The Diocese of Orange in California (

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

: ''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 countries in the Americas **Spanish cuisine **Spanish history **Spanish culture ...

: Diócesis de Orange;

Vietnamese Vietnamese may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Vietnam, a country in Southeast Asia * Vietnamese people, or Kinh people, a Southeast Asian ethnic group native to Vietnam ** Overseas Vietnamese, Vietnamese people living outside Vietna ...

: ''Giáo phận Quận Cam'') is a

Latin Church The Latin Church () is the largest autonomous () particular church within the Catholic Church, whose members constitute the vast majority of the 1.3 billion Catholics. The Latin Church is one of 24 Catholic particular churches and liturgical ...

ecclesiastical territory, or diocese, of the

Catholic Church The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

that covers all of

Orange County, California Orange County (officially the County of Orange; often initialized O.C.) is a county (United States), county located in the Los Angeles metropolitan area in Southern California, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, the population ...

, in the United States. 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 Alexandr ...

in the ecclesiastical province of the metropolitan

Archdiocese of Los Angeles The Archdiocese of Los Angeles (, ) is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or archdiocese of the Catholic Church located in the southern coastal portion of the U.S. state of California. The archdiocese's cathedra is in Los Angeles, and the arc ...

. The diocesan cathedral is Christ Cathedral in Garden Grove. In addition to its 56 parish churches, the diocese oversees 41 schools and three general hospitals, plus one disabled and five ethnic ministry centers. The Diocese of Orange was erected in 1976, then grew rapidly with immigrants from Asia and Latin America. It faced a sexual abuse scandal and a resulting $100 million settlement to its victims in 2005, which was the largest such settlement at the time. The current diocesan bishop is

Kevin Vann Kevin William Vann (born May 10, 1951) is an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church who has been serving as bishop of the Diocese of Orange in Southern California since 2012. Vann previously served as bishop of the Diocese of Fort Wo ...

, who was installed on December 10, 2012. Diocesan offices are situated at the Christ Cathedral campus in Garden Grove. The diocesan patron saints are

Our Lady of Guadalupe Our Lady of Guadalupe (), also known as the Virgin of Guadalupe (), is a Catholic title of the Blessed Virgin Mary associated with four Marian apparitions to Juan Diego and one to his uncle, Juan Bernardino reported in December 1531, when t ...

and

Andrew Dũng-Lạc Andrew Trần Dũng-Lạc (, ), ; 1795 – 21 December 1839) was a Vietnamese Roman Catholic priest. He was executed by beheading during the reign of Minh Mạng. He is a saint and martyr of the Catholic Church. Biography He was born Trần An ...

. It is sometimes referred to as the Diocese of Orange in California, to avoid confusion with the Diocese of Orange in Orange, France, which was dissolved in 1801.

History

1776 to 1848

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

Mission San Juan Capistrano Mission San Juan Capistrano () is a Spanish missions in California, Spanish mission in San Juan Capistrano, California, San Juan Capistrano, Orange County, California, Orange County, California. Founded November 1, 1776 in colonial ''The Califo ...

by Junipero Serra and the

Franciscan The Franciscans are a group of related organizations in the Catholic Church, founded or inspired by the Italian saint Francis of Assisi. They include three independent Religious institute, religious orders for men (the Order of Friars Minor bei ...

order. At the time, the region was part of the

Las Californias The Californias (), occasionally known as the Three Californias or the 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 states of Baja California an ...

province of

New Spain New Spain, officially the Viceroyalty of New Spain ( ; Nahuatl: ''Yankwik Kaxtillan Birreiyotl''), originally the Kingdom of New Spain, was an integral territorial entity of the Spanish Empire, established by Habsburg Spain. It was one of several ...

. In 1804, the Spanish split the Province of California into two territories: * Alta California (Upper California), including the modern American states of

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

Nevada Nevada ( ; ) is a landlocked state in the Western United States. It borders Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. Nevada is the seventh-most extensive, th ...

Arizona Arizona is a U.S. state, state in the Southwestern United States, Southwestern region of the United States, sharing the Four Corners region of the western United States with Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah. It also borders Nevada to the nort ...

, and

Utah Utah is a landlocked state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is one of the Four Corners states, sharing a border with Arizona, Colorado, and New Mexico. It also borders Wyoming to the northea ...

, along with western

Colorado Colorado is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States. It is one of the Mountain states, sharing the Four Corners region with Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah. It is also bordered by Wyoming to the north, Nebraska to the northeast, Kansas ...

and southwestern

Wyoming Wyoming ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States, Western United States. It borders Montana to the north and northwest, South Dakota and Nebraska to the east, Idaho t ...

Baja California Territory Baja California Territory (Territorio de Baja California) was a federal territory of Mexico that existed from 1824 to 1853, and 1854 to 1931; it encompassed the Baja California peninsula of present-day northwestern part of the country. It re ...

