June 1, 1922; 102 years ago (1922-06-01) (As Diocese of Los Angeles-San Diego) July 11, 1936; 88 years ago (1936-07-11) (As Archdiocese of Los Angeles)
Following the establishment of the Spanish missions in California, the diocese of the Two Californias was established on 1840, when the Los Angeles region was still part of Mexico. In 1848, Mexican California was ceded to the United States, and the U.S. portion of the diocese was renamed the Diocese of Monterey. The diocese was renamed the Diocese of Monterey-Los Angeles in 1859, and the episcopal see was moved to Los Angeles upon the completion of the Cathedral of Saint Vibiana in 1876. Los Angeles split from Monterey to become the Diocese of Los Angeles-San Diego in 1922. The diocese was split again in 1936 to create the Diocese of San Diego, and the Los Angeles was seen elevated to an archdiocese. The archdiocese's present territory was established in 1976, when Orange County was split off to establish the Diocese of Orange.
The sexual abuse scandal in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Los Angeles resulted in a $880 million court settlement, a record-breaking amount, in 2024; bringing the total settlement payouts for the Archdiocese to over $1.5 billion. Instances of sexual abuse within the archdiocese are documented starting in the 1930s, though instances from the 1970s through 1990s have been more highly publicized.
After ceding Alta California to the United States at the close of the Mexican–American War, the government of Mexico objected to a bishop based in the United States having jurisdiction over parishes in Mexican Baja California. The Holy See divided the diocese into American and Mexican sections. On 20 November 1849, with the episcopal residence moved to Monterey, a more central position for the new diocese, the American section became the Diocese of Monterey.[4] The Royal Presidio Chapel in Monterey served as the pro-cathedral of the American diocese.
In 1853, Pope Pius IX erected the Metropolitan Archdiocese of San Francisco, taking the territory that now constitutes Nevada, Utah, and much of northern California from the diocese and making the diocese a suffragan thereof.
In 1859, the same pope renamed the diocese to Diocese of Monterey-Los Angeles to recognize the growth of the city of Los Angeles. The bishop moved his principal residence to Los Angeles and used the Mission of Santa Barbara as a pro-cathedral until the Cathedral of Saint Vibiana opened in 1876.
On July 11, 1936, the same pope elevated and renamed the diocese as the Metropolitan Archdiocese of Los Angeles, with John Joseph Cantwell becoming the first archbishop of Los Angeles,[6] concurrently erecting the Diocese of San Diego[7] with the territory of Imperial, Riverside, San Bernardino, and San Diego Counties, and designated the new Diocese of San Diego and the Diocese of Monterey-Fresno as suffragan of the new metropolitan see.
Pope Paul VI subsequently split each of the three dioceses of the Metropolitan Province of Los Angeles into two.
On October 6, 1967, he suppressed the Diocese of Monterey-Fresno and erected the present Diocese of Fresno[8] and the present Diocese of Monterey in California,[9] splitting in the territory of the suppressed diocese between them making both new dioceses also suffragans of the Metropolitan Archdiocese of Los Angeles. The inclusion of "in California" in the title of the latter of the new dioceses differentiates it from other dioceses with see cities that have the same name.
On March 24, 1976, he erected Diocese of Orange,[10] taking Orange County from the Archdiocese of Los Angeles and making the new diocese a suffragan of the Metropolitan Archdiocese of Los Angeles. This action also established the present territory of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles, consisting of Los Angeles, Santa Barbara, and Ventura Counties.
On July 14, 1978, he erected the Diocese of San Bernardino, taking San Bernardino and Riverside Counties from the Diocese of San Diego and making the new diocese also a suffragan of the Metropolitan Archdiocese of Los Angeles.[11]
These actions established the present configuration of the Metropolitan Province of Los Angeles.
Pastoral regions
In 1986, Roger Mahony designated five geographical administrative pastoral regions, each led by an auxiliary bishop who functions as the region's episcopal vicar. The five regions are:
Our Lady of the Angels, covering downtown and central Los Angeles west to Malibu, south to Los Angeles International Airport. The region has the cathedral, 78 parishes, 10 Catholic high schools, 5 Catholic hospitals, 1 cemetery, 3 parochial missions, 1 seminary, and no Spanish missions. Appointed in Sept 2023, The episcopal vicar is Bishop Matthew G. Elshoff, OFM Cap.
San Fernando, covering the San Fernando, Santa Clarita and Antelope Valleys and northeast Los Angeles. The region has 54 parishes, 12 Catholic high schools, 2 Catholic hospitals, 2 cemeteries, 7 parochial missions, 1 active duty military chapel installation, and 1 Spanish mission. As of 2023, Bishop Albert M. Bahhuth is the Episcopal Vicar.
San Gabriel, covering East Los Angeles through the San Gabriel Valley and the Pomona Valley. The region has 66 parishes, 13 Catholic high schools, 3 Catholic hospitals, 4 cemeteries, 2 parochial missions and 1 Spanish mission. As of 2023, Bishop Brian A. Nunes serves as the Episcopal Vicar.
San Pedro, covering Long Beach and southern Los Angeles County. The region has 67 parishes, 9 Catholic high schools, 6 Catholic hospitals, 1 cemetery, 1 active duty military chapel installation, and 1 parochial mission. Gómez appointed Marc V. Trudeau as episcopal vicar for this region in 2018.
Santa Barbara, covering Santa Barbara and Ventura Counties. The region has 37 parishes, 6 Catholic high schools, 3 Catholic hospitals, 4 cemeteries, 3 active duty military chapel installations, 6 parochial missions and 4 Spanish missions. As of 2023, the Episcopal Vicar is Bishop Sławomir Szkredka.
