The Archdiocese of San Francisco (

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through ...

: ''Archdiœcesis Sancti Francisci'';

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Can ...

: ''Archidiócesis de San Francisco'') is a

Latin Church , native_name_lang = la , image = San Giovanni in Laterano - Rome.jpg , imagewidth = 250px , alt = Façade of the Archbasilica of St. John in Lateran , caption = Archbasilica of Saint Jo ...

ecclesiastical territory or

diocese 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 associ ...

of the

Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwide . It is am ...

in the northern

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

region of the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

. It covers the

City and County of San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...

and the Counties of Marin and San Mateo. The Archdiocese of San Francisco was canonically erected on July 29, 1853, by

Pope The pope ( la, papa, from el, πάππας, translit=pappas, 'father'), also known as supreme pontiff ( or ), Roman pontiff () or sovereign pontiff, is the bishop of Rome (or historically the patriarch of Rome), head of the worldwide Cathol ...

Pius IX Pope Pius IX ( it, Pio IX, ''Pio Nono''; born Giovanni Maria Mastai Ferretti; 13 May 1792 – 7 February 1878) was head of the Catholic Church from 1846 to 1878, the longest verified papal reign. He was notable for convoking the First Vatican ...

and its

cathedral A cathedral is a church that contains the ''cathedra'' () of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral" are usually specific to those Christian denominations ...

is the Cathedral of Saint Mary of the Assumption. This archdiocese is the

metropolitan see Metropolitan may refer to: * Metropolitan area, a region consisting of a densely populated urban core and its less-populated surrounding territories * Metropolitan borough, a form of local government district in England * Metropolitan county, a t ...

of a province which also has the dioceses of Honolulu (Hawaii), Las Vegas (Nevada), Reno (Nevada), Salt Lake City (Utah), Oakland (California), San Jose (California), Santa Rosa (California), Sacramento (California), and Stockton (California).

History

The first church in the Archdiocese of San Francisco is older than the archdiocese itself;

Mission San Francisco de Asís Mission San Francisco de Asís ( es, Misión San Francisco de Asís), commonly known as Mission Dolores (as it was founded near the Dolores creek), is a Spanish Californian mission and the oldest surviving structure in San Francisco. Located i ...

was founded on June 29, 1776 by

Franciscan Friars , image = FrancescoCoA PioM.svg , image_size = 200px , caption = A cross, Christ's arm and Saint Francis's arm, a universal symbol of the Franciscans , abbreviation = OFM , predecessor = , ...

. The mission church that stands today was completed in 1791 and attached next door is Mission Dolores Basilica, completed in 1918 to replace the previous red-brick church at the same site that was destroyed by the 1906 earthquake. The present building was elevated to the status of a Basilica in 1952. The Franciscans who founded the mission also are credited with naming the

, and the entire region, after their patron saint,

Francis of Assisi Giovanni di Pietro di Bernardone, better known as Saint Francis of Assisi ( it, Francesco d'Assisi; – 3 October 1226), was a mystic Italian Catholic friar, founder of the Franciscans, and one of the most venerated figures in Christianit ...

. On July 27, 2012, the

Holy See The Holy See ( lat, Sancta Sedes, ; it, Santa Sede ), also called the See of Rome, Petrine See or Apostolic See, is the jurisdiction of the Pope in his role as the bishop of Rome. It includes the apostolic episcopal see of the Diocese of R ...

announced that it had accepted the retirement of Archbishop

George Hugh Niederauer George Hugh Niederauer (June 14, 1936 – May 2, 2017) was an American bishop of the Roman Catholic Church. He was the Archbishop of San Francisco. Before that, Niederauer served as Bishop of Salt Lake City from 1994 to 2005. Biography Geor ...

and appointed Salvatore J. Cordileone as new archbishop of San Francisco. He was installed on October 4, 2012, the patronal Feast day of Saint Francis of Assisi at the Cathedral of Saint Mary of the Assumption. He had previously been

Bishop A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ...

Oakland Oakland is the largest city and the county seat of Alameda County, California, United States. A major West Coast port, Oakland is the largest city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area, the third largest city overall in the Bay ...

