The Roman Catholic Diocese of California, also called the Diocese of the Californias or Diocese of Two Californias, is a former residential

episcopal see An episcopal see is, in a practical use of the phrase, the area of a bishop's ecclesiastical jurisdiction. Phrases concerning actions occurring within or outside an episcopal see are indicative of the geographical significance of the term, mak ...

that existed during 1840–1849, covering

the Californias The Californias (Spanish: ''Las Californias''), occasionally known as The Three Californias or Two Californias, are a region of North America spanning the United States and Mexico, consisting of the U.S. state of California and the Mexican stat ...

(including both

Alta California Alta California ('Upper California'), also known as ('New California') among other names, was a province of New Spain, formally established in 1804. Along with the Baja California peninsula, it had previously comprised the province of , but ...

and

Baja California Baja California (; 'Lower California'), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Baja California ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Baja California), is a state in Mexico. It is the northernmost and westernmost of the 32 federal entities of Mex ...

). After the

Mexican–American War The Mexican–American War, also known in the United States as the Mexican War and in Mexico as the (''United States intervention in Mexico''), was an armed conflict between the United States and Mexico from 1846 to 1848. It followed the 1 ...

, the American portion became the Diocese of Monterey in California, while the Mexican portion was eventually reorganized into the

Diocese of Tijuana The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Tijuana ( la, Archidioecesis Tigiuanaënsis) is a Metropolitan Archdiocese in Mexico. It is based in the city of Tijuana, Baja California, and the province has the suffragan dioceses of Ensenada, La Paz en la ...

. In 1996, the title was revived as a

titular see A titular see in various churches is an episcopal see of a former diocese that no longer functions, sometimes called a "dead diocese". The ordinary or hierarch of such a see may be styled a "titular metropolitan" (highest rank), "titular archbish ...

of the

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 ...

Residential see

Pope Gregory XVI set up the Diocese of California with the papal bull ''Apostolicam sollicitudinem'' of 27 April 1840. He assigned to the new diocese a vast territory taken from that of the

Diocese of Sonora The Archdiocese of Hermosillo ( la, Archidioecesis Hermosillensis) is a Roman Catholic Archdiocese located in Hermosillo, Sonora, Mexico. Its area is 90,959 sq. miles, and its population (2004) 1,067,051. The bishop resides at Hermosillo. The A ...

, now the Metropolitan Archdiocese of Hermosillo, in

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

. It included

(corresponding to the present-day American states 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 ...

Nevada Nevada ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, Western region of the United States. It is bordered by Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. N ...

Arizona Arizona ( ; nv, Hoozdo Hahoodzo ; ood, Alĭ ṣonak ) is a state in the Southwestern United States. It is the 6th largest and the 14th most populous of the 50 states. Its capital and largest city is Phoenix. Arizona is part of the Fou ...

Utah Utah ( , ) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. Utah is a landlocked U.S. state bordered to its east by Colorado, to its northeast by Wyoming, to its north by Idaho, to its south by Arizona, and to it ...

, western

Colorado Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of t ...

and southwestern

Wyoming Wyoming () is a U.S. state, state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is bordered by Montana to the north and northwest, South Dakota and Nebraska to the east, Idaho to the west, Utah to the south ...

) and the Baja California Territory (the modern Mexican states of

and

Baja California Sur Baja California Sur (; 'South Lower California'), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Baja California Sur ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Baja California Sur), is the least populated state and the 31st admitted state of the 32 federal ent ...

). He set the episcopal residence at

San Diego San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the List of United States cities by population, eigh ...

and made the diocese a

suffragan A suffragan bishop is a type of bishop in some Christian denominations. In the Anglican Communion, a suffragan bishop is a bishop who is subordinate to a metropolitan bishop or diocesan bishop (bishop ordinary) and so is not normally jurisdictiona ...

of the

Archdiocese of Mexico City The Archdiocese of Mexico ( la, Archidioecesis Mexicanensis) is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or archdiocese of the Catholic Church that is situated in Mexico City, Mexico. It was erected as a diocese on 2 September 1530 and elevated to ...

. After the

became

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 ...

territory and the

Holy See The Holy See ( lat, Sancta Sedes, ; it, Santa Sede ), also called the See of Rome, Petrine See or Apostolic See, is the jurisdiction of the Pope in his role as the bishop of Rome. It includes the apostolic episcopal see of the Diocese of Rome ...

divided the American diocese into US and Mexican sections. On 20 November 1849, with the episcopal residence moved to Monterey, a more central position for the new diocese, the bishopric was formally suppressed, with two successor jurisdictions: * The U.S. section became the

Diocese of Monterey ''This article describes the present Diocese of Monterey in California. The entity previously known as the Diocese of Monterey from 1849 until 1859, and subsequently known as the Diocese of Monterey-Los Angeles from 1859 until 1922, is the presen ...

. *

, the part that remained Mexican, was eventually reorganized as the Vicariate Apostolic of California Inferiore in 1874, which later became the

. The Residential Ordinaries were: * Bishop Francisco José Vicente Garcia Diego y Moreno, O.F.M. (April 27, 1840 – April 30, 1846) *

Apostolic Administrator An Apostolic administration in the Catholic Church is administrated by a prelate appointed by the pope to serve as the ordinary for a specific area. Either the area is not yet a diocese (a stable 'pre-diocesan', usually missionary apostolic admi ...

Father José Maria González Rúbio, O.F.M. (1846 – November 20, 1849), subsequently Apostolic Administrator of the

Titular see

The diocese was nominally restored as Latin Titular bishopric of ''California or Both Californias'' in English, ''Ambas Californias'' in Spanish, or ''Californiensis'' in Latin.GCatholic.org
/ref> It has had following incumbents, so far of the fitting Episcopal (lowest) rank : *

John James Ward John James Ward (September 28, 1920 – January 10, 2011) was an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as an auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles from 1963 to 1996. Prior to his death, he was just one of thre ...

(1996–2011) as emeritate. He was previously Auxiliary Bishop of

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

during 1963–1996, and Titular Bishop of Bria during 1963–1996. * William John Waltersheid, Auxiliary Bishop of Diocese of Pittsburgh (2011–present). He had no previous prelature.

References

Sources and external links

GCatholic, with titular incumbent biographies - data for all sections
{{DEFAULTSORT:Both Californias, Roman Catholic Diocese

Catholic Church in California Suppressed Roman Catholic dioceses The Californias 1840 establishments in Mexico

Residential see

Titular see

See also

References

Sources and external links