Roman Catholic Diocese of Stockton

The Roman Catholic Diocese of Stockton, also known as the See of Stockton, is a Latin rite diocese (ecclesiastical territory) of the Roman Catholic Church in the Central Valley and Mother Lode region of California in the United States.

Diocese of Stockton Diœcesis Stocktoniensis
Logo of the Diocese of Stockton
Location
Country	United States
Territory	Counties of Alpine, Calaveras, Mono, San Joaquin, Stanislaus and Tuolumne
Ecclesiastical province	Province of San Francisco
Statistics
Population - Total - Catholics (including non-members)	(as of 2017) 1,376,940 298,061 (21.6%)
Parishes	35
Information
Denomination	Catholic
Sui iuris church	Latin Church
Rite	Roman Rite
Established	January 13, 1962
Cathedral	Cathedral of the Annunciation
Patron saint	Our Lady of the Annunciation
Secular priests	105
Current leadership
Pope	Francis
Bishop	Myron Joseph Cotta
Metropolitan Archbishop	Salvatore Cordileone Archbishop of San Francisco
Map
Website
stocktondiocese.org

Its episcopal see is the (Marian) Cathedral of the Annunciation in Stockton. It is a suffragan in the ecclesiastical province of the Metropolitan Archbishop of San Francisco

Extent and statistics

As per 2015, its bishop pastorally serves 250,692 Catholics (18.4% of 1,361,162 total) on 15,995 km² in 35 parishes with 97 priests (83 diocesan, 14 religious), 51 deacons, 66 lay religious (15 brothers, 51 sisters), 6 seminarians and 12 missions.[1]

It covers the secular Counties of Alpine, Calaveras, Mono, San Joaquin, Stanislaus and Tuolumne.

The diocese is geographically and ethnically diverse. The majority of the population lives in the San Joaquin Valley. The two major population cities are Stockton and Modesto. The diocese has shown a significant population increase in all counties except Alpine County. The majority of San Joaquin Valley is farming, and there are many migrant camps in which the Church has a presence.

Calaveras, Tuolumne and Alpine counties are located on the western side of the Sierra Nevada mountain range. Most parishes in these counties date back to the gold rush days. Mono County is on the eastern side of the Sierra Nevada Mountain range and is usually cut off from the rest of the diocese during winter. The parish church located in Mammoth Lakes provides for the spiritual care of vacationers during the winter and summer.

The largest racial/ethnic groups in the Diocese are White and Hispanic. There are also many of Filipino and South East Asian descent. The largest Azorean Portuguese population outside the Azores is found in the Diocese of Stockton. It is estimated that 60% of the diocesan Catholic population is Hispanic. However, this does not imply that Spanish is their first language, only that their heritage is Spanish. The largest Pacific Island community is the Filipino community. Then the next largest ethnic concentration is Vietnamese. The USCCB statement Asian and Pacific Presence[2] lists the Diocese of Stockton as among the top thirty dioceses in the United States with the highest Asian and Pacific Island population. Within the Diocese, Mass is celebrated more than 180 times each Sunday in English, Spanish, Portuguese, Latin and Laotian. Weekday masses are celebrated in these languages and Vietnamese.

Its fellow suffragans in the -mainly Californian- ecclesiastical province of the Archbishop of San Francisco include the Dioceses of Honolulu (on Hawaii), Las Vegas, Oakland, Reno, Sacramento, Salt Lake City, San Jose, Santa Rosa.

History

The Diocese of Stockton was formed on January 13, 1962 on Californian territories split off from the Archdiocese of San Francisco (which remains its Metropolitan) and from the Diocese of Sacramento. In 1966 it gained more territory from the Diocese of Sacramento.