. The See of San Francisco is administered by the

Archbishop of San Francisco The Archdiocese of San Francisco ( Latin: ''Archdiœcesis Sancti Francisci''; Spanish: ''Archidiócesis de San Francisco'') is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Catholic Church in the northern California region of the ...

, who as

metropolitan Metropolitan may refer to: * Metropolitan area, a region consisting of a densely populated urban core and its less-populated surrounding territories * Metropolitan borough, a form of local government district in England * Metropolitan county, a typ ...

oversees the entire

ecclesiastical province An ecclesiastical province is one of the basic forms of jurisdiction in Christian Churches with traditional hierarchical structure, including Western Christianity and Eastern Christianity. In general, an ecclesiastical province consists of sev ...

of San Francisco. Its

suffragan A suffragan bishop is a type of bishop in some Christian denominations. In the Anglican Communion, a suffragan bishop is a bishop who is subordinate to a metropolitan bishop or diocesan bishop (bishop ordinary) and so is not normally jurisdiction ...

s include the Dioceses of

Honolulu Honolulu (; ) is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Hawaii, which is in the Pacific Ocean. It is an unincorporated county seat of the consolidated City and County of Honolulu, situated along the southeast coast of the isla ...

Las Vegas Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Veg ...

Reno Reno ( ) is a city in the northwest section of the U.S. state of Nevada, along the Nevada-California border, about north from Lake Tahoe, known as "The Biggest Little City in the World". Known for its casino and tourism industry, Reno is th ...

Sacramento ) , image_map = Sacramento County California Incorporated and Unincorporated areas Sacramento Highlighted.svg , mapsize = 250x200px , map_caption = Location within Sacramento ...

Salt Lake City Salt Lake City (often shortened to Salt Lake and abbreviated as SLC) is the capital and most populous city of Utah, United States. It is the seat of Salt Lake County, the most populous county in Utah. With a population of 200,133 in 2020, th ...

, San Jose,

Santa Rosa Santa Rosa is the Italian, Portuguese and Spanish name for Saint Rose. Santa Rosa may also refer to: Places Argentina * Santa Rosa, Mendoza, a city * Santa Rosa, Tinogasta, Catamarca * Santa Rosa, Valle Viejo, Catamarca *Santa Rosa, La Pampa * S ...

, and Stockton. San Francisco once included among its suffragans the now- Metropolitan Archdiocese of Agaña, Guam and the former dioceses of Grass Valley, Diocese of Los Angeles-San Diego,

Monterey Monterey (; es, Monterrey; Ohlone: ) is a city located in Monterey County on the southern edge of Monterey Bay on the U.S. state of California's Central Coast. Founded on June 3, 1770, it functioned as the capital of Alta California under bot ...

, Monterey-Fresno, and Diocese of Monterey-Los Angeles. The Chancery Office (also known as the Pastoral Center) of the Archdiocese of San Francisco, originally located in 1853 at California and Dupont Streets, moved in 1891 to 1100 Franklin Street, in 1955 re-located to 445 Church Street, on the Mission Dolores Basilica property. The present headquarters, as of 2001 of the Archdiocese of San Francisco are located at One Peter Yorke Way, a short street in San Francisco named after Peter Yorke, an Irish-American Catholic priest. Peter Yorke Way and Starr King Way are off of Geary Street as it becomes Geary Boulevard. On October 7, 2017, the Feast of the Holy Rosary, Archbishop Cordileone consecrated the archdiocese to the Immaculate Heart of Mary. From May to December 2019, the Archdiocese of San Francisco provided numerous documents to California State Attorney

Xavier Becerra Xavier Becerra ( ; ; born January 26, 1958) is an American lawyer and politician serving as the 25th United States secretary of health and human services since March 2021. Becerra previously served as the attorney general of California from Ja ...

in preparation for a series of pending lawsuits which are expected to be filed after a new California law which will temporarily remove the statute of limitations goes into effect on January 1, 2020. The Archdiocese of San Francisco is one of six Catholic dioceses throughout the state of California which is expected to be subpoenaed in the upcoming lawsuits.

