The Diocese of California, Diocese of the Californias or Diocese of Two Californias, () is a former

Latin Church The Latin Church () is the largest autonomous () particular church within the Catholic Church, whose members constitute the vast majority of the 1.3 billion Catholics. The Latin Church is one of 24 Catholic particular churches and liturgical ...

residential

episcopal see An episcopal see is the area of a bishop's ecclesiastical jurisdiction. Phrases concerning actions occurring within or outside an episcopal see are indicative of the geographical significance of the term, making it synonymous with ''diocese'' ...

that existed during 1840–1849, covering

the Californias The Californias (), occasionally known as the Three Californias or the Two Californias, are a region of North America spanning the United States and Mexico, consisting of the U.S. state of California and the Mexican states of Baja California a ...

(including both

Alta California Alta California (, ), also known as Nueva California () among other names, was a province of New Spain formally established in 1804. Along with the Baja California peninsula, it had previously comprised the province of , but was made a separat ...

and

Baja California Baja California, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Baja California, is a state in Mexico. It is the northwesternmost of the 32 federal entities of Mexico. Before becoming a state in 1952, the area was known as the North Territory of B ...

). After the

Mexican–American War The Mexican–American War (Spanish language, Spanish: ''guerra de Estados Unidos-México, guerra mexicano-estadounidense''), also known in the United States as the Mexican War, and in Mexico as the United States intervention in Mexico, ...

, the American portion became the Diocese of Monterey in California, while the Mexican portion was eventually reorganized into the Diocese of Tijuana. In 1996, the title was revived as a

titular see A titular see in various churches is an episcopal see of a former diocese that no longer functions, sometimes called a "dead diocese". The ordinary or hierarch of such a see may be styled a "titular metropolitan" (highest rank), "titular archbi ...

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 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

Residential see

Pope Gregory XVI Pope Gregory XVI (; ; born Bartolomeo Alberto Cappellari; 18 September 1765 – 1 June 1846) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 2 February 1831 to his death in June 1846. He had adopted the name Mauro upon enteri ...

set up the Diocese of California with the

papal bull A papal bull is a type of public decree, letters patent, or charter issued by the pope of the Catholic Church. It is named after the leaden Seal (emblem), seal (''bulla (seal), bulla'') traditionally appended to authenticate it. History Papal ...

''Apostolicam sollicitudinem'' of 27 April 1840. He assigned to the new diocese a vast territory taken from that of the

Diocese of Sonora The Archdiocese of Hermosillo () is a Roman Catholic Archdiocese located in Hermosillo, Sonora, Mexico. Its area is 90,959 sq. miles, and its population (2004) 1,067,051. The bishop resides at Hermosillo. The Archdiocese of Hermosillo is a Metr ...

, now the Metropolitan

Archdiocese of Hermosillo The Archdiocese of Hermosillo () is a Roman Catholic Archdiocese located in Hermosillo, Sonora, Mexico. Its area is 90,959 sq. miles, and its population (2004) 1,067,051. The bishop resides at Hermosillo. The Archdiocese of Hermosillo is a Metr ...

, in

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

. It included

(corresponding to the present-day American states of

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

Nevada Nevada ( ; ) is a landlocked state in the Western United States. It borders Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. Nevada is the seventh-most extensive, th ...

Arizona Arizona is a U.S. state, state in the Southwestern United States, Southwestern region of the United States, sharing the Four Corners region of the western United States with Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah. It also borders Nevada to the nort ...

Utah Utah is a landlocked state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is one of the Four Corners states, sharing a border with Arizona, Colorado, and New Mexico. It also borders Wyoming to the northea ...

, western

Colorado Colorado is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States. It is one of the Mountain states, sharing the Four Corners region with Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah. It is also bordered by Wyoming to the north, Nebraska to the northeast, Kansas ...

and southwestern

Wyoming Wyoming ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States, Western United States. It borders Montana to the north and northwest, South Dakota and Nebraska to the east, Idaho t ...