(Lower California), including the modern Mexican states of

Baja California Baja California, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Baja California, is a state in Mexico. It is the northwesternmost of the 32 federal entities of Mexico. Before becoming a state in 1952, the area was known as the North Territory of B ...

and

Baja California Sur Baja California Sur, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Baja California Sur, is a state in Mexico. It is the 31st and last state to be admitted, in 1974. It is also the second least populated Mexican state and the ninth-largest state by ...

After the Mexican War of Independence, the new Mexican Government in 1835 secularized all of the missions in coastal California, including San Juan Capistrano. In 1840, Pope

Gregory XVI Pope Gregory XVI (; ; born Bartolomeo Alberto Cappellari; 18 September 1765 – 1 June 1846) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 2 February 1831 to his death in June 1846. He had adopted the name Mauro upon enteri ...

set up the Diocese of California. California. The new diocese included both Alta California and Baja California. Gregory XVI set the

episcopal see An episcopal see is 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, making it synonymous with ''diocese'' ...

at present-day

San Diego San Diego ( , ) is a city on the Pacific coast of Southern California, adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a population of over 1.4 million, it is the List of United States cities by population, eighth-most populous city in t ...

in Alta California. The first bishop of the new diocese was

Francisco Garcia Diego y Moreno Francisco is the Spanish and Portuguese form of the masculine given name ''Franciscus''. Meaning of the name Francisco In Spanish, people with the name Francisco are sometimes nicknamed " Paco". San Francisco de Asís was known as ''Pater Comm ...

. Moreno designated the

Mission Santa Barbara Mission Santa Barbara () is a Spanish missions in California, Spanish mission in Santa Barbara, California, United States. Often referred to as the 'Queen of the Missions', it was founded by Padre Fermín Lasuén for the Franciscan order on Decem ...

in Santa Barbara as his

pro-cathedral A pro-cathedral or procathedral is a parish Church (building), church that temporarily serves as the cathedral or co-cathedral of a diocese, or a church that has the same function in a Catholic missionary jurisdiction (such as an apostolic prefect ...

1848 to 1976

After ceding Alta California to the United States at the close of the

Mexican–American War The Mexican–American War (Spanish language, Spanish: ''guerra de Estados Unidos-México, guerra mexicano-estadounidense''), also known in the United States as the Mexican War, and in Mexico as the United States intervention in Mexico, ...

in 1848, the government of Mexico objected to San Diego, a see city now located in the United States, having jurisdiction over Mexican parishes. In response, the Vatican divided the Diocese of California into American and Mexican sections in 1849. The American section became the Diocese of Monterey; the

see city See or SEE may refer to: * Visual perception Arts, entertainment, and media * Music: ** ''See'' (album), studio album by rock band The Rascals *** "See", song by The Rascals, on the album ''See'' ** "See" (Tycho song), song by Tycho * Televisio ...

was moved to Monterey because of its more central location. The Royal Presidio Chapel in Monterey became the cathedral of the new American diocese.

Pope Pius IX Pope Pius IX (; born Giovanni Maria Battista Pietro Pellegrino Isidoro Mastai-Ferretti; 13 May 1792 – 7 February 1878) was head of the Catholic Church from 1846 to 1878. His reign of nearly 32 years is the longest verified of any pope in hist ...

split the Diocese of Monterey in 1853, erecting the Metropolitan Archdiocese of San Francisco. He designated the Diocese of Monterey as a suffragan diocese of the new

archdiocese 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 associated ...

. In 1859, Pius IX changed the name of the diocese to the Diocese of Monterey-Los Angeles due to the growth of

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

. St. Boniface, the oldest continually operating Catholic church in Orange County, was dedicated in

Anaheim Anaheim ( ) is a city in northern Orange County, California, United States, part of the Greater Los Angeles area. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 346,824, making it the most populous city in Orange County, the tenth-most ...

in 1872. St. Mary's, the first Catholic church in Fullerton, was dedicated in 1912. The first parish in Orange, Holy Family, was established in 1921. In 1922,

Pope Pius XI Pope Pius XI (; born Ambrogio Damiano Achille Ratti, ; 31 May 1857 – 10 February 1939) was head of the Catholic Church from 6 February 1922 until his death in February 1939. He was also the first sovereign of the Vatican City State u ...

suppressed the Diocese of Monterey-Los Angeles, erecting in its place the Diocese of Los Angeles-San Diego and the Diocese of Monterey-Fresno.The Orange County area would remain part of the Diocese of Los Angeles-San Diego, succeeded by the Archdiocese of Los Angeles, for the next 54 years.

