1850 to 1886 The first Catholic mass in
Northern California was celebrated in 1850 by Peter Anderson in a private home in Sacramento. One of the attendees that day was California Governor
Peter Burnett, who later donated to Anderson a property in Sacramento for a new church. In 1860, the Vatican erected the
Vicariate Apostolic of Marysville, with jurisdiction over all of Northern California and
Western Nevada. Eight years later, the Vatican suppressed the vicariate and established the Diocese of Grass Valley in its place. The pope named Manogue, then bishop of Grass Valley as the first bishop of Sacramento. In 1887, Manogue laid the cornerstone for the
Cathedral of the Blessed Sacrament in Sacramento. When it was dedicated in 1889, the cathedral was the largest church of any denomination west of the
Mississippi River. Manogue died in 1895. Leo XIII in 1896 named
Thomas Grace of Sacramento as his replacement as bishop. In 1906, he received a
property deed in
Red Bluff to be used for a hospital run by the
Sisters of Mercy. In 1919, Grace dedicated St. Gall Catholic Church in
Gardnerville, Nevada. Grace helped launch the diocesan newspaper,
The Catholic Herald, in 1908. Grace died in 1921.
1922 to 1958 In 1922, Pope
Pius XI named Auxiliary Bishop
Patrick Keane of Sacramento as the third bishop of Sacramento. During his six-year tenure, Keane was instrumental in the formation of the parochial school system. He also founded several new parishes and recruited new priests and vocations. Keane died in 1928. The next bishop of Sacramento was
Robert Armstrong of the
Diocese of Spokane, appointed by Pope Pius XI in 1929. Armstrong institutionalized
social work within the diocese and upgraded its
school system. In 1931, Pius XI erected the
Diocese of Reno, taking all the Nevada counties away from the Diocese of Sacramento. When Armstrong died in 1957 after 28 years as bishop, McGucken automatically succeeded him as bishop.
1958 to 1980 In his five years as bishop, McGucken authorized, built or approved for development nine parishes, three high schools, 33 new church buildings and one
minor seminary. Bell was responsible for implementing the reforms from the
Second Vatican Council in the diocese. Many parishes began parish councils at this time, and Bell encouraged the emergence of
lay ministry in the diocese. He focused on the development of high schools throughout the diocese. Bell initiated a fund drive to ease costs, build new schools, expand religious education programs, and build a home for the elderly. In 1962, the Vatican erected the
Dioceses of Stockton and
Santa Rosa, taking several counties from the Diocese of Sacramento. At the same time, the Vatican transferred
Solano County from the Archdiocese of San Francisco to Sacramento. Four years later, the Vatican also moved
Alpine County from Sacramento to Stockton. From 1980 to 1992, Quinn establish seven new parishes, several missions, two elementary schools, and one high school in the diocese. He oversaw a ten-year pastoral plan for the diocese as well as a spiritual renewal program, reorganized the
deanery structure, initiated a diocesan pastoral council, and celebrated the hundredth anniversary of the diocese. Quinn retired in 1993. The next bishop of Sacramento was Bishop
William Weigand of the
Diocese of Salt Lake City, named by John Paul II in 1993. In 2007,
Pope Benedict XVI named Auxiliary Bishop
Jaime Soto from the
Diocese of Orange as
coadjutor bishop to assist Weigand. When Weigand retired in 2008, Soto became the next bishop. As of 2026, Soto is the current bishop of the Diocese of Sacramento.
Reports of sex abuse In December 1991, after Sacramento police started investigating the priest Gerardo Beltran Rico on charges of sexual abuse of minors earlier that year, he fled to Mexico. A California
arrest warrant for molesting two girls, ages six and fourteen was issued in 1992. In March 2007, Hector Rubio sued the diocese, accusing it of
negligence in allowing Beltran to molest him. Beltran was arrested in Mexico in March 2008, but was freed by a Mexican court in August 2008. By 2023, 15 men and women had accused Rico of sexually abusing them when they were children. Garcia was ultimately accused of sexually abusing 24 boys over a 22-year period. The diocese in 2005 agreed to pay a $35 million financial settlement to 33 victims of sexual abuse by diocesan clergy. Hector Coria Gonzales was arrested in May 2014 on charges of
statutory rape and
oral copulation. He had been having a sexual relationship with a 16-year-old girl since 2013. The victim stated that her relationship with the priest was consensual. He pleaded guilty to one count of sexual intercourse and was sentenced in August 2014 to 90 days in jail and three years of
probation. The diocese in 2016 removed Jeremy Leatherby from his parish position in Sacramento due to allegations of a sexual relationship with a female parishioner. He was also suspended from ministry. Leatherby continued to celebrate mass and denied that Francis was the rightful pope. Leatherby was laicized at his own request in 2020. In April 2019, the diocese provided the names of 46 priests and deacons who were credibly accused of sexually abusing 130 minors and adults, ages 25 or younger, from 1950 to 2019. In December 2019, the Diocese of Sacramento and five other dioceses were subpoenaed by California State Attorney
Xavier Becerra to investigate their procedures for handling sexual abuse allegations against clergy. In February 2023, the diocese reported that it was facing over 200 lawsuits relating to sexual abuse by clergy or scouting leaders. A large number of these lawsuits were related to allegations against Rico, Garcia, and Porras. The diocese officially filed for bankruptcy on April 1. ==Bishops==