) and the

Baja California Territory Baja California Territory (Territorio de Baja California) was a federal territory of Mexico that existed from 1824 to 1853, and 1854 to 1931; it encompassed the Baja California peninsula of present-day northwestern part of the country. It re ...

(the modern Mexican states of

and

Baja California Sur Baja California Sur, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Baja California Sur, is a state in Mexico. It is the 31st and last state to be admitted, in 1974. It is also the second least populated Mexican state and the ninth-largest state by ...

). He set the episcopal residence at

San Diego San Diego ( , ) is a city on the Pacific coast of Southern California, adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a population of over 1.4 million, it is the List of United States cities by population, eighth-most populous city in t ...

and made the diocese a

suffragan A suffragan bishop is a type of bishop in some Christian denominations. In the Catholic Church, a suffragan bishop leads a diocese within an ecclesiastical province other than the principal diocese, the metropolitan archdiocese; the diocese led ...

of the

Archdiocese of Mexico City The Archdiocese of Mexico () is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or archdiocese of the Catholic Church that is situated in Mexico City, Mexico. It was erected as a diocese on 2 September 1530 and elevated to an archdiocese on 12 February 15 ...

. After the

became

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

territory and the

Holy See The Holy See (, ; ), also called the See of Rome, the Petrine See or the Apostolic See, is the central governing body of the Catholic Church and Vatican City. It encompasses the office of the pope as the Bishops in the Catholic Church, bishop ...

divided the American diocese into US and Mexican sections. On 20 November 1849, with the episcopal residence moved to Monterey, a more central position for the new diocese, the bishopric was formally suppressed, with two successor jurisdictions: * The U.S. section became the

Diocese of Monterey The Diocese of Monterey in California () is an ecclesiastical territory or diocese, of the Latin Church of the Catholic Church in the central coast region of California. It comprises Monterey, San Benito, San Luis Obispo and Santa Cruz counties. ...

. *

, the part that remained Mexican, was eventually reorganized as the

Vicariate Apostolic An apostolic vicariate is a territorial jurisdiction of the Catholic Church under a titular bishop centered in missionary regions and countries where dioceses or parishes have not yet been established. The status of apostolic vicariate is often ...

of California Inferiore in 1874, which later became the Diocese of Tijuana. The Residential Ordinaries were: * Bishop Francisco José Vicente Garcia Diego y Moreno, O.F.M. (April 27, 1840 – April 30, 1846) *

Apostolic Administrator An apostolic administration in the Catholic Church is administrated by a prelate appointed by the pope to serve as the ordinary for a specific area. Either the area is not yet a diocese (a stable 'pre-diocesan', usually missionary apostolic admi ...

Father José Maria González Rúbio, O.F.M. (1846 – November 20, 1849), subsequently Apostolic Administrator of the

Titular see

The diocese was nominally restored as Latin

titular bishopric A titular see in various churches is an episcopal see of a former diocese that no longer functions, sometimes called a "dead diocese". The ordinary or hierarch of such a see may be styled a "titular metropolitan" (highest rank), "titular archbish ...

of ''California or Both Californias'' in English, ''Ambas Californias'' in Spanish, or ''Californiensis'' in Latin.GCatholic.org
/ref> It has had following incumbents, so far of the fitting episcopal (lowest) rank : * John James Ward (1996–2011) as emeritate. He was previously

Auxiliary Bishop An auxiliary bishop is a bishop assigned to assist the diocesan bishop in meeting the pastoral and administrative needs of the diocese. Auxiliary bishops can also be titular bishops of sees that no longer exist as territorial jurisdictions. ...

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

during 1963–1996, and Titular Bishop of Bria during 1963–1996. * William John Waltersheid,

of Diocese of Pittsburgh (2011–present). He had no previous prelature.

References

Sources and external links

GCatholic, with titular incumbent biographies - data for all sections
{{DEFAULTSORT:Both Californias, Roman Catholic Diocese

Catholic Church in California Suppressed Roman Catholic dioceses 1840 establishments in Alta California History of Baja California

Residential see

Titular see

See also

References

Sources and external links