Population
- Catholics 1,002,223 Denomination Roman Catholic Bishop Robert W. McElroy Country United States of America Schools 89 | Parishes 98 Sui iuris church Latin Church Cathedral St. Joseph Cathedral Patron saint Didacus of Alcalá Metropolitan archbishop José Horacio Gómez | |
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Territory Counties of San Diego, Imperial Ecclesiastical province Province of Los Angeles | ||
The Roman Catholic Diocese of San Diego is a particular church of the Latin Church of the Roman Catholic Church in the western region of the United States. Its ecclesiastic territory includes all of San Diego and Imperial Counties in Southern California, with a Catholic population of approximately 1 million. The diocese is a suffragan of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles.
Contents
- Leadership and religious membership
- History
- Bishops
- Diocesan
- Former auxiliaries
- High schools
- K 8 schools
- References
Leadership and religious membership
On January 4, 2012, Bishop Cirilo Flores was appointed as coadjutor bishop with immediate right of succession to Bishop Robert Henry Brom, then already 75, who had served since January 1990. Bishop Brom had submitted his resignation when he turned 75, as all Roman Catholic bishops must, and Pope Francis accepted it on September 18, 2013, making Coadjutor Bishop Flores the Bishop of San Diego. Bishop Flores died on September 6, 2014 after a stroke and a battle with cancer. In March 2015, Pope Francis appointed Bishop Robert McElroy as the bishop of the diocese.
There are 233 priests, 118 active (not retired) deacons, 213 religious sisters and 30 religious brothers in the diocese.
History
The first Roman Catholic churches in the current territory of the Diocese of San Diego were two of the twenty-one "California Missions" (Mission San Diego de Alcala and Mission San Luis Rey de Francia). The area was first included in a diocese in 1840, with the creation of the Diocese of Both Californias (serving the entirety of the Mexican colonial provinces of Baja California and Alta California). After the conquest of Alta California by the United States, that diocese was divided, with the American portion becoming the Diocese of Monterey, later renamed the Diocese of Monterey-Los Angeles. In 1922, the diocese was again divided, with the southern portion becoming the Diocese of Los Angeles-San Diego.
The current diocese was created as a result of the division of the Diocese of Los Angeles-San Diego. The Diocese of San Diego was established on July 11, 1936, at which time it included San Diego County, Imperial County, Riverside County, and San Bernardino County; the remainder of the former diocese then became the Archdiocese of Los Angeles.
In 1978, the Diocese of San Diego was itself divided, with Riverside County and San Bernardino County becoming the Diocese of San Bernardino.
Currently, the Diocese of San Diego includes 99 parishes and 16 missions, serving San Diego County and Imperial County. In addition, the diocese includes 45 elementary schools, 5 high schools and 2 universities (University of San Diego and John Paul the Great Catholic University).
On February 28, 2007, the diocese filed for bankruptcy protection after the diocese was unable to reach a settlement agreement with numerous plaintiffs suing over alleged clergy abuse. On September 7, 2007, the Diocese agreed to pay $198.1 million to settle 144 claims of child sexual abuse by clergy, the 2nd-largest payment by a diocese.
Bishops
The lists of ordinaries of the diocese and their years of service:
Diocesan
- Charles Francis Buddy (1936–1966)
- Francis James Furey (1966–1969)
- Leo Thomas Maher (1969–1990)
- Robert Henry Brom (1990–2013)
- Cirilo Flores (2013–2014)
- Robert W. McElroy (2015–present)