The Diocese of San Diego is a

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 ...

ecclesiastical territory or

diocese In Ecclesiastical polity, church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop. History In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided Roman province, pro ...

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 ...

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 ...

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 ...

. Its ecclesiastical territory includes all of

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 Imperial Counties in

, with a Catholic population of approximately 1.4 million. The diocese 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 ...

in the

ecclesiastical province An ecclesiastical province is one of the basic forms of jurisdiction Jurisdiction (from Latin 'law' + 'declaration') is the legal term for the legal authority granted to a legal entity to enact justice. In federations like the United State ...

of the metropolitan

Archdiocese 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 ( particularly the Roman Catholic or Latin Church) located in th ...

Leadership and religious institutes

On January 4, 2012, Bishop Cirilo Flores was appointed as

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 ...

with immediate right of succession to Bishop

Robert Henry Brom Robert Henry Brom (September 18, 1938 – May 9, 2022) was an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as bishop of the Diocese of Duluth in Minnesota, from 1983 to 1989, and as bishop of the Diocese of San Diego in Southern ...

, then already 75, who had served since January 1990. Bishop Brom had submitted his resignation when he turned 75, as all Roman Catholic bishops must, and

Pope Francis Pope Francis ( la, Franciscus; it, Francesco; es, link=, Francisco; born Jorge Mario Bergoglio, 17 December 1936) is the head of the Catholic Church. He has been the bishop of Rome and sovereign of the Vatican City State since 13 March 2013. ...

accepted it on September 18, 2013, making Coadjutor Bishop Flores the Bishop of San Diego. Bishop Flores died on September 6, 2014 after a stroke and a battle with cancer. In March 2015, Pope Francis appointed Robert McElroy as the bishop of the diocese, and he was installed on April 15. The pope named Bishop McElroy cardinal on 29 May 2022. There are 233 priests, 118 active (not retired) deacons, 213 religious sisters and 30 religious brothers in the diocese.

History

The first Roman Catholic churches in the current territory of the Diocese of San Diego were two of the twenty-one "California Missions" (Mission San Diego de Alcala and Mission San Luis Rey de Francia). The area was first included in a diocese in 1840, with the creation of the Diocese of Both Californias (serving the entirety of the Mexican colonial provinces of Baja California and Alta California). After the conquest of Alta California by the United States, that diocese was divided, with the American portion becoming the Diocese of Monterey, later renamed the Diocese of Monterey-Los Angeles. In 1922, the diocese was again divided, with the southern portion becoming the Diocese of Los Angeles-San Diego. The current

was created as a result of the division of the Diocese of Los Angeles-San Diego. The Diocese of San Diego was established on July 11, 1936, at which time it included

San Diego County San Diego County (), officially the County of San Diego, is a county in the southwestern corner of the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 3,298,634, making it California's second-most populous county and the fi ...

Imperial County Imperial Count (german: Reichsgraf) was a title in the Holy Roman Empire. In the medieval era, it was used exclusively to designate the holder of an imperial county, that is, a fief held directly ( immediately) from the emperor, rather than from ...

Riverside County Riverside County is a county located in the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 2,418,185, making it the fourth-most populous county in California and the 10th-most populous in the Unit ...

, and

San Bernardino County San Bernardino County (), officially the County of San Bernardino, is a county located in the southern portion of the U.S. state of California, and is located within the Inland Empire area. As of the 2020 U.S. Census, the population was 2,181, ...

; the remainder of the former diocese then became the

. In 1978, the Diocese of San Diego was itself divided, with

and

becoming the

Diocese of San Bernardino The Diocese of San Bernardino ( la, Dioecesis Sancti Bernardi, es, Diócesis de San Bernardino) is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or diocese in Southern California. Erected by Pope Paul VI on July 14, 1978, and its jurisdiction extends ...

