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  • Catholicism on the Pacific:Building a Regional Scaffolding
  • Steven M. Avella

Historians argue endlessly as to where the West begins and ends, but with few exceptions, most agree that the Pacific Coast belongs in the region.1 This essay expands that far from monolithic geographic expanse to include the vast tundra of Alaska and the tropical paradise of Hawaii. But these American states reveal in all their bewildering diversity the reality of "many Wests."2 Their distinct climates, geographies, and demographics pose challenges and opportunities for regional historians as they come to terms with the diverse contexts for the development of the Catholic Church. This essay provides a basic framework—a regional scaffolding—for understanding Catholicism on the Pacific, a brief sampling of its historiography, and suggestions for future scholarship.

The West Coast: Present Catholic Realities

Today the Pacific states account for sixteen percent of the total United States Catholic population. Over twelve million Catholics reside in the five archdioceses, sixteen dioceses, and one Byzantine eparchy in this region. They range in population from the enormous Archdiocese of Los Angeles, the largest single archdiocese in the United States, with over four million Catholics, to 10,000 in the Diocese of Juneau, Alaska.

These states include 4,579 priests (religious and diocesan) and 1,617 parishes, not including various chapels and mission stations attended by parish priests. Over 5,500 religious women serve in various capacities or have retired in these states. Permanent deacons vary in numbers from diocese to [End Page 1] diocese, from 324 in Los Angeles to 12 in Baker, Oregon. Western Catholics are a force to be reckoned with, at least in terms of their nominal affiliation; 34 percent of California's huge population is Catholic; Hawaii, 24 percent; Washington, 22 percent; Oregon, 15 percent; and Alaska, 7 percent.

In these states Catholic education's infrastructure varies widely. The Diocese of Baker, Oregon has no Catholic schools. Elsewhere, Catholic education's institutional presence includes 117 Catholic high schools (diocesan and private) and over 700 elementary schools, educating over 300,000 students. Eighteen Catholic colleges and universities, many sponsored by the Society of Jesus, operate in the dioceses of Spokane, Seattle, Portland, San Francisco, Oakland, San Jose, Los Angeles, and San Diego where they educate 60,000 students. Active Newman Centers thrive at university systems in all the states.

Religious communities of women have contributed substantially to the extension of Catholic life in this region. A brief sampling of sisterhoods reveals the extent of their influence. Dominican Sisters accompanied Archbishop Joseph Sadoc Alemany, OP, when he came to California in the 1850s. From Ireland, the Sisters of Mercy appeared in San Francisco in the same decade led by Mother Mary Baptist Russell. Mercy Sisters staffed schools and hospitals in California as did the Sisters of the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary, also from Ireland.3 In December 1856, the Sisters of Providence arrived in Vancouver, Washington and became health care pioneers in that state. In October 1859, Québec-based Sisters of the Holy Names of Jesus and Mary established their first mission house in Portland and later expanded their educational ministries to California and Washington. Huge corporations now dominate Catholic health care. Having absorbed the once independent sisters' hospitals, corporations still value the charism and spirit of the founding religious communities and have made it part of their mission.4 Discalced Carmelite contemplatives established Carmels in California at San Francisco, Carmel, Alhambra, and Georgetown, and one in Oahu, Hawaii.

Within these states, exigencies of geography placed demands on ministry and shaped the character of Catholic life. Vast distances between places characteristically differentiates the West from the more spatially compact East and [End Page 2]


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Irish-born Mother Mary Baptist Russell, superior of the Sisters of Mercy missioned to San Francisco, arrived in California in 1854. (Images in public domain unless noted)

Midwest. The largest territory under one ecclesiastical jurisdiction, the Diocese of Fairbanks, Alaska, comprises 409,849 square miles. In the Continental United States, eastern Oregon's Diocese of Baker is the largest and covers 66,286 square miles; Sacramento follows at 42,497 square miles. The two smallest...

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