1976 to present

On March 24, 1976,

Pope Paul VI Pope Paul 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 until his death on 6 August 1978. Succeeding John XXII ...

established the Diocese of Orange. Auxiliary Bishop William Johnson of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles was appointed the first bishop of Orange. Johnson designated Holy Family Church in Orange as

cathedral A cathedral is a church (building), church that contains the of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, Annual conferences within Methodism, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral" are usually s ...

of the new diocese. Johnson died in 1986 and

Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II (born Karol Józef Wojtyła; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 16 October 1978 until Death and funeral of Pope John Paul II, his death in 2005. In his you ...

named Bishop

Norman Francis McFarland Norman Francis McFarland (February 21, 1922 – April 16, 2010) was an American Catholic prelate who served as Roman Catholic Diocese of Orange, Bishop of Orange from 1987 until 1998. He previously served as an auxiliary bishop of the Archdioces ...

of the Diocese of Reno as his replacement that same year. McFarland retired in 1998. John Paul II named Bishop Tod David Brown from the Diocese of Boise as McFarland's replacement. The diocese grew rapidly as the local population swelled with Catholic immigrants from

Vietnam Vietnam, officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (SRV), is a country at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of about and a population of over 100 million, making it the world's List of countries and depende ...

, the Philippines, and

Latin America Latin America is the cultural region of the Americas where Romance languages are predominantly spoken, primarily Spanish language, Spanish and Portuguese language, Portuguese. Latin America is defined according to cultural identity, not geogr ...

. In 2010, the diocese claimed a Catholic population of over 1.2 million. In November 2011, the diocese purchased the Crystal Cathedral in

Garden Grove, California Garden Grove is a city in northern Orange County, California, United States. The population was 171,949 at the 2020 census. State Route 22, also known as the Garden Grove Freeway, passes through the city in an east–west direction. The west ...

, in bankruptcy court from Robert Schuller Ministries. In a ''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' is an American Newspaper#Daily, daily newspaper that began publishing in Los Angeles, California, in 1881. Based in the Greater Los Angeles city of El Segundo, California, El Segundo since 2018, it is the List of new ...

'' article, Brown mentioned that over the years, visiting Catholic clerics from other countries always wanted to visit the cathedral. The article also mentioned that the population of the diocese had doubled during Brown's tenure, increasing the need for more facilities. The facility, renamed Christ Cathedral, was consecrated as the seat of the diocese in 2019. 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. A ...

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

of the Diocese of Fort Worth to succeed him. The new Christ Cathedral, was consecrated as the seat of the diocese in 2019. In November 2020, Vann sued the former administrator of the Orange Catholic Foundation. Vann claimed that the administrator had defamed him by suggesting Vann wanted to obtain funds from the Foundation for

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

relief, but actually use them for

sex abuse Sexual abuse or sex abuse is abusive sexual behavior by one person upon another. It is often perpetrated using physical force, or by taking advantage of another. It often consists of a persistent pattern of sexual assaults. The offender is r ...

claims against the diocese. As of 2023, Vann is the current bishop of Orange.

Sexual abuse

In 2005, Bishop Brown apologized to 87 victims of sexual abuse by diocesan clergy and announced a settlement of $100 million, following two years of mediation. In addition, 91 victims received an average of $659,000 each. The perpetrators included 31 priests, ten lay people, two nuns, and one religious brother. In a 2007 interview with the ''

Orange County Register ''The Orange County Register'' is a paid daily List of newspapers in California, newspaper published in California. The ''Register'', published in Orange County, California, is owned by the private equity firm Alden Global Capital via its Digit ...

'', Scott Hicks stated that in 1965 Brown, then a priest, sexually abused him several times when Hicks was a 12-year-old at Our Lady of Perpetual Help Parish in

Bakersfield, California Bakersfield is a city in and the county seat of Kern County, California, United States. The city covers about near the southern end of the San Joaquin Valley, which is located in the Central Valley region. Bakersfield's population as of th ...

. The Diocese of Fresno had investigated Hicks' accusations in 1997 and found they lacked any credible basis. The case file was turned over to

Kern County Kern County is a county (United States), county located in the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 909,235. Its county seat is Bakersfield, California, Bakersfield. Kern County compris ...

investigators in 2002, who took no action. In October 2007, Judge Gail Andler opened a

contempt of court Contempt of court, often referred to simply as "contempt", is the crime of being disobedient to or disrespectful toward a court of law and its officers in the form of behavior that opposes or defies the authority, justice, and dignity of the co ...

hearing on Brown regarding Reverend John Urell, a diocese official responsible for managing sexual abuse accusations. Brown had sent Urell to a treatment center for priests in Canada despite the fact that Urell was still testifying in court on a sexual abuse case. Brown pleaded not guilty. The

contempt In colloquial usage, contempt usually refers to either the act of despising, or having a general lack of respect for something. This set of emotions generally produces maladaptive behaviour. Other authors define contempt as a negative emotio ...

citation was later dropped as a condition of a $7 million case settlement. The female victims had been minors at Mater Dei High School in Santa Ana, California, and Santa Margarita High School in Rancho Santa Margarita, California. They had been abused there by lay workers

Bishops

Bishops of Orange

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

(2012–present)

Auxiliary bishops

John Thomas Steinbock John Thomas Steinbock (July 16, 1937 – December 5, 2010) was an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as the fourth bishop of the Diocese of Fresno in California from 1991 until his death in 2010. Steinbock previously s ...

