# Roman Catholic Diocese of Stockton

The Diocese of Stockton (Latin: Diœcesis Stocktoniensis) is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory, or diocese, of the Catholic Church in the Central Valley and Mother Lode region of California in the United States. It is a suffragan diocese in the ecclesiastical province of the metropolitan Archbishop of San Francisco
The mother church of the Diocese of Stockton is the Cathedral of the Annunciation in Stockton.

## Extent and statistics

As of 2022, the Diocese of Stockton served 233,000 Catholics in 35 parishes. It had 86 priests (72 diocesan, 14 religious), 50 deacons, 63 lay religious (14 brothers, 49 sisters) and eight seminarians.
The diocese covers the counties of Alpine, Calaveras, Mono, San Joaquin, Stanislaus and Tuolumne, with most of the diocese population living in the San Joaquin Valley. The diocese provides service to the many migrant camps in the region.
The largest racial/ethnic groups in the diocese are White and Hispanic. The largest Azorean Portuguese population outside the Azores is found in the diocese. It is estimated that 60% of the diocesan Catholic population is Hispanic.
The largest Asian community in the diocese is Filipino, followed by the Vietnamese community. The USCCB statement Asian and Pacific Presence lists the diocese of Stockton as among the top thirty dioceses in the United States with the highest Asian and Pacific Island population. Mass is celebrated over 180 times each Sunday in English, Spanish, Portuguese, Latin and Laotian. Weekday masses are celebrated in these languages and Vietnamese.

## History

Pope John XXIII erected the Diocese of Stockton on January 13, 1962, taking its territory from the Archdiocese of San Francisco and the Diocese of Sacramento. The pope named Auxiliary Bishop Hugh Donohoe of San Francisco as the first bishop of Stockton. In 1966, the Vatican transferred several more counties from Sacramento to the Diocese of Stockton. Donohoe became bishop of the Diocese of Fresno in 1969.
The second bishop of Stockton was Auxiliary Bishop Merlin Guilfoyle of San Francisco, appointed by Pope Paul VI in 1969. Guilfoyle retired in 1979. To replace Guilfoyle, Pope John Paul II selected Auxiliary Bishop Roger Mahony of Fresno in 1980. Five years later, in 1985, Mahony became archbishop of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles.
Auxiliary Bishop Donald Montrose of Los Angeles was the next bishop of Stockton, named by John Paul II in 1985. Montrose focused on getting Spanish-speaking priests in the diocese, traveling to Mexico, Colombia and other Latin American countries to recruit them. In 1988, Montrose succeeded in persuading the Sisters of the Cross to relocate to Modesto from Mexico. Montrose retired in 1999.
John Paul II appointed Auxiliary Bishop Stephen Blaire of Los Angeles in 1999 as the new bishop of Stockton. In 2014, the diocese filed for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy, which was later granted in 2017. As a result of the bankruptcy agreement, approximately $15 million was to be paid to sexual abuse victims of diocesan clergy. Blaire retired in 2018.
As of 2023, the current bishop of the Diocese of Stockton is Myron J. Cotta, formerly an auxiliary bishop from Sacramento. He was appointed by Pope Francis in 2018.
In November 2023, vandals sprayed white paint on the doors and exterior walls of the Cathedral of the Annunciation in Stockton. No arrests were made.

### Sex abuse

In 1998 a jury awarded two brothers, John and James Howard, a $30 million judgement against the Diocese of Stockton in a sexual abuse case. The Howards had accused Reverend Oliver O'Grady of sexually abusing them from 1978 to 1991.
The Howards maintained that the diocese had previously ignored reports that O'Grady was a pedophile. In a 1976 letter to diocese officials, O'Grady had admitted to sexually abusing an 11-year-old girl. A 1984 police report showed that a diocese attorney had promised to get O'Grady away from children. However, Bishop Mahony transferred him that same year to a different parish. In 1993, O'Grady pleaded guilty to sexually abusing the Howards and was sentenced to 14 years in prison.
While testifying in the 1993 O'Grady trial, Mahony claimed that O'Grady was the only sexual abuse case he faced while serving in Stockton. However, Mahony admitted under oath in 2004 that a boy's parents had accused Antonio Munoz, another diocesan priest, of sexual abuse.
In 2001, Bishop Blaire learned of allegations that in 1997 Reverend Oscar Pelaez, an extern priest from Colombia, had molested a 14-year-old boy at Sacred Heart Church in Turlock. Blaire suspended Pelaez from his priestly duties, but did not report the allegations to police. Blaire later commented that he did not take that step because the alleged victim was now an adult and had declined to report the incident to the police himself. Blaire said his critics "made an issue about not reporting. We had no legal obligation to report." Pelaez was charged in 2002 with over 200 sex abuse crimes in the diocese. He eventually pleaded guilty to 13 counts and was sentenced to six years in prison.

## Bishops
### Bishops of Stockton

* Hugh Aloysius Donohoe (1962-1969), appointed Bishop of Fresno
* Merlin Guilfoyle (1970-1979)
* Roger Mahony (1980-1985), appointed Archbishop of Los Angeles (Cardinal in 1991)
* Donald Montrose (1985-1999)
* Stephen Blaire (1999-2018)
* Myron Joseph Cotta (2018–present)

### Other diocesan priest who became bishop

Ramon Bejarano, appointed auxiliary bishop of San Diego in 2020

## Parishes

The Diocese of Stockton consists of eight deaneries.

## Education
### High schools

As of 2025, the Diocese of the Stockton has the following high schools:
* Central Catholic High School – Modesto
* St. Mary's High School – Stockton

### Elementary/middle schools

As of 2025, the Diocese of the Stockton has the following elementary/middle schools:
* All Saints Academy of Stockton – Stockton
* Annunciation School – Stockton
* Our Lady of Fatima School – Modesto
* Presentation School – Stockton
* Sacred Heart Catholic School – Patterson
* Sacred Heart Catholic School – Turlock
* St. Anne's School – Lodi
* St. Anthony's School – Manteca
* St. Bernard's School – Tracy
* St. Luke's School – Stockton
* St. Stanislaus School – Modesto

## Active ministries, movements, and orders

* Communion and Liberation – St. Luke's Catholic Church
* Dominican Sisters of San Rafael – St. Joseph's Medical Center, Stockton
* Legion of Mary – active at numerous parishes
* Newman Center – University of the Pacific / San Joaquin Delta College, Stanislaus State University
* Oblates of St. Francis de Sales – St. Mary's High School, Stockton