Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Los Angeles

Roman Catholic Archdiocese Of Los Angeles

The Archdiocese of Los Angeles (Latin: Archidioecesis Angelorum in California, Spanish: Arquidiócesis de Los Ángeles) is an archdiocese of the Roman Catholic Church in the U.S. state of California. Headquartered in Los Angeles, the archdiocese comprises the California counties of Los Angeles, Santa Barbara and Ventura. The diocesan cathedral is the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels in Los Angeles, and its present archbishop is José Horacio Gómez. With approximately five million professing members, the archdiocese considers itself the largest diocese in the United States in terms of congregant population.

The Archbishop of Los Angeles also serves as metropolitan bishop of the suffragan dioceses within the Ecclesiastical Province of Los Angeles, which includes the Dioceses of Fresno, Monterey, Orange, San Bernardino, and San Diego.

Following the establishment of the Spanish missions in California, the Holy See established the Diocese of the Two Californias in 1840, when the Los Angeles region was still part of Mexico. In 1848, present-day 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 see was elevated to an archdiocese. It was split again in 1976 to create the Diocese of Orange, establishing the archdiocese's present territory.