. Currently, the Diocese of San Diego includes 99 parishes and 16 missions, serving

and

. In addition, the diocese includes 45 elementary schools, 5 high schools and 2 universities (

University of San Diego The University of San Diego (USD) is a private Roman Catholic research university in San Diego, California. Chartered in July 1949 as the independent San Diego College for Women and San Diego University (comprising the College for Men and Schoo ...

and

John Paul the Great Catholic University John Paul the Great Catholic University (JPCatholic) is a private Roman Catholic university in Escondido, California. It offers Bachelor of Science degrees and a Bachelor of Arts degree. History John Paul the Great Catholic University was foun ...

Clergy sexual abuse cases

On February 28, 2007, the diocese filed for bankruptcy protection after the diocese was unable to reach a settlement agreement with numerous plaintiffs suing over sexual abuse by clergy. On September 7, 2007, the diocese agreed to pay $198.1 million to

settle Settle or SETTLE may refer to: Places * Settle, Kentucky, United States * Settle, North Yorkshire, a town in England ** Settle Rural District, a historical administrative district Music * Settle (band), an indie rock band from Pennsylvania * ''S ...

144 claims of

child sexual abuse Child sexual abuse (CSA), also called child molestation, is a form of child abuse in which an adult or older adolescent uses a child for sexual stimulation. Forms of child sexual abuse include engaging in sexual activities with a child (whet ...

clergy Clergy are formal leaders within established religions. Their roles and functions vary in different religious traditions, but usually involve presiding over specific rituals and teaching their religion's doctrines and practices. Some of the ter ...

, the 2nd-largest settlement payment by a Roman Catholic

in U.S. history. Perpetrators included 48 priests and one lay coordinator of altar boys. In September 2018, eight more priests were added to this list. On December 17, 2018, Juan Garcia Castillo, who served as a priest at St. Patrick Parish in Carlsbad, was convicted of sexual battery for inappropriately touching a seminarian of his age and buying him alcohol at a local BJ's restaurants in Carlsbad, California, where he and the seminarian, together with another seminarian were having dinner. On December 11, 2019, it was announced that four victims of convicted, and now deceased, sexual abuser Anthony Edward Rodrigue would sue the Diocese of San Diego. Their lawsuit began on January 2, 2020, along with 5 lawsuits targeting 5 other priests accused of child molestation and rape. Due to all these more recent allegations, the Diocese of San Diego and 5 other California Dioceses established in 2019 a fund for clergy sex-abuse victims; by September 2021 this compensation program had already paid another $24 million in claims.

Bishops

Bishops of San Diego

Charles Francis Buddy Charles Francis Buddy (October 4, 1887 – March 6, 1966) was an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as the first bishop of the new Diocese of San Diego in California from 1936 until his death in 1966. Buddy built what is t ...

(1936–1966) #

Francis James Furey Francis James Furey (February 22, 1905 – April 23, 1979) was an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia in Pennsylvania from 1960 to 1863, as bishop of the Diocese of ...

(1966–1969,

1963–1966), appointed

Archbishop of San Antonio The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of San Antonio is an archdiocese of the Catholic Church in the United States, and sui juris Latin Church in full communion with the pope of Rome. It encompasses in the U.S. state of Texas. The Roman Catholic Archdi ...

Leo Thomas Maher Leo Thomas Maher (July 1, 1915 – February 23, 1991) was an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as bishop of the Diocese of Santa Rosa in California (1962–1969) and as bishop of the Diocese of San Diego in California ...

(1969–1990) #

(1990–2013, coadjutor bishop 1989–1990) # Cirilo Flores (2013–2014, coadjutor bishop 2012–2013) # Cardinal Robert W. McElroy (2015–present)

Auxiliary bishops

* Richard Henry Ackerman, C.S.Sp. (1956–1960), appointed Bishop of Covington * John R. Quinn (1967–1971), appointed Bishop of Oklahoma City-Tulsa and later Archbishop of Oklahoma City and

Archbishop of San Francisco The Archdiocese of San Francisco ( Latin: ''Archdiœcesis Sancti Francisci''; Spanish: ''Archidiócesis de San Francisco'') is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Catholic Church in the northern California region of the ...

