Roman Catholic Diocese of Fresno

The Roman Catholic Diocese of Fresno is a particular church of the Latin Church of the Roman Catholic Church in the western region (XI) of the United States, in the State of California. It is a suffragan diocese of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles. Geographically, the diocese consists of 35,239 square miles (91,270 km2) of the Southern San Joaquin Valley of California, a portion of the Sierra Nevada and some eastern valleys. The diocese consists of all of the Counties of Fresno, Inyo, Kern, Kings, Madera, Mariposa, Merced, and Tulare. The total population of the diocesan region is about 2.4 million inhabitants, of whom 1,074,944 are registered Catholic as of 2012. For administrative purposes the diocese is sub-divided into five deaneries: Fresno City, Fresno (rural), Tulare/Kings, Kern/Inyo, and Merced/Mariposa.

Diocese of Fresno

Dioecesis Fresnensis
St. John's Cathedral
Location
Country United States
TerritoryCounties of Fresno, Inyo, Kern, Kings, Madera, Merced, Mariposa, and Tulare
Ecclesiastical provinceLos Angeles
MetropolitanJosé Gómez
Statistics
Population
- Total
- Catholics		(as of 2016)
2,906,023
1,200,000 (41.3%)
Parishes89
Congregations41
Schools38 (Pre-School, Elementary, Middle, and High School)
Information
DenominationCatholic
Sui iuris churchLatin Church
RiteRoman Rite
EstablishedOctober 6, 1967[1]
CathedralSaint John the Baptist Cathedral
Patron saintSt. Therese of Lisieux
Secular priests179 (Diocesan and Religious)
Current leadership
PopeFrancis
BishopJoseph Vincent Brennan
Metropolitan ArchbishopJosé Gómez
Archbishop of Los Angeles
Vicar GeneralRev. Msgr. Raymond C. Dreiling, V.G.
Bishops emeritusArmando Xavier Ochoa
Map
Website
dioceseoffresno.org

History

The see was created in 1967 by splitting the Diocese of Monterey-Fresno into two sees. Historically the area of the current diocese belonged to the Dioceses of Guadalajara, Durango, Sonora, Californias, Monterey, Monterey-Los Angeles, and lastly Monterey-Fresno. Timothy Manning (first Bishop of Fresno) and Roger Mahony (Auxiliary Bishop) have both served in the diocese.

The most recent ordinary, John Thomas Steinbock, was appointed the fourth Bishop of Fresno on October 15, 1991, taking over from Apostolic Administrator Most Rev. Norman McFarland, Bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Orange. He served in that position until his death from lung cancer on December 5, 2010. Since 1922 the diocesan see has been in the City of Fresno with the cathedra remaining at St. John's Cathedral (which also served as the seat of the former Diocese of Monterey-Fresno). The diocese maintains 86 parishes, several charities, two high schools, numerous elementary schools, a small newspaper, television station (KNXT), retreat center and several cemeteries.

In 2003, the Diocese of Fresno was one of only four Latin Church dioceses in the United States that did not participate in the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops review of the Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People.[2]

Bishops

Bishops of Fresno
  1. Timothy Manning (1967-1969), appointed Coadjutor Archbishop and later Archbishop of Los Angeles (elevated to Cardinal in 1973)
  2. Hugh Aloysius Donohoe (1969-1980)
  3. José de Jesús Madera Uribe (1980-1991), appointed auxiliary bishop for the Military Services, USA
  4. John Thomas Steinbock (1991-2010)
  5. Armando Xavier Ochoa (2011-2019)
  6. Joseph Vincent Brennan (2019–present)

Coadjutor Bishops
  1. José de Jesús Madera Uribe (1979-1980)

Auxiliary Bishops
  1. Roger Mahony (1975-1980), appointed Bishop of Stockton and later Archbishop of Los Angeles (created a Cardinal in 1991)

Other priest of this diocese who became Bishop
  • Myron Joseph Cotta, appointed auxiliary bishop of Sacramento in 2014, appointed Bishop of Stockton in 2018

Churches
Main article: List of churches in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Fresno

Schools
Main article: List of schools in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Fresno

Parishes
Main article: List of parishes in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Fresno

See also

Notes
  1. "Diocese of Fresno". Catholic-Hierarchy.org. David M. Cheney. Retrieved 21 January 2015.
  2. http://www.nccbuscc.org/ocyp/audit2003/sectionone.htm#6

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