"Where others are drawn by gold, you must carry the cross."
On December 6, 1850, a Dominican bishop, priest, and religious sister landed in the bustling port of San Francisco. And so began the story of the Province of the Most Holy Name of Jesus.
For almost two centuries, the friars of the Western Dominican Province have worked to bring souls to Christ in the American West. Called to share Christ’s love to the ends of the earth, they were sent to California in the midst of the Gold Rush to show those seeking earthly riches that an even greater treasure could be found in God.
As we celebrate the 175th anniversary of the Province's beginnings, we reflect on how the Dominican Friars have carried on the mission to save souls, even after the rush for physical gold came to a close. The American West has continued to grow, drawing all peoples of the earth to its naturally and culturally beautiful landscape. For 175 years, the Friars Preachers of the Province of the Most Holy Name of Jesus have continued to reach out to all those seeking fame and fortune, or simply a new life.
As California has become the epicenter of a "new gold"—global technology—the friars of the Western Dominican Province look forward to the next 175+ years of zealously preaching the truth of Christ, out of love for souls.
We are excited to announce The Dominican Black & White — a festive evening of dinner and dancing benefiting St. Dominic’s Priory and our growing novitiate. Come honor our 175-year history and celebrate the future of the Dominicans in the West!
We've also been sharing interesting dates from the history of the province through our monthly eNews throughout the year. See the interesting and monumental turn of events collected here!
January, 1845 – One of our founders, Fr. Francis Sadoc Vilarrasa, O.P., arrives from Europe to support the Dominican community in Somerset, Ohio.
January 28, 1851 – Fr. Ignacio Ramirez de Arellano, O.P., pastor of San Carlos in Monterey, greets our founders Bishop Joseph Sadoc Alemany, Fr. Francis Sadoc Vilarrasa, and Sr. Mary Goemaere when they arrive in Monterey.
January 28, 1894 – Archbishop Gross blesses the Dominican’s church in Portland, titled Queen of the Most Holy Rosary,
January 14, 1932 – The student brothers move from Benicia, California, to the neighboring Oakland, where the house of studies continues to this day.
February 5, 1893 – The friars receive final approval from Rome to build a Church in Portland, which will become Holy Rosary Parish.
February 14, 1864 – Archbishop Alemany blesses St. Brigid Parish in San Francisco, which was administered by the Dominicans until 1875.
February 19, 1921 – Provincial Fr. Lawrence McMahon, O.P., meets with Bishop John Cantrell to discuss the Dominican’s involvement around Los Angeles, preparing the way for St. Dominic’s Parish in Eagle Rock.
March 1, 1934 – After a successful capital drive (despite Depression conditions) led by Oakland attorney H. Raymond Hall, construction begins on the first wing of St. Albert’s Priory in Oakland.
March 7, 1851 – Bishop Alemany, with Sr. Mary Goemaere, O.P., founds the first house of the new Province, the convent of St. Catherine in Monterey. This parallels the beginnings of the Order, when St. Dominic established a convent of nuns before organizing one for his friars.
March 16, 1854 – The Dominican community moves from Monterey to Benicia, marking the establishment of the Province headquarters in the San Francisco Bay Area up to today.
March 17, 1888 – Fr. Francis Sadoc Vilarrasa, O.P., co-founder of the Province and its leading superior since 1851, dies while surrounded by the brethren and beloved for his “piety toward God, charity toward neighbor, prudence in counseling, lovableness in conversation, regular observance in discipline, simplicity in conduct.” He is succeeded by Fr. Vincent Vinyes, O.P., who was one of the first novices to arrive in California in 1851.
April 1, 1851 – The convent for the Dominican Sisters, one of the first Dominican establishments in Alta California, opens in Monterey with the assistance of Bishop Joseph Sadoc Alemany, O.P. and Fr. Francis Sadoc Vilarrasa, O.P.
April 18, 1880 – Growth in the population around St. Dominic’s in San Francisco leads Provincial leadership to approve the building of a larger church.
April 18, 1906 – Twenty-six years to the day of being approved for construction, St. Dominic’s Church and Priory in San Francisco is destroyed by the great earthquake of 1906. An eyewitness recounts: “One solitary figure sat by the window of the abandoned Fathers’ House, though most of its roof was sunk in. He was bent over and trying with tear dimmed eyes to read his Morning Office, while guarding at the risk of his life what had for so many years been his charge.”
April 29, 1910 – Construction begins at the present site of Blessed Sacrament Church, on 9th Avenue in Seattle.
May, 1837 – Francis Sadoc Vilarrasa, O.P.—one of our founders—is ordained to the priesthood in his native Spain.
May 31, 1850 – Pope Pius IX appoints Fr. Joseph Sadoc Alemany as the Bishop of "the Church in Monterey in Upper California," which in fact covers vast swaths of the American West.
May 2, 1851 – During the period when the friars were based in Monterey, CA (1851-1854), Bishop Alemany commits the church at Mission Carmel to the care of Fr. Vilarrasa.
May 15, 1854 – The Dominicans and the Franciscans in Santa Barbara renew their long-standing agreement to pray for the deceased brethren of the two Orders. Our friendship with the Franciscan family continues to this day with the presence of Capuchin friars at DSPT.