Gilbert Espinosa Chávez Gilbert Espinosa Chávez, (March 10, 1932 – March 15, 2020) was an American prelate of the Catholic Church who served as auxiliary bishop of the Diocese of San Diego. Biography Gilbert Chávez was born in Ontario, California. He studied ...

(1974–2007) *

Salvatore J. Cordileone Salvatore Joseph Cordileone (born June 5, 1956) is an American prelate of the Catholic Church and the archbishop of Roman Catholic Archdiocese of San Francisco, Archdiocese of San Francisco in California since 2012. He previously served as bis ...

(2002–2009), appointed

Bishop of Oakland The Diocese of Oakland ( la, Diœcesis Quercopolitana) is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Catholic Church in Northern California. The diocese comprises Alameda County, California, Alameda and Contra Costa County, Californ ...

and later

John P. Dolan John Patrick Dolan (born June 8, 1962) is an American prelate of the Catholic Church who has served as bishop in the Diocese of Phoenix since August 2022. Early life and career Dolan was born June 8, 1962, in San Diego to Catherine and Gerald Do ...

(2017–2022) appointed Bishop of Phoenix * Ramon Bejarano (2020–present)

Other priest of this diocese who became bishop

Phillip Francis Straling Phillip Francis Straling (born April 25, 1933) is an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as bishop of the Diocese of San Bernardino in California from 1978 to 1995, and as bishop of the Diocese of Reno in Nevada from 1995 ...

, appointed Bishop of San Bernardino in 1978

Churches

High schools

Academy of Our Lady of Peace Academy of Our Lady of Peace (locally called "OLP"), is a Catholic high school for young women started by the Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet (CSJ). OLP is located in the Roman Catholic Diocese of San Diego. Though the school itself is Cathol ...

, Normal Heights, San Diego, administered by the Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet *

Cathedral Catholic High School Cathedral Catholic High School (CCHS) is a private coeducational Catholic college preparatory day school in San Diego, California serving grades 9–12. It is operated by the Diocese of San Diego. It was founded in 1957 as the University High ...

*, Carmel Valley, San Diego * Mater Dei Catholic High School**, Chula Vista *

St. Augustine High School The name St. Augustine High School could refer to: In the United States: * St. Augustine Academy (Lakewood, Ohio) * St. Augustine High School (Laredo, Texas) * St. Augustine High School (New Orleans), Louisiana * St. Augustine High School (San Di ...

, North Park, San Diego, administered by the

Augustinians Augustinians are members of Christian religious orders that follow the Rule of Saint Augustine, written in about 400 AD by Augustine of Hippo. There are two distinct types of Augustinians in Catholic religious orders dating back to the 12th–13 ...

Vincent Memorial Catholic High School Vincent Memorial Catholic High School is a private, Roman Catholic high school in Calexico, California. It is located in the Roman Catholic Diocese of San Diego The school serves approximately 300 students. Background Vincent Memorial was establ ...

, Calexico. : * Formerly the

University of San Diego High School Cathedral Catholic High School (CCHS) is a private coeducational Catholic college preparatory day school in San Diego, California serving grades 9–12. It is operated by the Diocese of San Diego. It was founded in 1957 as the University High S ...

: ** Formerly Marian Catholic High School

References

External links

Roman Catholic Diocese of San Diego
official website
San Diego & Imperial Valley Catholic Schools

Office for Evangelization and Catechetical Ministry

Catholic Community Foundation of San Diego

San Diego Office for Vocations

San Diego Young Adult Ministries

Catholic Charities, Diocese of San Diego
{{DEFAULTSORT:Roman Catholic Diocese Of San Diego Churches in San Diego County, California

Christian organizations established in 1936 1936 establishments in California

Companies that filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2007