Francisco Mora y Borrell (November 25, 1827 – August 3, 1905) was a Spanish-born prelate 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 ...

. He was the third Bishop of Monterey-Los Angeles, serving from 1878 to 1896.

Biography

Early life

Mora was born on November 25, 1827, in the

Catalonia Catalonia (; ca, Catalunya ; Aranese Occitan: ''Catalonha'' ; es, Cataluña ) is an autonomous community of Spain, designated as a ''nationality'' by its Statute of Autonomy. Most of the territory (except the Val d'Aran) lies on the north ...

n village of

Gurb Gurb () is a municipality in the ''comarca'' of Osona Osona () is a comarca situated in Catalonia, Northeast Spain. Its capital is Vic. Its population in 2001 was 129,543. Osona covers roughly the same area as the historic Catalan county of O ...

to Miguel Mora and Rosa Borrell. He received his early education at the parochial school of Sant Andreu de Gurb before being placed at Casa de Caridad, a school for orphans in

Vic Vic (; es, Vic or Pancracio Celdrán (2004). Diccionario de topónimos españoles y sus gentilicios (5ª edición). Madrid: Espasa Calpe. p. 843. ISBN 978-84-670-3054-9. «Vic o Vich (viquense, vigitano, vigatán, ausense, ausetano, ausonense): ...

. He began his studies for the priesthood at the diocesan seminary in Vic, but when Bishop

Thaddeus Amat y Brusi Thaddeus Amat y Brusi C.M., or in Spanish Tadeu Amat y Brusi ( ca, Tadeu Amat i Brusi; December 31, 1811 – May 12, 1878) was a Spanish Roman Catholic cleric who became the first Bishop of Los Angeles, in California. Early life Amat was born ...

appealed for missionaries in

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 ...

, Mora offered his services. He came to the United States in 1855 and completed his theological studies at St. Mary's Seminary in Perryville,

Missouri Missouri is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee ...

Priesthood

Mora was ordained a priest by Bishop Amat on March 19, 1856, in Santa Barbara. His first assignment was to the Church of San Carlos Borromeo in Monterey. He then served at missions in San Juan Bautista,

San Luis Obispo San Luis Obispo (; Spanish for " St. Louis the Bishop", ; Chumash: ''tiłhini'') is a city and county seat of San Luis Obispo County, in the U.S. state of California. Located on the Central Coast of California, San Luis Obispo is roughly halfwa ...

, and Pajaro. In February 1863 he was transferred to

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' ...

to serve as rector of the Church of Our Lady of the Angels, where he remained for 15 years. In addition to his pastoral duties, he was named

vicar general A vicar general (previously, archdeacon) is the principal deputy of the bishop of a diocese for the exercise of administrative authority and possesses the title of local ordinary. As vicar of the bishop, the vicar general exercises the bishop's ...

of the diocese in July 1866.

Bishop

On May 20, 1873, Mora was appointed

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 ...

to Bishop Amat and

titular bishop A titular bishop in various churches is a bishop who is not in charge of a diocese. By definition, a bishop is an "overseer" of a community of the faithful, so when a priest is ordained a bishop, the tradition of the Catholic, Eastern Orthodox an ...

of ''

Mosynopolis Mosynopolis ( el, Μοσυνόπολις), of which only ruins now remain in Greek Thrace, was a city in the Roman province of Rhodope, which was known until the 9th century as Maximianopolis (Μαξιμιανούπολις) or, to distinguish it ...

'' by

Pope Pius IX Pope Pius IX ( it, Pio IX, ''Pio Nono''; born Giovanni Maria Mastai Ferretti; 13 May 1792 – 7 February 1878) was head of the Catholic Church from 1846 to 1878, the longest verified papal reign. He was notable for convoking the First Vatican ...

. He received his episcopal consecration on the following August 3 from Amat, with Archbishop

Joseph Sadoc Alemany Joseph Sadoc Alemany y Conill, O.P. (Spanish: José Sadoc Alemany y Conill; July 3, 1814 – April 14, 1888) was a Spanish Catholic clergyman, who served most of his career in California. He served as the first Bishop of Monterey (1850–53) a ...

and Bishop

Eugene O'Connell Eugene O'Connell (June 18, 1815 – December 14, 1891) was the first Catholic bishop of the Catholic Diocese of Grass Valley, California. Born in County Cavan, Ireland, O'Connell sailed to San Francisco upon the request of Bishop Alemany f ...

serving as co-consecrators, at Our Lady of the Angels. When Amat died on May 12, 1878, Mora automatically succeeded him and became the third Bishop of Monterey-Los Angeles. He served for the next 18 years, during which time he worked to put the Catholic Church on a firm footing in southern California. In 1895 he established ''The Catholic Tidings'', the first Catholic newspaper in Los Angeles. However, by 1890, the

Congregation for the Propagation of the Faith A congregation is a large gathering of people, often for the purpose of worship. Congregation may also refer to: * Church (congregation), a Christian organization meeting in a particular place for worship *Congregation (Roman Curia), an administr ...

became frustrated with the lack of

parochial school A parochial school is a private primary or secondary school affiliated with a religious organization, and whose curriculum includes general religious education in addition to secular subjects, such as science, mathematics and language arts. The ...

s in the diocese; Mora argued that most parishes were too poor to afford a school. As a result, the Congregation removed financial control of the diocese from Mora, forbidding him to sell any property or incur any new debts without Rome's permission. Mora believed these harsh restrictions were due to the influence of California's English-speaking bishops. After sustaining injuries in a carriage accident, he was given a coadjutor bishop,

George Thomas Montgomery George Thomas Montgomery (December 30, 1847 – January 10, 1907) was an American prelate of the Catholic Church. He was the first American-born Bishop of Monterey-Los Angeles (1896-1902) and later served as Coadjutor Archbishop of San Franci ...

, who was consecrated in April 1894. Mora resigned his office on March 13, 1896, and was given the honorary title of Titular Archbishop of ''

Hierapolis in Syria Hierapolis (; grc, Ἱεράπολις, lit. "Holy City") was originally a Phrygian cult centre of the Anatolian mother goddess of Cybele and later a Greek city. Its location was centred upon the remarkable and copious hot springs in classica ...

''. Mora returned to Spain, taking residence in the

Sarrià Sarria or Sarrià may refer to: *Sarrià, Barcelona, a neighbourhood in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain **Sarrià-Sant Gervasi, the Barcelona district containing Sarrià ** Sarrià Stadium, a former football stadium in Sarrià, Barcelona **Sarrià (Bar ...

neighborhood of

Barcelona Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within ci ...

. He died there on August 3, 1905, the thirty-second anniversary of his episcopal consecration. He was buried in Sarrià but in 1962 his remains were moved to Los Angeles and buried at the cathedral.

References

External links

Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Los Angeles
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mora Y Borrell, Francisco 1827 births 1905 deaths People from Osona Spanish Roman Catholic missionaries Spanish expatriates in the United States Bishops from Catalonia Roman Catholic bishops of Los Angeles Roman Catholic Diocese of Monterey in California Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Los Angeles 19th-century Roman Catholic archbishops in the United States Spanish Roman Catholic bishops in North America Roman Catholic missionaries in the United States