Sex Abuse and Bankruptcy

In 1998 a jury awarded two brothers $30 million in a judgement against the Diocese of Stockton over its handling of a priest who sexually abused the men while they were boys, starting when they were three. At the trial it was revealed that in a 1976 letter to his superiors Oliver O'Grady, the abusive priest, had admitted to sexually abusing an 11-year-old girl. In 1984 an attorney for the diocese promised to get O'Grady away from children, a promise recorded in a police report. O'Grady abused the boys who later brought the suit from 1978-1991. In 1993 he pleaded guilty to abusing them and was sentenced to 14 years in prison.[3] During the O'Grady trial Mahony claimed that O'Grady was the only accused priest he dealt with in Stockton. Later in 2004 Mahony admitted under oath that parents had confronted him with accusations against another priest in the diocese, Antonio Munoz.[4] In 2014, the Diocese filed for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy, which was later granted in 2017.[5] As a result of the bankruptcy agreement, approximately $15 million had to be paid to various people who were sexually abused by clergy in the Diocese.[6]

Bishops

Bishops of Stockton

1. Hugh Aloysius Donohoe (1962-1969), appointed Bishop of Fresno
2. Merlin Guilfoyle (1970-1979)
3. Roger Mahony (1980-1985), appointed Archbishop of Los Angeles (Cardinal in 1991)
4. Donald Montrose (1985-1999)
5. Stephen Blaire (1999-2018)
6. Myron Joseph Cotta (2018–present)

Other priest of this diocese who became bishop

• Ramon Bejarano, appointed auxiliary bishop of San Diego in 2020

Parishes

The Diocese of Stockton consists of eight deaneries. A list of the parish and mission churches in each deanery is found at List of churches in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Stockton.[7]

Catholic education

High schools

• St. Mary's High School, Stockton
• Central Catholic High School, Modesto

[8]

Elementary/Junior High schools

• Annunciation School, Stockton
• Presentation Catholic School, Stockton
• Our Lady of Fatima School, Modesto
• Sacred Heart School, Patterson
• Sacred Heart School, Turlock
• St. Anne School, Lodi
• St. Anthony School, Manteca
• St. Bernard School, Tracy
• St. George School, Stockton
• St. Luke School, Stockton
• St. Stanislaus School, Modesto

[8]

Active Ministries, Movements and Orders

• Communion and Liberation (meetings held at St. Luke's Catholic Church)
• Dominican Sisters of San Rafael, California (St. Joseph's Medical Center, Stockton)
• Legion of Mary (active at numerous parishes)
• Newman Center (University of the Pacific / San Joaquin Delta College, Stanislaus State University)
• Oblates of St. Francis de Sales (St. Mary's High School, Stockton)
• Religious of the Cross of the Sacred Heart of Jesus

See also

• Catholic Church by country
• Catholic Church in the United States
• List of Catholic dioceses (structured view) (including archdioceses)
• Ecclesiastical Province of San Francisco
• Global organisation of the Catholic Church
• List of Roman Catholic archdioceses (by country and continent)
• List of Roman Catholic dioceses (alphabetical) (including archdioceses)
• List of the Catholic dioceses of the United States

References

1. http://www.gcatholic.org/dioceses/diocese/stoc1.htm
2. http://www.usccb.org/issues-and-action/cultural-diversity/asian-pacific-islander/asian-and-pacific-presence-harmony-in-faith.cfm
3. reprent of San Francisco Chronicle July 16, 1998 article in bishopaccountability.org
4. Bishopaccountability database on accusations against priests connected with the Stockton diocese
5. http://www.pszjlaw.com/creditor-64.html
6. https://www.uniondemocrat.com/localnews/4976000-151/embattled-stockton-diocese-nears-bankruptcy-exit-attorneys-and
7. "Deanery Structure and Personnel". Archdiocese of Stockton. Retrieved April 21, 2020.
8. "Diocese of Stockton School Directory". Archived from the original on 2008-07-03. Retrieved 2008-01-02.

Sources and External links

• Roman Catholic Diocese of Stockton Official Site
• GCatholic, with Google map
• Roman Catholic Archdiocese of San Francisco
• Communion and Liberation, United States
• Communion and Liberation Stockton School of Community
• Dominican Sisters of San Rafael, California
• Oblates of St. Francis de Sales, Toledo-Detroit Province