. The episcopal see was located in Fresno.The diocese covered the present dioceses of Monterey and Fre ...

into two sees. Historically the area of the current diocese belonged to the Dioceses of

Guadalajara Guadalajara ( , ) is a metropolis in western Mexico and the capital of the list of states of Mexico, state of Jalisco. According to the 2020 census, the city has a population of 1,385,629 people, making it the 7th largest city by population in Me ...

Durango Durango (), officially named Estado Libre y Soberano de Durango ( en, Free and Sovereign State of Durango; Tepehuán: ''Korian''; Nahuatl: ''Tepēhuahcān''), is one of the 31 states which make up the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico, situated in ...

Sonora Sonora (), officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Sonora ( en, Free and Sovereign State of Sonora), is one of the 31 states which, along with Mexico City, comprise the Administrative divisions of Mexico, Federal Entities of Mexico. The state is d ...

, Californias, Monterey, Monterey-Los Angeles, and lastly Monterey-Fresno.

Timothy Manning Timothy Manning (Irish: ''Tadhg Ó Mongáin'') (November 15, 1909 – June 23, 1989) was an Irish American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as Archbishop of Los Angeles from 1970 to 1985, and was elevated to the cardinalate in 1973 ...

(first Bishop of Fresno) and Roger Mahony (Auxiliary Bishop) have both served in the diocese. The most recent

ordinary Ordinary or The Ordinary often refer to: Music * ''Ordinary'' (EP) (2015), by South Korean group Beast * ''Ordinary'' (Every Little Thing album) (2011) * "Ordinary" (Two Door Cinema Club song) (2016) * "Ordinary" (Wayne Brady song) (2008) * ...

John Thomas Steinbock John Thomas Steinbock (July 16, 1937 – December 5, 2010) was an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as the fourth bishop of the Diocese of Fresno in California from 1991 until his death in 2010. Steinbock previously se ...

, was appointed the fourth Bishop of Fresno on October 15, 1991, taking over from Apostolic Administrator Most Rev. Norman McFarland, Bishop of the

Roman Catholic Diocese of Orange The Diocese of Orange (Latin language, Latin: ''Dioecesis Arausicanae in California''; Spanish language, Spanish: Diócesis de Orange; Vietnamese language, Vietnamese: ''Giáo phận Quận Cam'') is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or dio ...

. He served in that position until his death from lung cancer on December 5, 2010. Since 1922 the diocesan see has been in the City of Fresno with the

cathedra A ''cathedra'' is the raised throne of a bishop in the early Christian basilica. When used with this meaning, it may also be called the bishop's throne. With time, the related term ''cathedral'' became synonymous with the "seat", or principa ...

remaining at St. John's Cathedral (which also served as the seat of the former Diocese of Monterey-Fresno). The diocese maintains 86 parishes, several charities, two high schools, numerous elementary schools, a small newspaper, retreat center and several cemeteries. In 2003, the Diocese of Fresno was one of only four Latin Church dioceses in the

that did not participate in the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops review of the Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People.http://www.nccbuscc.org/ocyp/audit2003/sectionone.htm#6

Bishops

Bishops of Fresno

(1967-1969), appointed Coadjutor Archbishop and later

Archbishop of Los Angeles The Archdiocese of Los Angeles ( la, Archidiœcesis Angelorum in California, es, Arquidiócesis de Los Ángeles) is an ecclesiastical territory or archdiocese of the Catholic Church (Catholic particular churches and liturgical rites, particularly ...

(elevated to

Cardinal Cardinal or The Cardinal may refer to: Animals * Cardinal (bird) or Cardinalidae, a family of North and South American birds **''Cardinalis'', genus of cardinal in the family Cardinalidae **''Cardinalis cardinalis'', or northern cardinal, the ...

in 1973) #

Hugh Aloysius Donohoe Hugh Aloysius Donohoe (June 28, 1905 – October 26, 1987) was an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as bishop of the Diocese of Fresno in California from 1969 to 1980. Donohoe previously served as an auxiliary bishop ...

(1969-1980) #

José de Jesús Madera Uribe José de Jesús Madera Uribe MSpS (November 27, 1927 – January 21, 2017) was an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as an auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese for the Military Services, USA from 1991 to 2004. He previously s ...

(1980-1991,

coadjutor bishop A coadjutor bishop (or bishop coadjutor) is a bishop in the Catholic, Anglican, and (historically) Eastern Orthodox churches whose main role is to assist the diocesan bishop in the administration of the diocese. The coadjutor (literally, "co ...

1979-1980), appointed Auxiliary Bishop for the Military Services, USA #

(1991-2010) #

Armando Xavier Ochoa Armando Xavier Ochoa, D.D., (born April 9, 1943) is an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as bishop of the Diocese of Fresno in California (2011 to 2019), bishop of the Diocese of El Paso in Texas (1996 to 2011) and auxil ...

(2011-2019) #

Joseph Vincent Brennan Joseph Vincent Brennan (born 20 March 1954) is a prelate of the Roman Catholic Church who has been serving as bishop of the Diocese of Fresno in California since 2019. He previously served as an auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of Los Angel ...

(2019–present)

Auxiliary Bishops

# Roger Mahony (1975-1980), appointed Bishop of Stockton and later

(created a

in 1991)

Other priest of this diocese who became a bishop

Myron Joseph Cotta Myron Joseph Cotta (born March 21, 1953) is an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He was appointed as the sixth bishop of the Diocese of Stockton in California by Pope Francis on January 23, 2018. His installation Mass was celebrate ...

, appointed auxiliary bishop of Sacramento in 2014, appointed Bishop of Stockton in 2018

Churches

Schools

Parishes

Notes

External links

Roman Catholic Diocese of Fresno Official Site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Roman Catholic Diocese Of Fresno Culture of Fresno, California Fresno Christian organizations established in 1967 Fresno Fresno