Bishops

The lists of archbishops, coadjutor archbishops, and auxiliary bishops and their terms of service, followed by other priests of this diocese who became bishops:

Archbishops of San Francisco

# Joseph Sadoc Alemany y Conill, O.P. (1853–1884) # Patrick William Riordan (1884–1914; Coadjutor Archbishop 1883-1884)
-

George Thomas Montgomery George Thomas Montgomery (December 30, 1847 – January 10, 1907) was an American prelate of the Catholic Church. He was the first American-born Bishop of Monterey-Los Angeles (1896-1902) and later served as Coadjutor Archbishop of San Franci ...

, Coadjutor Archbishop (1902–1907), appointed Bishop of Monterrey-Los Angeles #

Edward Joseph Hanna Edward Joseph Hanna (July 21, 1860 – July 10, 1944) was an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as archbishop of San Francisco from 1915 to 1935. Early life and education Edward Hanna was born in Rochester, New York, to ...

(1915–1935) #

John Joseph Mitty John Joseph Mitty (January 20, 1884 – October 15, 1961) was an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as the third Bishop of Salt Lake City (1926–1932) and the fourth Archbishop of San Francisco (1935–1961). Ea ...

(1935–1961; Coadjutor Archbishop 1932-1935) #

Joseph Thomas McGucken Joseph Thomas McGucken (March 13, 1902 – October 6, 1983) was an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as an auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles (1941–1955), coadjutor bishop and bishop of the Diocese of Sa ...

(1962–1977) #

John Raphael Quinn John Raphael Quinn (March 28, 1929 – June 22, 2017) was an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He was Archbishop of San Francisco from 1977 to 1995 and Archbishop of Oklahoma City (and Bishop of the predecessor Diocese) from 1 ...

(1977–1995) # William Joseph Levada (1995–2005), appointed

Prefect Prefect (from the Latin ''praefectus'', substantive adjectival form of ''praeficere'': "put in front", meaning in charge) is a magisterial title of varying definition, but essentially refers to the leader of an administrative area. A prefect's ...

of the

Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith The Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith (DDF) is the oldest among the departments of the Roman Curia. Its seat is the Palace of the Holy Office in Rome. It was founded to defend the Catholic Church from heresy and is the body responsib ...

(elevated to

Cardinal Cardinal or The Cardinal may refer to: Animals * Cardinal (bird) or Cardinalidae, a family of North and South American birds **'' Cardinalis'', genus of cardinal in the family Cardinalidae **'' Cardinalis cardinalis'', or northern cardinal, t ...

in 2006) #

(2006–2012) # Salvatore Joseph Cordileone (2012–present)

Auxiliary bishops

John Charles Wester John Charles Wester, (born November 5, 1950) is an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church who has been serving as archbishop of the Archdiocese of Santa Fe in New Mexico since 2015. He previously served as bishop of the Diocese of Salt ...

(1998–2007), appointed Coadjutor Bishop and Bishop of Salt Lake City and later

Archbishop of Santa Fe The Archdiocese of Santa Fe ( la, Archidioecesis Sanctae Fidei in America Septentrionali, link=no, es, Arquidiócesis de Santa Fe, link=no) is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the southwestern region of the United States in ...

* Ignatius Chung Wang (2002–2009) * William Joseph Justice (2008–2017) * Robert Walter McElroy (2010–2015), appointed Bishop of San Diego *

Robert Francis Christian Robert Francis Christian, O.P. (December 2, 1948 – July 11, 2019) was an American prelate of the Catholic Church and served as auxiliary bishop for the Archdiocese of San Francisco. Biography Christian was a member of the Dominican Orde ...

, O.P. (2018–2019)

Other priests of this diocese who became bishops

Lawrence Scanlan Lawrence Scanlan (September 28, 1843 – May 10, 1915) was an Irish-born American prelate of the Catholic Church. A missionary and pioneer bishop, he served as the first Bishop of Salt Lake from 1891 until his death in 1915. Early life Scan ...

, appointed Vicar Apostolic of Utah in 1887 and later Bishop of Salt Lake City * Patrick Joseph James Keane, appointed Auxiliary Bishop of Sacramento in 1920 and later Bishop of Sacramento *

James Joseph Sweeney James Joseph Sweeney (June 19, 1898 – June 19, 1968) was an American prelate of the Catholic Church. He was the first Bishop of Honolulu, serving from 1941 until his death in 1968. Biography Sweeney was born in San Francisco, Californi ...

