The Diocese of Stockton 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 Jo ...

ecclesiastical territory or

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of the

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in the Central Valley and Mother Lode region of

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in the

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. Its

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 denominations ...

is the Cathedral of the Annunciation, a

Marian church Catholic Marian churches are religious buildings dedicated to the veneration of the Blessed Virgin Mary. These churches were built throughout the history of the Catholic Church, and today they can be found on every continent including Antarctica. ...

, in Stockton. It 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 Alexandri ...

in the

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of the

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Extent and statistics

, the Diocese of Stockton pastorally serves 250,692 Catholics (18.4% of 1,361,162 total) on 15,995 km² in 35 parishes with 97 priests (83 diocesan, 14 religious), 51 deacons, 66 lay religious (15 brothers, 51 sisters), 6 seminarians and 12 missions. It covers the counties of

Alpine Alpine may refer to any mountainous region. It may also refer to: Places Europe * Alps, a European mountain range ** Alpine states, which overlap with the European range Australia * Alpine, New South Wales, a Northern Village * Alpine National P ...

, Calaveras,

Mono Mono may refer to: Common meanings * Infectious mononucleosis, "the kissing disease" * Monaural, monophonic sound reproduction, often shortened to mono * Mono-, a numerical prefix representing anything single Music Performers * Mono (Japanes ...

, San Joaquin, Stanislaus and Tuolumne. The diocese is geographically and ethnically diverse. The majority of the population lives in the San Joaquin Valley. The two major population cities are Stockton and Modesto. The diocese has shown a significant population increase in all counties except Alpine County. The majority of San Joaquin Valley is farming, and there are many migrant camps in which the Church has a presence. Calaveras, Tuolumne and Alpine counties are located on the western side of the Sierra Nevada mountain range. Most parishes in these counties date back to the gold rush days. Mono County is on the eastern side of the Sierra Nevada Mountain range and is usually cut off from the rest of the diocese during winter. The parish church located in

Mammoth Lakes Mammoth Lakes is a town in Mono County, California, and is the county's only incorporated community. It is located immediately to the east of Mammoth Mountain, at an elevation of . As of the 2020 United States Census, the population was 7,191, r ...

provides for the spiritual care of vacationers during the winter and summer. The largest racial/ethnic groups in the Diocese are White and Hispanic. There are also many of Filipino and South East Asian descent. The largest Azorean Portuguese population outside the Azores is found in the Diocese of Stockton. It is estimated that 60% of the diocesan Catholic population is Hispanic. However, this does not imply that Spanish is their first language, only that their heritage is Spanish. The largest Pacific Island community is the Filipino community. Then the next largest ethnic concentration is Vietnamese. The USCCB statement Asian and Pacific Presence lists the Diocese of Stockton as among the top thirty dioceses in the United States with the highest Asian and Pacific Island population. Within the Diocese, Mass is celebrated more than 180 times each Sunday in English, Spanish, Portuguese, Latin and Laotian. Weekday masses are celebrated in these languages and Vietnamese. Its fellow suffragans in the -mainly Californian- ecclesiastical province of the

include the Dioceses of

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(on Hawaii),

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Sacramento ) , image_map = Sacramento County California Incorporated and Unincorporated areas Sacramento Highlighted.svg , mapsize = 250x200px , map_caption = Location within Sacramento ...

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, San Jose, and

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History

The Diocese of Stockton was formed on January 13, 1962 on Californian territories split off from the Archdiocese of San Francisco (which remains its Metropolitan) and from the

Diocese of Sacramento The Diocese of Sacramento is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Catholic Church in the northern California region of the United States. The diocese's see is Sacramento, it is led by a bishop who pastors the mother church ...

. In 1966 it gained more territory from the Diocese of Sacramento.

