The Archdiocese of San Francisco is a 450,000-member church with a mission to facilitate an encounter with Jesus Christ and His Church. The Archdiocese does this through preaching the Gospel, praying, worshipping, performing charity, and advocating for human dignity.

1. T H E A R C H D I O C E S E O F
S A N F R A N C I S C O ' S
F O U N D I N G A N D
G R O W T H

2. The Archdiocese of San Francisco is a
450,000-member church with a mission
to facilitate an encounter with Jesus
Christ and His Church. The Archdiocese
does this through preaching the Gospel,
praying, worshipping, performing charity,
and advocating for human dignity.

3. The church has grown remarkably from its early roots in the 1850s.An immigrant church, the
first archbishop of San Francisco was Dominican Priest Joseph Sadoc Alemany.A Spanish
immigrant himself,Alemany worked as a missionary in Kentucky and Ohio before Pope Pius IX
assigned him to California in 1853,encouraging him to carry the cross where others were drawn
by gold.

4. The Archdiocese of San Francisco was
canonically established on July 29, 1853. Initially,
the Archdiocese of San Francisco catered to
Spanish-speaking immigrantCatholics and Irish,
German, Italian, and French Catholics. From
1853 to 1883, Archbishop Alemany led the
church, building schools, hospitals, orphanages,
and elderly homes. Religious orders of women
played a critical part in establishing and running
these institutions. By 1884, the Catholic Church
in San Francisco was firmlyestablished.

5. Over the next 130-plus years, the Archdiocese of San Francisco continued
growing, serving more Catholics while supporting the community through
essential services. As of 2023,the church serves three counties in California: San
Francisco, Marin,and San Mateo. Its patron saints include St. Francis of Assisi,St.
Joseph, Foster Father of Jesus, and St. Patrick, Apostle of Ireland. The church has
88 parishes, 120 schools, 47 centers of family and elderly care, and eight
cemeteries.