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 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 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, Tulare/Kings, Kern/Inyo, and Merced/Mariposa.

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 and Roger Mahony 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. The diocese maintains 86 parishes, several charities, two high schools, numerous elementary schools, a small newspaper, television station , 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.

Bishops

Bishops of Fresno

  1. Timothy Manning, appointed Coadjutor Archbishop and later Archbishop of Los Angeles
  2. Hugh Aloysius Donohoe
  3. José de Jesús Madera Uribe, appointed auxiliary bishop for the Military Services, USA
  4. John Thomas Steinbock
  5. Armando Xavier Ochoa
  6. Joseph Vincent Brennan

    Coadjutor Bishops

  7. José de Jesús Madera Uribe

    Auxiliary Bishops

  8. Roger Mahony, appointed Bishop of Stockton and later Archbishop of Los Angeles

    Other priest of this diocese who became Bishop

Schools

Parishes