60th Anniversary of the Diocese of Oakland

The Diocese of Oakland was created out of the Archdiocese of San Francisco on January 13, 1962. This Thursday, the 60th anniversary of our founding, it would be appropriate to pray for our diocese in the General Intercessions at Mass. We ask the Lord’s continued blessing and divine guidance on all our people, and we give thanks to God for all the blessings we have received as a diocese these 60 years.

History of Our Diocese

In 1840, the Holy See established the Diocese of the Two Californias, comprising both Baja California and Alta California. Eight years later, just as the gold rush was beginning to draw thousands of fortune-seekers to the West, Mexico ceded California to the United States. California achieved statehood in 1850, and the Holy See established the new Diocese of Monterey, which encompassed the entire state, with Bishop Joseph Sadoc Alemany as founding bishop.

In 1853, the 13 northern counties were split off to form the Archdiocese of San Francisco, with Bishop Joseph Alemany serving as its first archbishop. In 1861, St. Mary of the Immaculate Conception Church in Oakland became the second parish in what would later become the Oakland Diocese. Eight years later, St. Paul Church in San Pablo was named the first parish in the present Contra Costa County. The area remained part of the San Francisco Archdiocese until the population growth throughout northern California began to complicate archdiocesan pastoral ministry. So on January 13, 1962, the Holy See carved three new dioceses — Oakland, Santa Rosa, and Stockton — from the Archdiocese of San Francisco.*

If you have a Diocese of Oakland story to share, please let The Catholic Voice know. Submissions and story ideas are welcome. Please email Michele Jurich at mjurich@oakdiocese.org or mail to The Catholic Voice, 2121 Harrison St., Oakland, CA 94612.

*(HIstory of Our Diocese, By Gerald Korson, December 2009, updated 2012, 2013, 2014, 2019)