vi, Giáo phận Quận Cam , image = Los Angeles Crystal Cathedral.jpg , image_size = 250px , image_alt = , caption = Christ Cathedral , coat = Coat of Arms of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Orange (new).svg , coat_size = 150px , coat_alt = , coat_caption = Coat of arms , country = , territory = Orange County , province =

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' ...

, metropolitan = , deaneries = , headquarters = , coordinates = , area_km2 = , area_footnotes = , population = , population_as_of = , catholics = 1,547,000 , catholics_percent = 49.2 , parishes = , churches = , congregations = , schools = , members = , denomination =

Catholic 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 ...

, sui_iuris_church =

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 ...

, rite = Roman Rite , established = March 24, 1976 , dissolved = , cathedral = Christ Cathedral , cocathedral = , patron =

Our Lady of Guadalupe Our Lady of Guadalupe ( es, Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe), also known as the Virgin of Guadalupe ( es, Virgen de Guadalupe), is a Catholic title of Mary, mother of Jesus associated with a series of five Marian apparitions, which are believed t ...

Saint Andrew Dũng-Lạc , priests = , pope = , bishop =

Kevin Vann Kevin William Vann (born May 10, 1951) is an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He was named bishop of the Diocese of Orange in Southern California by Pope Benedict XVI, succeeding the retiring bishop, Tod Brown, on September 21, ...

, metro_archbishop = José Gómez
Archbishop of Los Angeles , coadjutor = , auxiliary_bishops = Timothy Edward Freyer
Thanh Thai Nguyen , apostolic_admin = , vicar_general = Msgr. Stephen Doktorczyk , episcopal_vicar = , judicial_vicar = , emeritus_bishops = Tod David Brown , map = Diocese of Orange map.png , map_size = , map_alt = , map_caption = , website = , footnotes = The Diocese of Orange (

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

: ''Dioecesis Arausicanae in California'';

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Can ...

: Diócesis de Orange; Vietnamese: ''Giáo phận Quận Cam'') is a

ecclesiastical territory or

diocese In 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 provinces were administratively associat ...

of the Catholic Church whose territory comprises the whole of

Orange County, California Orange County is located in the Los Angeles metropolitan area in Southern California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 3,186,989, making it the third-most-populous county in California, the sixth-most-populous in the United States, a ...

, in 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 territo ...

. It may sometimes be referred to as the Diocese of Orange in California, to avoid confusion with the historical Diocese of Orange in

Orange Orange most often refers to: *Orange (fruit), the fruit of the tree species '' Citrus'' × ''sinensis'' ** Orange blossom, its fragrant flower *Orange (colour), from the color of an orange, occurs between red and yellow in the visible spectrum * ...

, France, which was dissolved in 1801. The Diocese of Orange is a suffragan diocese in the

ecclesiastical province An ecclesiastical province is one of the basic forms of jurisdiction in Christian Churches with traditional hierarchical structure, including Western Christianity and Eastern Christianity. In general, an ecclesiastical province consists of sever ...

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 ...

, from which territory it was erected in 1976. The diocesan cathedral is the Christ Cathedral in the Garden Grove. The current diocesan bishop is

, who was officially installed on December 10, 2012. Diocesan offices are situated at the Christ Cathedral campus in Garden Grove, Orange County California. In addition to its 56 parish churches, the diocese oversees 41 schools and three general hospitals, plus one disabled and five ethnic ministry centers. It also sponsors a variety of programs and activities in conjunction with other local organizations. The diocesan

patron saint A patron saint, patroness saint, patron hallow or heavenly protector is a saint who in Catholicism, Anglicanism, or Eastern Orthodoxy is regarded as the heavenly advocate of a nation, place, craft, activity, class, clan, family, or person. I ...

s are

and Saint Andrew Dũng-Lạc.

History

Holy Family Cathedral - Orange, California 01

The Catholic presence in present-day Orange County dates to the 1776 establishment of

Mission San Juan Capistrano Mission San Juan Capistrano ( es, Misión San Juan Capistrano) is a Spanish mission in San Juan Capistrano, Orange County, California. Founded November 1, 1776 in colonial '' Las Californias'' by Spanish Catholic missionaries of the Francisca ...

, a Spanish mission founded by Father Junipero Serra and the

Franciscan , image = FrancescoCoA PioM.svg , image_size = 200px , caption = A cross, Christ's arm and Saint Francis's arm, a universal symbol of the Franciscans , abbreviation = OFM , predecessor = , ...

order. At the time the region was part of the ''Las Californias'' province of New Spain. In 1804 present-day Orange County became part of

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 ...

when ''Las Californias'' was split in two; Alta California then became part of

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 ...

when the latter gained independence from Spain in 1821. From the mission, the

missionary A missionary is a member of a religious group which is sent into an area in order to promote its faith or provide services to people, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care, and economic development.Thomas Hale 'On Being a Mi ...

priests set out to convert the native population to Catholicism; over 4,000 people were converted between 1776 and 1847. In 1840, 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 ...

erected the Diocese of the Two Californias to recognize the growth of the provinces of Alta California 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 ...

