Donald William Montrose (May 13, 1923 – May 7, 2008) was an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as bishop of the Diocese of Stockton in California from 1986 to 1999. He previously served as an auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles from 1983 to 1986.

Biography

Montrose was born on May 13, 1923, in

Denver, Colorado Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the Unit ...

. When he was eleven, his family moved to

Southern California Southern California (commonly shortened to SoCal) is a geographic and Cultural area, cultural region that generally comprises the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. It includes the Los Angeles metropolitan area, the second most po ...

. Montrose was ordained by Cardinal James McIntyre as a priest for the Archdiocese of Los Angeles on May 7, 1949. He served as head of St. John's Seminary in

Camarillo, California Camarillo ( ) is a city in Ventura County in the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 United States Census, the population was 70,741, an increase of 5,540 from the 65,201 counted in the 2010 Census. Camarillo is named for brothers Juan an ...

Auxiliary Bishop of Los Angeles

Montrose was appointed on March 25, 1983, by

Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II ( la, Ioannes Paulus II; it, Giovanni Paolo II; pl, Jan Paweł II; born Karol Józef Wojtyła ; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 1978 until his ...

as an auxiliary bishop in the Archdiocese of Los Angeles and as titular bishop of

Forum Novum Forum Novum (later also called ''Vescovìo'') was a new Roman foundation which developed as a forum or market center during the Roman Republic period. By the early 1st century AD Forum Novum had been elevated to the status of municipium, appearing ...

. Montrose was consecrated by Cardinal

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 ...

on May 12, 1983.

Bishop of Stockton

John Paul II appointed Montrose as bishop of the Diocese of Stockton on December 17, 1985; he was installed on February 20, 1986. Montrose focused on getting Spanish-speaking priests in the diocese. He went to Mexico, Colombia and other Latin American countries and met with various bishops to try to get them to send him fluent Spanish speaking priests. In 1988, Montrose succeeded in getting the Sisters of the Cross to relocate to the diocese from Mexico. They located in

Modesto, California Modesto () is the county seat and largest city of Stanislaus County, California, United States. With a population of 218,464 at the 2020 census, it is the 19th largest city in the state of California and forms part of the Sacramento-Stockton- ...

, the second largest city in the diocese. In 1998, a jury awarded $30 million to Joh and John Howard, two brothers from Lodi, California, who were sexually molested as children during the 1970's and 80's by a parish priest. While disappointed at the size of the verdict, Montrose apologized to the Howard family "...for this horrible evil that was inflicted on them. We do not understand the depth of the problem." John Paul II accepted Montrose's resignation as bishop of Stockton on January 18, 1999. Donald Montrose died on May 7, 2008.

References

External links

Entry for Bishop Donald William Montrose from ''The Hierarchy of the Catholic Church''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Montrose, Donald 1923 births 2008 deaths People from Denver Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Los Angeles Roman Catholic bishops of Stockton 20th-century Roman Catholic bishops in the United States Catholics from Colorado