Patrick Manogue
Patrick Manogue (May 28, 1831 – February 27, 1895) was a miner '49er, pioneer priest and the founding Bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Sacramento, California. Early life. Patrick Manogue was born in County Kilkenny, Ireland, in 1831. Emigrating to the United States, he left college to support his siblings. Manogue ventured out to Moore's Flat, California, where he prospected for gold. One of his fellow "ordinary miners", John Mackay, the grandfather of Ellin Mackay, wife of Irving Berlin, would spearhead the building of the Cathedral of the Blessed Sacrament starting in 1887. After four years of  prospecting, Manogue earned enough to pay his tuition at Saint Sulpice Seminary, Paris. The Archdiocese of San Francisco's Archbishop, Joseph Alemany, recommended the "gold miner" novice. Manogue admired its cathedral, which would become the model for his future diocese, and was ordained a priest on December 21, 1861. Pastoral appointments. Manogue was ordained to the priesthood on December 21, 1861. Bishop Eugene O'Connell was instrumental in choosing then Father Manogue to start a ministry in the Nevada Territory. Along with O'Connell, Manogue encouraged the Daughters of Charity to help populate pioneer churches in Nevada. Manogue returned to Nevada and  built the "first St. Mary's in the Mountains" in 1862. O'Connell felt that a former miner was best suited for a ministry to the growing Nevada mining community. Episcopal appointments. Diocese of Grass Valley. On July 27, 1880, Bishop Manogue was appointed as coadjutor bishop of the Grass Valley Diocese. Manogue was consecrated bishop on January 16, 1881 by Archbishop Joseph Sadoc Alemany y Conill. His principal co-consecrators were Archbishop Francisco Mora y Borrell and Bishop O'Connell. In 1884, Manogue left Virginia City, Nevada, to replace O'Connell. On February 29, 1884, Manogue succeeded O'Connell as the second and  last diocesan bishop of Grass Valley. Manogue served two years as its final diocesan bishop. Diocese of Sacramento. On May 28, 1886, the Grass Valley Diocese was suppressed when the Diocese of Sacramento was erected. Manogue became its founding bishop and in effect the second bishop of the Sacramento diocese. The new diocese needed a cathedral and with help of Mackay and other influential miners, Manogue built his cathedral on land donated by the first governor of California, Peter Burnett. On June 29, 1887, Manogue was one of the principal Co-Consecrators of Bishop Lawrence Scanlan. Final years. Manogue died  in the Cathedral of the Blessed Sacrament rectory on February 27, 1895. Legacy. Bishop Manogue Assembly 50, Knights of Columbus, was named in honor of this bishop. Because of his pioneering work in Nevada, Bishop Manogue High School in Reno was dedicated in his name. Bishop Manogue High School, a former female school in the Sacramento Diocese, was named for this Bishop. This school was merged with Christian Brothers High School which hosted a "Bishop Manogue Derby Day" celebrating the Kentucky Derby at the second annual Bishop Manogue H.S. reunion on May 1, 2010.