. This diocese – with its

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, maki ...

located in

Monterey Monterey (; es, Monterrey; Ohlone: ) is a city located in Monterey County on the southern edge of Monterey Bay on the U.S. state of California's Central Coast. Founded on June 3, 1770, it functioned as the capital of Alta California under bo ...

– included all Mexican territory west of the

Colorado River The Colorado River ( es, Río Colorado) is one of the principal rivers (along with the Rio Grande) in the Southwestern United States and northern Mexico. The river drains an expansive, arid watershed that encompasses parts of seven U.S. sta ...

and the

Gulf of California The Gulf of California ( es, Golfo de California), also known as the Sea of Cortés (''Mar de Cortés'') or Sea of Cortez, or less commonly as the Vermilion Sea (''Mar Bermejo''), is a marginal sea of the Pacific Ocean that separates the Baja C ...

(the modern U.S. states of California and

Nevada Nevada ( ; ) is a state in the 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. Nevada is the 7th-most extensive, ...

, and parts of

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 ...

, Arizona, and

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 the ...

, as well as 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 ...

). After Mexico ceded Alta California to the

in 1848, 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 Mexican government objected to an American bishop having jurisdiction over parishes in Mexican Baja California. The

split the diocese into American and Mexican sections, and the American section was renamed the Diocese of Monterey. In 1859, the diocese became known as the Diocese of Monterey-Los Angeles to recognize the growth of the city of

; the see was transferred to Los Angeles in 1876. In 1922, the diocese split again, and Orange County became part of the newly erected Diocese of Los Angeles-San Diego, which became the Archdiocese of Los Angeles in 1936. Orange County remained part of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles until March 24, 1976, when

Pope Paul VI Pope Paul VI ( la, Paulus VI; it, Paolo VI; born Giovanni Battista Enrico Antonio Maria Montini, ; 26 September 18976 August 1978) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 21 June 1963 to his death in Augus ...

established the Diocese of Orange. Los Angeles auxiliary bishop William Robert Johnson was appointed the first Bishop of Orange; the existing Holy Family Church in

was designated as

cathedral A cathedral is a church that contains the ''cathedra'' () of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral" are usually specific to those Christian denominat ...

of the new diocese. The diocese has grown rapidly as the local population has swelled with Catholic immigrants from

Vietnam Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making it ...

, the

Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

, and

Latin America Latin America or * french: Amérique Latine, link=no * ht, Amerik Latin, link=no * pt, América Latina, link=no, name=a, sometimes referred to as LatAm is a large cultural region in the Americas where Romance languages — languages derived f ...

, and in 2010 claimed a Catholic population of over 1.2 million. At the

mandatory retirement Mandatory retirement also known as forced retirement, enforced retirement or compulsory retirement, is the set age at which people who hold certain jobs or offices are required by industry custom or by law to leave their employment, or retire. As ...

age, Bishop Tod David Brown retired on September 21, 2012. The Holy See named Bishop

of the Diocese of Fort Worth to succeed him. Coat of Arms of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Orange (old)

Clergy sexual abuse settlement

On January 3, 2005,

Bishop A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...

Brown Brown is a color. It can be considered a composite color, but it is mainly a darker shade of orange. In the CMYK color model used in printing or painting, brown is usually made by combining the colors orange and black. In the RGB color model used ...

apologized to 87 victims of sexual abuse and announced a settlement of $100 million following two years of mediation. In addition, 91 victims received an average of $659,000 each. Perpetrators included 31 priests, ten lay people, two nuns, and one brother.

Bishops

The lists of ordinaries and auxiliaries of the diocese and their years of service:

Bishops of Orange

# William Robert Johnson (1976-1986) # Norman McFarland (1986-1998) # Tod David Brown (1998-2012) #

(2012–present)

Auxiliary bishops

* John Thomas Steinbock (1984-1987), appointed Bishop of Santa Rosa in California and later Bishop of Fresno * Michael Patrick Driscoll (1989-1999), appointed Bishop of Boise *

Jaime Soto Jaime Soto (born December 31, 1955) is an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He has been serving as bishop of the Diocese of Sacramento in Northern California since 2007. He previously served as an auxiliary bishop of the Dioce ...