Sex abuse and bankruptcy

In 1998 a jury awarded two brothers $30 million in a judgement against the Diocese of Stockton over its handling of a priest who sexually abused the men while they were boys, starting when they were three. At the trial it was revealed that in a 1976 letter to his superiors Oliver O'Grady, the abusive priest, had admitted to sexually abusing an 11-year-old girl. In 1984 an attorney for the diocese promised to get O'Grady away from children, a promise recorded in a police report. O'Grady abused the boys who later brought the suit from 1978-1991. In 1993 he pleaded guilty to abusing them and was sentenced to 14 years in prison. During the O'Grady trial Mahony claimed that O'Grady was the only accused priest he dealt with in Stockton. Later in 2004 Mahony admitted under oath that parents had confronted him with accusations against another priest in the diocese, Antonio Munoz. In 2014, the Diocese filed for

Chapter 11 Bankruptcy Chapter 11 of the United States Bankruptcy Code ( Title 11 of the United States Code) permits reorganization under the bankruptcy laws of the United States. Such reorganization, known as Chapter 11 bankruptcy, is available to every business, whe ...

, which was later granted in 2017. As a result of the bankruptcy agreement, approximately $15 million had to be paid to various people who were sexually abused by clergy in the Diocese.

Bishops

Bishops of Stockton

# Hugh Aloysius Donohoe (1962-1969), appointed Bishop of Fresno #

Merlin Guilfoyle Merlin Joseph Guilfoyle (July 15, 1908 – November 20, 1981) was an American prelate of the Catholic Church. He served as bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Stockton, Diocese of Stockton from 1969 to 1979. He previously served as an ...

(1970-1979) # Roger Mahony (1980-1985), appointed Archbishop of Los Angeles (

Cardinal Cardinal or The Cardinal may refer to: Animals * Cardinal (bird) or Cardinalidae, a family of North and South American birds **'' Cardinalis'', genus of cardinal in the family Cardinalidae **'' Cardinalis cardinalis'', or northern cardinal, t ...

in 1991) # Donald Montrose (1985-1999) # Stephen Blaire (1999-2018) # Myron Joseph Cotta (2018–present)

Other priest of this diocese who became bishop

* Ramon Bejarano, appointed auxiliary bishop of San Diego in 2020

Parishes

The Diocese of Stockton consists of eight deaneries. A list of the parish and mission churches in each deanery is found at List of churches in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Stockton.

Catholic education

High schools

* St. Mary's High School, Stockton * Central Catholic High School, Modesto

Elementary/Junior high schools

* All Saints Academy, Stockton * Annunciation School, Stockton * Presentation Catholic School, Stockton * Our Lady of Fatima School, Modesto * Sacred Heart School, Patterson * Sacred Heart School, Turlock * St. Anne School, Lodi * St. Anthony School, Manteca * St. Bernard School, Tracy * St. Luke School, Stockton * St. Stanislaus School, Modesto

Active ministries, movements, and orders

* Communion and Liberation (meetings held at St. Luke's Catholic Church) * Dominican Sisters of San Rafael, California (St. Joseph's Medical Center, Stockton) *

Legion of Mary The Legion of Mary ( la, Legio Mariae, postnominal abbreviation L.O.M.) is an international association of members of the Catholic Church who serve it on a voluntary basis. It was founded in Dublin, as a Marian movement by the layman and c ...

(active at numerous parishes) *

Newman Center Newman Centers, Newman Houses, Newman Clubs, or Newman Communities are Catholic campus ministry centers at secular universities. The movement was inspired by the writings of Cardinal John Henry Newman encouraging societies for Catholic stude ...

(University of the Pacific / San Joaquin Delta College, Stanislaus State University) *

Oblates of St. Francis de Sales The Oblates of St. Francis de Sales (Latin: ''Oblati Sancti Francisci Salesii'', O.S.F.S.) are a congregation of Roman Catholic priests and brothers who follow the teachings of St. Francis de Sales and St. Jane de Chantal. The community was fo ...

(St. Mary's High School, Stockton)

References

Sources and External links

Roman Catholic Diocese of Stockton Official Site

Roman Catholic Archdiocese of San Francisco

Communion and Liberation, United States

Communion and Liberation Stockton School of Community

Dominican Sisters of San Rafael, California

Oblates of St. Francis de Sales, Toledo-Detroit Province
{{DEFAULTSORT:Roman Catholic Diocese Of Stockton Stockton Catholic Church in California Christian organizations established in 1962 Stockton Stockton 1962 establishments in California Companies that filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2014