GUIDE TO CATHOLIC RECORDS ABOUT NATIVE AMERICANS IN THE U.S.
Volume 3: Western United States
California: CA-77

Catholic Church. Diocese of Sacramento. Archives
2110 Broadway
Sacramento, CA 95818

Phone: See website (Directory)
Email: See website (Directory)

 

History: The Diocese of Sacramento was erected, 1886, with territory from the former Diocese of Grass Valley (California) and the Diocese of San Francisco (California and Nevada). It reported 3,000 baptized Native American Catholics, 1999, and administered the following predominantly non-Native American parishes with some Native American parishioners or students:

1855-present	St. Patrick Church (Maidu), Grass Valley
1900s-1920s	Sacred Heart Church, Alturas; attended to students at Fort Bidwell School (Paiute)
1957-present	Our Lady of Lourdes Church (Pomo), Sacramento
1967-1972	St. Anthony Mission (Pomo), Rio Linda

 

Holdings of Catholic-related records about Native Americans: 

Inclusive dates: Ca. 1853-ongoing 

Volume: Ca. .1 cubic foot  

Description: 3 series include Native Catholic records:

 

/1 “Bishops Papers”

Inclusive dates: 1853, 1874

Volume: 2 letters 

Description: 

A. Bishop Joseph Sadoc Alemany y Conill, O.P. [Dominicans] (1814-1888), 1853, 1 letter; letter to Rev. Moriarty, 1853; re: seeking a missionary to evangelize Indians in California

B. Bishop Eugene O’Connell (1815-1891), 1874, 1 letter; letter to John Gilmary Shea, 1874; re: Round Valley Indian Reservation, Rev. Luciano Osuna, and Rev. Burchard (Methodist missionary), plus Rev. Patrick Manogue (1831-1895), Virginia City, Nevada and Paiute and Shoshoni Indians

 

/2 “Sacramental Records”

Inclusive dates: Between 1855-ongoing

Volume: Few reels of microfilm, in part

Description: Arranged alphabetically by parish location and there under by name; includes baptisms, first communions, confirmations, marriages, and burials; the following non-Native American parishes are believed to have to attended students at a Government Indian school and/or included a few Indian parishioners.

A. Alturas, Sacred Heart Church, 1900s-1920s; attended to students at Fort Bidwell School (Paiute)

B. Grass Valley, St. Patrick Church (Maidu), 1855-unknown

C. Rio Linda, St. Anthony Mission (Pomo), 1967-1972

D. Sacramento, Our Lady of Lourdes Church (Pomo), 1957-ongoing

 

/3 “Diocesan Newspaper”

Inclusive dates: 1960-ongoing

Volume: Few articles

Description: The Catholic Herald has included only a scant number of articles about Native Americans and Catholic evangelization in the diocese; issues archived online, 2000-ongoing. 

 

Unless otherwise noted, the repository on this page holds (or held) the records described here and they are not held at the Marquette University Archives.

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