, appointed Bishop of Honolulu in 1941 * John Joseph Scanlan, appointed Auxiliary Bishop of Honolulu in 1954 and later Bishop of Honolulu * William Joseph Moran, appointed auxiliary bishop of United States of America Military in 1965 *

Francis Thomas Hurley Francis Thomas Hurley (January 12, 1927 – January 10, 2016) was an American prelate of the Catholic Church who served as archbishop of the Archdiocese of Anchorage in Alaska from 1976 to 2001. He previously served as bishop of the Diocese ...

, appointed Auxiliary Bishop in 1970 and Bishop of Juneau and later Archbishop of Anchorage * John Stephen Cummins, appointed Auxiliary Bishop of Sacramento in 1974 and later Bishop of Oakland * Richard John Garcia (priest here, 1973-1981), appointed Auxiliary Bishop of Sacramento in 1997 and later Bishop of Monterey California *

Randolph Roque Calvo Randolph Roque Calvo is an America prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. Calvo served as the seventh bishop of the Diocese of Reno in Nevada from 2006 until 2021 Biography Early life Randolph Calvo was born on August 28, 1951, in Agaña, ...

, appointed Bishop of Reno in 2005 *

Thomas Anthony Daly Thomas Anthony Daly (born April 30, 1960) is an American prelate of the Catholic Church, Roman Catholic Church. He has been serving as bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Spokane, Diocese of Spokane in Washington State since May 20, 2015. ...

, appointed Auxiliary Bishop of San Jose in California in 2011 and later Bishop of Spokane * Steven Joseph Lopes, appointed Bishop of the Personal Ordinariate of the Chair of Saint Peter in 2015

Cathedrals

* Old Cathedral of Saint Mary of the Immaculate Conception — California Street and Grant Avenue, in

Chinatown A Chinatown () is an ethnic enclave of Chinese people located outside Greater China, most often in an urban setting. Areas known as "Chinatown" exist throughout the world, including Europe, North America, South America, Asia, Africa and Aust ...

(1854–1891). * Cathedral of Saint Mary of the Assumption — 1001 Van Ness Avenue at O'Farrell Street (1891–1962); destroyed by fire in 1962, the site of the former studios of

KRON-TV KRON-TV (channel 4) is a television station licensed to San Francisco, California, United States, serving the San Francisco Bay Area as an affiliate of MyNetworkTV. Owned by Nexstar Media Group, KRON-TV maintains studios on Front Street in the c ...

. * Cathedral of Saint Mary of the Assumption — 1111 Gough at Geary Boulevard on Cathedral Hill; modern structure (1971–present).

Churches

The Archdiocese of San Francisco includes the

and the Counties of Marin and San Mateo. The archdiocese includes many historic churches including

, the oldest building in San Francisco, and Saints Peter and Paul Church, known as the Italian cathedral of the West. A complete list of the churches of the archdiocese is found at List of churches in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of San Francisco.

Education

All full-time faculty, librarians, and counselors at Archbishop Riordan, Junipero Serra, Marin Catholic, and Sacred Heart Cathedral high schools are represented by The San Francisco Archdiocesan Federation of Teachers, Local 2240, a

labor union A trade union (labor union in American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers intent on "maintaining or improving the conditions of their employment", ch. I such as attaining better wages and benefits (s ...

affiliate of the California Federation of Teachers (

AFT "Aft", in nautical terminology, is an adjective or adverb meaning towards the stern (rear) of the ship, aircraft or spacecraft, when the frame of reference is within the ship, headed at the fore. For example, "Able Seaman Smith; lie aft!" or "Wh ...

AFL–CIO The American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL–CIO) is the largest federation of unions in the United States. It is made up of 56 national and international unions, together representing more than 12 million ac ...

), and have a collective bargaining agreement with the Archdiocese of San Francisco. The CBA governs the terms of their employment.

Secondary schools

;Marin County *

Marin Catholic High School Marin Catholic High School (familiarly known as MC) is a Roman Catholic college preparatory school located in unincorporated Kentfield in Marin County, California. The school is owned by the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of San Francisco. It was fo ...

