Our Heritage

Historical Order of Bishops

Bishop Francisco Garcia Diego y Moreno, O.F.M.

Bishop of Both Californias, 1840–46

The beginning of Catholicism in California dates from the early explorations of Juan Cabrillo in 1542 and Sebastian Vizcaino in 1602. The priests who accompanied these explorers celebrated Mass here over three centuries ago. The actual founding of El Pueblo de Nuestra Señora de los Ángeles occured in 1781. By 1840 Pope Gregory XVI established a hierarchy in California and named a Franciscan friar, Francisco Garcia Diego y Moreno, as the first bishop of the gigantic Diocese of Both California, extending from the Oregon line to all of Baja California. The bishop died in 1846.

Bishop Joseph Sadoc Alemany, O.P.

Bishop of Monterey, 1850–53

An interim administrator, Father Gonzalez Rubio, headed the diocese for four years and the title was changed to Monterey in 1849. In 1850, Pope Pius IX named Dominican Father Joseph Sadoc Alemany, who was provincial of the Dominicans in the U. S., as bishop of the Monterey Diocese. In 1853 he was named the first Archbishop of San Francisco and peninsular California (Baja) was separated. He headed the Archdiocese of San Francisco until 1884 when he returned to Spain, where he died in 1888.

Bishop Thaddeus Amat, C.M.

Bishop of Monterey, 1854–59
Bishop of Monterey-Los Angeles, 1859-78

Vincentian Father Thaddeus Amat was appointed bishop of Monterey after the Archdiocese of San Francisco was erected in 1853. The diocese extended from San Jose to the Mexican border. He first established his residence in Santa Barbara and moved to Los Angeles when the name of the diocese was changed to Monterey-Los Angeles. He represented the diocese at the First Vatican Council (1869-70), established parochial schools and erected St. Vibiana Cathedral in 1876. He also brought the first orders of sisters to the city, the Sisters of Charity and the Sisters of the Immaculate Heart of Mary. Bishop Amat died in 1878 in Los Angeles.

Bishop Francisco Mora

Bishop of Monterey-Los Angeles, 1878–96

Father Mora had served in several country parishes in California when in 1863 he was named rector of the Church of Our Lady of the Angels and then Vicar-General. Bishop Amat ordained him a bishop in 1873 with the right of succession. Bishop Mora took over the diocese in 1878 and for 18 years worked tirelessly to establish 72 parishes and faced many legal battles against the church. In 1895 he established The Catholic Tidings, the first Catholic newspaper for the diocese. He resigned in 1896 and returned to Spain where he died in 1905 at the age of 78.

Bishop George Montgomery

Bishop of Monterey-Los Angeles, 1896–1903

Bishop Montgomery was born in Kentucky, the first American-born head of the diocese, ordained a priest in 1879 and ordained a bishop in 1894. He assisted in the administration of the diocese as coadjutor because of Bishop Mora's failing health, and he assumed complete responsibility for the diocese in 1896. During his seven years as bishop, he faced serious bigotry but proved himself a great civic leader and dynamic churchman. In 1903 he was named coadjutor to Archbishop Patrick Riordan of San Francisco. He died there in 1907.

Bishop Thomas Conaty

Bishop of Monterey-Los Angeles, 1903–1915

Bishop Conaty had just completed a six-year term as rector of the Catholic University of America when he was appointed head of the Diocese of Monterey-Los Angeles. One of his major interests was Catholic education adn preservation of the California Missions. He organized the St. Vincent de Paul Society in 1904 and acquired The Tidings as the official diocesan publication. During Bishop Conaty's episcopate, the total population doubled, priest numbered 229 and many religious women were serving the diocese in education, hospitals and orphanages. When he died in 1915, the Catholic population had grown to 178,000, three times the number when he first arrived.

Archbishop John J. Cantwell

Bishop of Monterey-Los Angeles, 1917–22
Bishop of Los Angeles-San Diego, 1922-36
Archbishop of Los Angeles, 1936-47

Two major divisions of the Monterey-Los Angeles Diocese occurred during the time of Archbishop Cantwell and his was the longest term: 30 years. In 1922 Pope Pius XI approved the division of the 90,000-square-mile diocese and created the Diocese of Los Angeles-San Diego. The next major alteration occurred in 1936 with the erection of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles with the four southern counties comprising the new DIocese of San Diego. Noted for his provision for the spiritual and material welfare of the non-English speaking faithful, Archbishop Cantwelll created 50 Hispanic parishes and missions. He died in 1947.

Cardinal James Francis McIntyre

Archbishop of Los Angeles, 1948–70

Just five years after the appointment of Archbishop McIntyre in 1947, Pope Pius raised him to the rank of cardinal, the first in the Western United States. Cardinal McIntyre faced a period of incredible growth and expansion. Between 1948 and 1963, 82 parishes were added and the number of Catholic schools tripled from 147 to 347, about one a month for 15 years. A tremendous wave of immigration brought an influx of Chinese, Japanese, Korean and other Asian ethnic groups as well as a rise in the number of Hispanics and African Americans. This period also witnessed wide-ranging changes in the church, including the Second Vatican Council and the exodus of many women religious from their communities. He died in Los Angeles in 1970.

Cardinal Timothy Manning

Archbishop of Los Angeles, 1970–85

In 1970 Cadjutor Bishop Manning became the third archbishop of Los Angeles adn three eyars later became the second cardinal for the city. For 15 years, the Irish-born prelate prevaield through enormous changes in the chruch aided by four auxiliary bishops. In 1976 Orange County was separated from the Archdiocese to become the Diocese of Orange. Cardinal Manning ordained the first permanent deacons for the archdicoese in 1975 and by the end of his episcopate, the CAtholic population was close to 2.5 million. As a bishop, he confirmed more than 650,000 young people. He died in Los Angeles in 1989.

Cardinal Roger M. Mahony

Archbishop of Los Angeles, 1985-Present

With Cardinal Manning in retirement, Bishop Roger Mahony was appointed the first native Angeleno to head the Archdiocese in 1985, by then the largest in the nation. Archbishop Mahony had headed the Diocese of Stockton prior to his appointment and is an alumnus of St. John's Seminary. In 1991 he became the third cardinal of the Archdiocese. He created the five Pastoral Regions in 1986. In 1995 he announced plans for the construction of a new cathedral church to replace the earthquake-damaged St. Vibiana's Cathedral, oversaw its construction and dedicated the new Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels on September 2, 2002.