(2000-2007), appointed Bishop of Sacramento * Dominic Mai Luong (2003-2015) * Cirilo Flores (2009-2012), appointed Coadjutor Bishop and later Bishop of San Diego * Timothy Edward Freyer (2017–present) * Thanh Thai Nguyen (2017–present)

Churches

Cathedral

In 2001,

first announced plans to build a new cathedral to succeed the Cathedral of the Holy Family. However, soon after, the Catholic sexual abuse scandal burst into the diocese, and Brown deemed it "inappropriate" to raise funds for a new cathedral in light of the scandal. In 2005, the diocese purchased land in south Santa Ana and established Christ Our Savior Cathedral Parish, with the intention of someday building a cathedral on the property. The cost of building a cathedral on the Santa Ana site was estimated to be as high as $200 million, which prompted comparisons to the cost of building the

Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels The Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels ( es, Catedral de Nuestra Señora de los Ángeles), informally known as COLA or the Los Angeles Cathedral, is a cathedral of the Roman Catholic Church in Los Angeles, California, United States. It opened in 2 ...

. In October 2010, Crystal Cathedral Ministries, the

Protestant Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century against what its followers perceived to ...

congregation that owned and worshiped in the eponymous

Crystal Cathedral Christ Cathedral (Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around p ...

building in Garden Grove, filed for

bankruptcy Bankruptcy is a legal process through which people or other entities who cannot repay debts to creditors may seek relief from some or all of their debts. In most jurisdictions, bankruptcy is imposed by a court order, often initiated by the debto ...

protection. Several months later, the diocese announced that it was "potentially interested" in buying the building and converting it into a diocesan cathedral as a potential cost and time-saving alternative over building a new cathedral on the Santa Ana site. On November 17, 2011, a

U.S. bankruptcy court United States bankruptcy courts are courts created under Article I of the United States Constitution. The current system of bankruptcy courts was created by the United States Congress in 1978, effective April 1, 1984. United States bankruptcy c ...

judge in Santa Ana approved the sale of the Crystal Cathedral building and adjacent campus to the diocese for $57.5 million; the sale was finalized on February 3, 2012. At that time, the diocese ended all efforts at building a cathedral on the Santa Ana site and removed "Cathedral" from Christ Our Savior Parish's name, repurposing it as a diocesan parish church. On June 9, 2012, the diocese announced that the Crystal Cathedral would be known as "Christ Cathedral" when it becomes the new seat of the diocese. The building's new name was designated by the

, while suggestions were also taken from the diocese and its members. In 2014, following its purchase of the site, the diocese announced plans to renovate the Crystal Cathedral in order to suit the

liturgy Liturgy is the customary public ritual of worship performed by a religious group. ''Liturgy'' can also be used to refer specifically to public worship by Christians. As a religious phenomenon, liturgy represents a communal response to and partic ...

of the Catholic Church, while maintaining the building's architectural qualities. Construction for the $72 million project began in June 2017, and was completed in 2019. In June 2013, the diocese officially transferred St. Callistus Parish to the Crystal Cathedral campus, and the parish began to hold Mass on the campus. At the same time Crystal Cathedral Ministries moved to St. Callistus' former facility, located one mile from the Crystal Cathedral, which the diocese offered to lease to Crystal Cathedral Ministries as a term of the sale of the Crystal Cathedral campus. St. Callistus' parish school was transferred to the former Crystal Cathedral Academy facility and renamed Christ Cathedral Academy in September 2013.

Education

The diocese oversees 31 parochial elementary schools and 3 high schools; additionally, 3 independent Catholic elementary schools and 4 independent Catholic high schools (i.e., run by a

religious order A religious order is a lineage of communities and organizations of people who live in some way set apart from society in accordance with their specific religious devotion, usually characterized by the principles of its founder's religious practic ...

or independent Board of Trustees) are located in the diocese.

High schools

Diocesan

* Mater Dei High School, Santa Ana, California * Rosary High School, Fullerton, California *

Santa Margarita Catholic High School Santa Margarita Catholic High School (SMCHS) is a coeducational college preparatory Roman Catholic high school located in Rancho Santa Margarita, California, United States. SMCHS is owned and operated by the Diocese of Orange, and was opened in ...

, Rancho Santa Margarita, California

Independent

* JSerra Catholic High School, San Juan Capistrano, California *

Servite High School Servite High School is a private, Catholic, all-male college preparatory high school operated by the Order of Friar Servants of Mary on a campus in the Los Angeles Metropolitan Area in Anaheim, California, US. It was founded by the Servites in ...

, Anaheim

Closed Schools

* Cornelia Connelly High School, Anaheim, California * St. Michael's Preparatory School, Silverado, California

References

External links

*
Orange Catholic Foundation
endowment fund {{authority control Religion in Orange County, California

Organizations based in Orange County, California

Christian organizations established in 1976 1976 establishments in California