Francisco García Diego y Moreno (17 September 1785 – 30 April 1846) was a Spanish Catholic prelate who served as the first Bishop of the Californias.

Early episcopal appointments

In 1801, he received the

habit A habit (or wont, as a humorous and formal term) is a routine of behavior that is repeated regularly and tends to occur subconsciously. A 1903 paper in the '' American Journal of Psychology'' defined a "habit, from the standpoint of psychology, ...

Francis Francis may refer to: People and characters *Pope Francis, head of the Catholic Church (2013–2025) *Francis (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters * Francis (surname) * Francis, a character played by YouTuber Boogie2 ...

at the missionary College of Guadalupe de Zacatecas, made his vows the following year and was

ordained Ordination is the process by which individuals are Consecration in Christianity, consecrated, that is, set apart and elevated from the laity class to the clergy, who are thus then authorized (usually by the religious denomination, denominationa ...

priest A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deity, deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in parti ...

Monterrey Monterrey (, , abbreviated as MtY) is the capital and largest city of the northeastern Mexican state of Nuevo León. It is the ninth-largest city and the second largest metropolitan area, after Greater Mexico City. Located at the foothills of th ...

Nuevo León Nuevo León, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Nuevo León, is a Administrative divisions of Mexico, state in northeastern Mexico. The state borders the Mexican states of Tamaulipas, Coahuila, Zacatecas, and San Luis Potosí, San Luis ...

, 14 Nov 1808. For the next twenty years Father Diego was mainly occupied in preaching missions, and during this period compiled a small work, ''Metodo de Misionar'', or "Method for Giving Missions". From 1816 to 1819 he was master of novices, in 1822 he was made ''discretos'', and in February 1832, guardian or superior of the missionary college.

Governmental influence

The Mexican government, which had resolved to expel all Spanish friars from

Alta California Alta California (, ), also known as Nueva 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 was made a separat ...

, in April 1832, requested that the college send eleven native Mexican Franciscans members to California. Father Diego went as the

commissary A commissary is a government official charged with oversight or an ecclesiastical official who exercises in special circumstances the jurisdiction of a bishop. In many countries, the term is used as an administrative or police title. It often c ...

. They reached

Cabo San Lucas Cabo San Lucas (, "Luke the Evangelist, Saint Luke Cape (geography), Cape"), also known simply as Cabo, is a Resort town, resort city at the southern tip of the Baja California peninsula, in the Mexican Political divisions of Mexico, state of Baja ...

in September 1832, and

Monterey Monterey ( ; ) is a city situated on the southern edge of Monterey Bay, on the Central Coast of California. Located in Monterey County, the city occupies a land area of and recorded a population of 30,218 in the 2020 census. The city was fou ...

, the capital, in February 1833. The Guadalupan friars took charge of the missions from

San Antonio San Antonio ( ; Spanish for " Saint Anthony") is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in Greater San Antonio. San Antonio is the third-largest metropolitan area in Texas and the 24th-largest metropolitan area in the ...

to Sonoma. On 6 March, Father Diego chose Mission Santa Clara for his field of labor.

Creation of diocese

He remained here until the end of 1835, when he visited

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

to induce the government to have a bishop appointed, in order to preserve the Church in California. On 19 Sep 1836, the Mexican government decided to petition the pope to create California a

bishopric 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 associate ...

and congress at the same time decreed to pay the new bishop an annual salary of $6,000 until the diocese should have a sufficient income. Of the three candidates proposed by the metropolitan chapter on 22 June 1839, the Mexican government on 6 April 1840, recommended Father Francisco Garcia Diego. On 27 April

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 ...

withdrew California from the jurisdiction of the Bishop of Sonora, and at the same time appointed Father Diego first Bishop of Upper and

Lower California Baja California, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Baja California, is a state in Mexico. It is the northwesternmost of the Political divisions of Mexico, 32 federal entities of Mexico. Before becoming a state in 1952, the area was kno ...

with the see at

Mission San Diego de Alcalá Mission Basilica San Diego de Alcalá (, lit. The Mission of Saint Didacus of Acalá) was the second Franciscan founded mission in the Californias (after San Fernando de Velicata), a province of New Spain. Located in present-day San Diego, C ...

Consecration as first diocesan bishop

Diego was

consecrated Sacred describes something that is dedicated or set apart for the service or worship of a deity; is considered worthy of spiritual respect or devotion; or inspires awe or reverence among believers. The property is often ascribed to objects (a ...

at the Franciscan church of Guadalupe, Zacatecas, on 4 October 1840, and on 11 December 1841, landed at

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 ...

. Owing to the poverty and insignificance of the place, he removed his residence''DIOCESE OF MONTEREY AND LOS ANGELES (MONTEREYENSIS ET ANGELORUM)'' Retrieved: 2010-03-17.
/ref> to

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 ...

on 11 January 1842. When he arrived, there were only seventeen

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 ...

Fathers, mostly aged and infirm, in charge of the twenty-one secularized Indian missions and six Spanish towns. The bishop began with great plans and a desire to promote the welfare of the church in his territory.

Governmental interference

The Mexican government had encouraged him by giving him a fixed salary and entrusted to him the management of the Pious Fund of the Californias. But, in February 1842, President Santa Anna confiscated the Fund. The bishop received no aid and he was obliged to depend upon the contributions from the few white settlers in the territory. Many of them refused to pay the

tithe A tithe (; from Old English: ''teogoþa'' "tenth") is a one-tenth part of something, paid as a contribution to a religious organization or compulsory tax to government. Modern tithes are normally voluntary and paid in money, cash, cheques or v ...

s which he had found it necessary to impose.

Achievements

Nevertheless, Diego opened the first

seminary A seminary, school of theology, theological college, or divinity school is an educational institution for educating students (sometimes called seminarians) in scripture and theology, generally to prepare them for ordination to serve as cle ...

on the Pacific coast at the former

Mission Santa Inés Mission Santa Inés (sometimes spelled Santa Ynez) was a Spanish mission in present-day Solvang, California, United States, and named after St. Agnes of Rome. Founded on September 17, 1804, by Father Estévan Tapís of the Franciscan order, t ...

, about fifteen miles from the ocean and forty-five miles from Santa Barbara. He also made a first visitation of all the churches in the diocese, and to some places even went a second time. Worn out by hardships and disheartened at the deplorable conditions which he could not remedy, Bishop Diego died, and was buried in the old

. Bishop García Diego High School in Santa Barbara is named after him.[''About Bishop García Diego High School,History'' Retrieved: 2010-03-17.

References

External links

Diocese of Monterey
Retrieved: 2010-03-17.
Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Los Angeles
{{DEFAULTSORT:Diego Y Moreno, F Roman Catholic missionaries in Mexico Mexican Friars Minor Priests of the Spanish missions in California 1785 births 1846 deaths 19th-century Roman Catholic bishops in Mexico People from Jalisco Roman Catholic Diocese of Monterey in California Mexican Roman Catholic missionaries Spanish Roman Catholic missionaries Spanish Friars Minor Franciscan bishops Franciscan missionaries in New Spain