(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 Catholic prelate who has served as Bishop of Sacramento since 2007. He previously served as an auxiliary bishop of the Diocese of Orange from 2000 to 2007. Biography Early life and edu ...

(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,

Bishop A bishop is an ordained member of the clergy who is entrusted with a position of Episcopal polity, authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance and administration of di ...

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 and painting, brown is usually made by combining the colors Orange (colour), orange and black. In the ...

first announced plans to build a new cathedral to replace the Cathedral of the Holy Family. However, with the onset of the Catholic sexual abuse scandal in the diocese, Brown deemed it "inappropriate" then to raise funds for a new cathedral. In 2005, the diocese purchased land in Santa Ana and established Christ Our Savior Cathedral Parish, planning to eventually build a cathedral there. The cost of the cathedral project was estimated at approximately $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 (), informally known as the COLA or the Los Angeles Cathedral (), is the metropolitan cathedral of the Roman Catholic Church in Los Angeles, California, United States. It opened in 2002 and serves as the mo ...

. In October 2010, Crystal Cathedral Ministries, the

Protestant Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that emphasizes Justification (theology), justification of sinners Sola fide, through faith alone, the teaching that Salvation in Christianity, salvation comes by unmerited Grace in Christianity, divin ...

congregation that owned

Crystal Cathedral Christ Cathedral (Latin: ''Cathedralis Christi''; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Catedral de Cristo''; Vietnamese language, Vietnamese: ''Nhà Thờ Chính Tòa Chúa Kitô''), formerly the Crystal Cathedral, is an American church building in Ga ...

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 deb ...

protection. Later in 2010, the diocese announced its interest in buying the building and converting it into a Catholic cathedral. It was seen as a potential cost and time-saving alternative over building a new one. In 2011, a U.S. bankruptcy court judge approved the sale of Crystal Cathedral and its campus to the diocese for $57.5 million; the sale was finalized in February 2012. At that time, the diocese removed "Cathedral" from Christ Our Savior Parish's name, repurposing it as a parish church. In June 2012, the diocese announced that the new cathedral would be named "Christ Cathedral". The Vatican had approved the building's new name, using suggestions from the diocese and its members. In June 2013, the diocese moved St. Callistus Parish to the Christ Cathedral campus. At the same time, Crystal Cathedral Ministries moved to the former St. Callistus campus, leased to them by diocese. In September 2013, the diocese moved the St. Callistus' parish school to the cathedral campus, renaming it Christ Cathedral Academy. In 2014, the diocese announced a $72 million plan to renovate the cathedral building to meet Catholic

liturgy Liturgy is the customary public ritual of worship performed by a religious group. As a religious phenomenon, liturgy represents a communal response to and participation in the sacred through activities reflecting praise, thanksgiving, remembra ...

requirements while maintaining its architectural qualities. Construction began in 2017 and was completed in 2019.

Education

The Diocese of Orange oversees 31 parochial elementary schools and three high schools. Three independent Catholic elementary schools and four independent Catholic high schools (i.e., run by a

religious order A religious order is a subgroup within a larger confessional community with a distinctive high-religiosity lifestyle and clear membership. Religious orders often trace their lineage from revered teachers, venerate their Organizational founder, ...

or independent board of trustees) are located in the diocese.

High schools

Diocesan

* Mater Dei High School – Santa Ana * Rosary High School – Fullerton *

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 i ...

– Rancho Santa Margarita

Independent

JSerra Catholic High School JSerra Catholic High School is a private coeducational Catholic high school located in San Juan Capistrano, California. Named after Saint Junípero Serra, the school was founded by parents in 2003 and is an independent school sanctioned by the ...

– San Juan Capistrano *

Servite High School Servite High School is a private, Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized ...

– Anaheim

Closed schools

Cornelia Connelly High School Cornelia Connelly School of the Holy Child Jesus (Connelly), was a Catholic college-preparatory high school for girls in Anaheim, California, the only such independent school in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Orange. It operated from 1961 to 2020 ...

– Anaheim * St. Michael's Preparatory School – Silverado

References

External links

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

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

Organizations based in Orange County, California

Christian organizations established in 1976 1976 establishments in California