There were many cases of sexual abuse by priests in the diocese, first reported as dating from the 1930s. Cases were ignored or dealt with secretly until the 21st century, when priests were dismissed and a report and apology produced.
On July 16, 2007, Cardinal Roger Mahony and the archdiocese reached a record-breaking settlement with 508 alleged victims of sexual abuse by priests. The settlement was worth $660 million, with an average of $1.3 million for each plaintiff. Mahony described the abuse as a "terrible sin and crime", after a series of trials into sex abuse claims since the 1940s were to begin. The agreement settled all outstanding civil lawsuits against the archdiocese and dwarfs the $157 million settlement paid by the Archdiocese of Boston since Massachusetts law places a legal dollar cap on how much money a non-profit group can be required to pay.[12]
In 2014 the diocese agreed to pay $13 million to settle a final group of 17 sex abuse lawsuits, including eleven that involved "a visiting Mexican priest who fled prosecution and remains a fugitive more than 25 years later". The settlement followed a court order forcing the Archdiocese to release files which showed that it had shielded accused priests, for example by ordering church officials not to turn over a list of altar boys to police who were investigating.[13]
From May to December 2019, the Archdiocese of Los Angeles provided numerous documents to California State Attorney Xavier Becerra 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. The new law went into effect on January 1, 2020.[14][15] The Archdiocese of Los Angeles is one of six Catholic dioceses throughout the state of California which is expected to be subpoenaed during the upcoming lawsuits.[14][15][16] In January 2020, it was reported that the Archdiocese of Los Angeles settled a sexual abuse case against a former Archdiocese priest for $1.9 million.[17]
Note: Years in parentheses indicate the time of service as a priest of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles (or predecessor diocese), prior to appointment to the episcopacy.
There are 5 colleges and over 50 high schools within the Archdiocese of Los Angeles. Many churches have affiliated primary schools as well.
Events
Religious education congress
The archdiocese's office of religious education produces the Los Angeles Religious Education Congress, the largest annual event of its kind in the United States, with an attendance of approximately 38,000.
Since 2011 the Queen of Angels Foundation has sponsored the annual Marian processions, Votive Masses, and fiestas in commemoration of Los Angeles' birthday and the feast of Our Lady of the Angels. Archbishop Gomez has been the homilist and principal celebrant of the annual Mass since 2012. Future Marian processions and Masses will coincide with the City of Los Angeles' official birthday celebrations on the last Saturday of August.
Holy days of obligation
As directed by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops' Committee on the Liturgy and the Ecclesiastical Province of Los Angeles, the archdiocese annually observes four holy days of obligation. The Catholic Church currently recognizes 10 holy days, established in the 1917 Code of Canon Law. However, the USCCB has reduced that number to 6 for Latin Church dioceses in the United States. As of January 1993[update], no provinces in the United States celebrate the solemnities of Epiphany (which transfers to the Sunday after January 1), Corpus Christi (which transfers to the Sunday after Trinity Sunday), Saint Joseph, or the Saints Peter and Paul, Apostles as holy days of obligation.[26] The Metropolitan Province of Los Angeles, which includes the L.A. Archdiocese, further modified the list, and as of 2019[update], celebrates four holy days of obligation on the days prescribed by canon law. The solemnity of the Ascension is transferred from Thursday of the sixth week of Easter to the seventh Sunday of Easter. The province has abrogated the obligation to attend Mass on the Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God.[27]
The Archdiocese of Los Angeles, being one of the most diverse dioceses in the world, strives for all of their employees to live and work in accord with Catholic social teaching and servant leadership. "The dignity of the human person, the call to community and participation, rights and responsibilities, dignity of work and the rights of workers, and solidarity, are intrinsic to servant leadership."[28] In an attempt to provide better service and to increase transparency the Archdiocese of Los Angeles is the only archdiocese that has a completely updated and searchable administrative handbook available online.[29]
^A concise guide to Catholic Church management. Boone, Larry W. Notre Dame, Ind.: Ave Maria Press. 2010. ISBN9781594712272. OCLC464586595.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: others (link)
Caspary, Anita Marie. Witness to integrity: The crisis of the Immaculate Heart Community of California (Liturgical Press, 2003).
Davis, Mike. City of Quartz: Excavating the Future in Los Angeles (1990, 2006) pp 323–72 on the Irish archbishops and their conflict with Latinos.
Donovan, John T. "The 1960s Los Angeles Seminary Crisis." Catholic Historical Review 102.1 (2016): 69–96. summary
DuBay, William H. The Priest and the Cardinal: Race and Rebellion in 1960s Los Angeles (CreateSpace, 2016).
Lothrop, Gloria Ricci. "A Remarkable Legacy: The Story of Secondary Schools in the Archdiocese of Los Angeles." Catholic Historical Review 88.4 (2002): 809–810.
Real, James. "Immaculate Heart of Hollywood." Change: The Magazine of Higher Learning 3.3 (1971): 48–53.
Steidl, Jason. "The Unlikely Conversion of Father Juan Romero: Chicano Activism and Suburban Los Angeles Catholicism." US Catholic Historian 37.4 (2019): 29–52.
Weber, Francis J. His Eminence of Los Angeles: James Francis Cardinal McIntyre (Mission Hills, Calif.: Saint Francis Historical Society, 1997).
Primary sources
Sister Mary Rose Cunningham, C.S.C., ed. Calendar of Documents and Related Historical Materials in the Archival Center, Archdiocese of Los Angeles, for the Most Reverend J. Francis A. McIntyre, Volume One: 1948–1960 and Volume Two: 1961–1970 (1995)