June 11, 1850 – Fr. Joseph Sadoc Alemany, O.P., learns that he has been appointed Bishop of California. He is consecrated a bishop on June 30, and with Fr. Francis Sadoc Vilarrasa, O.P., begins planning for a province of the Order of Preachers in California.
June 26, 1853 – The diocese of California is divided into the dioceses of Monterey and San Francisco. Bishop Alemany is made archbishop of the metropolitan see of San Francisco, which sets the stage for the friars to settle in the Bay Area.
June 18, 1854 – Archbishop Alemany solemnly blesses St. Dominic's in Benicia, CA.
June, 1865 – St. Francis of Assisi Church, the first parish built in San Francisco after Mission Dolores, is committed to the care of the Dominicans. They will serve the parish until 1872.
June 29, 1873 – Archbishop Alemany solemnly blesses St. Dominic's Church in San Francisco among a great crowd of the city's faithful and clergy.
June 2, 1908 – The Dominican community at Holy Rosary in Portland, OR, grows large enough to be elevated to the level of a priory, allowing the friars to elect their direct superior.
July 6, 1850 – Fr. Peter Augustine Anderson, O.P., a forerunner of our founders, arrives in California to help revive the presence of the Order. He travels between San Francisco and Sacramento celebrating the sacraments, visiting the sick, and collecting donations to build churches in both towns before succumbing to typhoid, which he contracted while serving the people of God.
July 21, 1850 – At the request of our founders Bishop Joseph Sadoc Alemany, O.P., and Fr. Francis Sadoc Vilarrasa, O.P., the Vicar General of the Order Fr. Jerome Gigli grants authority to found the Province of the Most Holy Name of Jesus.
July 1873 – After the dedication of St. Dominic's Church in San Francisco, the friars quickly start ministries for enrichment of the laity including the Confraternities of the Holy Rosary, of the Holy Name of Jesus, and of the Angelic Warfare; the Third Order of St. Dominic; and the St. Vincent de Paul Society.
July 1893 – The construction of Holy Rosary church in Portland is begun. It is nearly completed when local residents protest with a legal stipulation that requires the building to be moved in one piece to its current location.
July 28, 1908 – Fr. Lawrence Arthur McMahon, O.P., vicar general of the province, agrees with Bishop O'Dea to establish a Dominican house in Seattle, with a parish annexed to it, which would become Blessed Sacrament parish.
August 10, 1850 – Fr. Anderson celebrates the inaugural Mass in Sacramento with a handful of the faithful. Dr. Gregory Phelan recounts: "This first small assemblage of the Catholics of Sacramento reminded me of the parable of the mustard seed. I hope that our church here may soon grow up into a noble tree, beneath whose widespread and shading branches, the wearied of all sects may find shelter and refreshment."
August 28, 1853 – Fr. Antoine Langlois, who had ministered to Fr. Peter Augustine Anderson (the forerunner of the Province) at his death during a cholera outbreak, receives the Dominican habit and is given the religious name "Augustine."
August 24, 1854 – After the friars relocate from Monterey to Benicia, Mother Mary Goemaere follows with six other professed sisters, three novices, and more than 50 of the students, establishing St. Catherine's Academy. The school goes on to acquire a sterling reputation for academic excellence.
August 19, 1855 – Alemany blesses St. Vincent Ferrer's Parish in Vallejo, served by the Dominicans from Benicia.
August 2, 1892 – The Master General of the Order, Fr. Andreas Fruwirth, gives permission for the friars to found a community in Portland, Oregon, at the persistent invitation of Archbishop William Gross.
August 31, 1893 – Due to a zoning dispute (and possibly arising from anti-Catholic sentiment), the newly constructed church and convent of Holy Rosary in Portland, Oregon, are moved some blocks west by men and horses to the present location.
August 5, 1923 – Construction is begun on the fourth (current) St. Dominic's church in San Francisco, under the architectural leadership of Arnold Constable.
September 9, 1850 – Alta California enters the Union a few months before our founders arrive.
September 19, 1857 – Among the province's first student brothers, Br. Vincent Vinyes and Br. Dominic Costa are ordained to the diaconate in Benicia, CA.
September 18, 1864 – Archbishop Alemany blesses Our Lady of the Holy Rosary in Antioch, CA, served by the Dominicans in Benicia.
September 8, 1873 – Archbishop Alemany blesses the convent of St. Dominic's in San Francisco, and the regular observance of the Divine Office commences there with the singing of Evening Prayer.
September 28, 1885 – Archbishop Gross first invites the Dominicans to serve in Portland, OR, but it will be seven years before the friars can accept the invitation.
September 12, 1893 – After having been moved several blocks in one piece, the structure of Holy Rosary Church in Portland is completed.
September 1933 – H. Raymond Hall, Oakland attorney and chief spokesman for the capital drive for construction at St. Albert's Priory, says of his fellow Catholics during the Great Depression: "When the need is greatest, that is the time when real Catholic men and women respond to the call with unfaltering generosity." The drive is successful, and construction begins on March 1, 1934.
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