THE Diocese of California (or “The Diocese of Both Californias”) was created on April 27, 1840 by Pope Gregory XVI.  It encompassed present-day California, Nevada, Arizona, Utah, Baja California, and portions of Colorado and Wyoming.  The episcopal residence was to have been San Diego, but upon arriving there the first bishop, Francisco Garcia Diego y Moreno elected to make Mission Santa Barbara his pro-cathedral.  The diocese was divided into Mexican and American sections following the Mexican-American War (1846-1848); and in 1849 the American portion was renamed the Diocese of Monterey, with the Royal Presidio Chapel in Monterey serving as pro-cathedral.

    In 1853 San Francisco was made a metropolitan archdiocese by Pope Pius IX, with suffragan territories in northern California, Nevada, and Utah.  in 1859 the southern diocese was renamed the Diocese of Monterey-Los Angeles with pro-cathedral in Santa Barbara until the opening of Saint Vibiana Cathedral in 1876.

     In 1922 Pope Pius XI divided the Diocese of Monterey-Los Angeles into the dioceses of Monterey-Fresno and Los Angeles-San Diego.

     In 1936 Pope Pius XI created the Metropolitan Archdiocese of Los Angeles.

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