( Kentfield in unincorporated

Marin County Marin County is a county located in the northwestern part of the San Francisco Bay Area of the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 262,231. Its county seat and largest city is San Rafael. Marin County is acros ...

) ;San Francisco *

Archbishop Riordan High School Archbishop Riordan High School is a diocesan, co-ed Catholic high school established by the Society of Mary in San Francisco, California. It is part of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of San Francisco. It opened in fall 1949 as Riordan High Schoo ...

* Convent of the Sacred Heart High School *

Immaculate Conception Academy Immaculate Conception Academy, Dasmariñas (ICA Dasmariñas) is a private, nonsectarian educational institution in Dasmariñas, Philippines. It is owned and managed by the school board of directors. History Immaculate Conception Academy, Inc. ...

Sacred Heart Cathedral Preparatory Sacred Heart Cathedral Preparatory, commonly known as SHC or SH, is a Catholic school located in the Cathedral Hill neighborhood of San Francisco, California. Founded in 1852, Sacred Heart Cathedral is the oldest Catholic secondary school and ...

St. Ignatius College Preparatory St. Ignatius College Preparatory, commonly referred to as SI, is a private, Catholic preparatory school in the Jesuit tradition, serving the San Francisco Bay Area since 1855. Located in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of San Francisco, in the Su ...

Stuart Hall High School Stuart Hall High School is a Catholic all boys college-preparatory high school located in San Francisco, California. It opened in the fall of 2000 and together with the Convent of the Sacred Heart High School and Convent Elementary forms Convent ...

;San Mateo County * Junípero Serra High School ( San Mateo) * Mercy High School ( Burlingame) * Notre Dame High School ( Belmont) * Sacred Heart Preparatory ( Atherton) *

Woodside Priory School Woodside Priory School (commonly known as The Priory) is an independent, co-educational, Benedictine Catholic, college-preparatory, day and boarding school in Portola Valley, California, United States. It is located within the Roman Catholic A ...

Portola Valley Portola Valley is a town in San Mateo County, California. Located on the San Francisco Peninsula in the Bay Area, Portola Valley is a small, wealthy community nestled on the eastern slopes of the Santa Cruz Mountains. History Portola Va ...

Closed schools

* Mercy High School

Seminaries

* St. Joseph's Seminary (Mountain View, California) (closed) * Saint Patrick's Seminary and University (

Menlo Park, California Menlo Park is a city at the eastern edge of San Mateo County within the San Francisco Bay Area of California in the United States. It is bordered by San Francisco Bay on the north and east; East Palo Alto, Palo Alto, and Stanford to the south ...

)

Recognized lay ecclesial movements

* Fraternity of Communion and Liberation (CL). CL is an ecclesial association of Pontifical Right. Meetings are held weekly at St. Thomas More Church and the National Shrine of Saint Francis of Assisi.

Province of San Francisco

:See '' List of the Catholic bishops of the United States''

The Metropolitan Ecclesiastical Province of San Francisco covers

Northern California Northern California (colloquially known as NorCal) is a geographic and cultural region that generally comprises the northern portion of the U.S. state of California. Spanning the state's northernmost 48 counties, its main population centers incl ...

north of the

Monterey Bay Monterey Bay is a bay of the Pacific Ocean located on the coast of the U.S. state of California, south of the San Francisco Bay Area and its major city at the south of the bay, San Jose. San Francisco itself is further north along the coast, by ...

, as well as all of Hawaii,

Nevada Nevada ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, Western region of the United States. It is bordered by Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. N ...

, and

Utah Utah ( , ) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. Utah is a landlocked U.S. state bordered to its east by Colorado, to its northeast by Wyoming, to its north by Idaho, to its south by Arizona, and to its ...

. The Archbishop of San Francisco, who is ''ex officio''

metropolitan bishop In Christian churches with episcopal polity, the rank of metropolitan bishop, or simply metropolitan (alternative obsolete form: metropolite), pertains to the diocesan bishop or archbishop of a metropolis. Originally, the term referred to the ...

of the Province of San Francisco, has limited oversight responsibilities for the dioceses of