161 YEARS AGO TODAY CALIFORNIA BECAME THE 31ST STATE OF OUR AMERICAN UNION...........

In the chronology of the 50 States of the Union, that currently comprise the United States of American, California, the Golden State, number 31st, as it was on September 9, 1850, within a year and a half of the discovery of gold, and the Gold Rush it set off, that California was admitted into the Union, as the 31st State of these United States.  Two weeks ago our missionary appeal priest, Rev. Fr. Tony Wall, O.P., spoke of how it was Rev. Fr. Peter Anderson, O.P., who celebrated the first Catholic Mass in Sacramento in 1850, and how amongst those in attendance was Peter Burnett, a convert to Catholicism from Oregon, who became the first Governor of the State of California.  And of course, three quarters of a century prior to our admittance into the Union as an American State, Rev. Fr. Junipero Serra, O.F.M., and the Franciscans, founded the California Missions, which were built a day's walk apart from each other. From the outset of the visits of the Portuguese and Spanish explorers in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, to the founding of the State, and throughout the Golden State's history, Catholic-Christianity has played a significant role, and has always been an undeniable presence in the lives of of our citizens.   The Diocese of Sacramento's founding Bishop, the Most Rev. Patrick Manogue, a native of Reisk, Ballycallan, County Kilkenny, Ireland, and a miner himself , during the Gold Rush, had the Cathedral of the Blessed Sacrament, built at 11th and K Streets, in downtown Sacramento, and dedicated it debt free, in 1889; thanks to monies from his friends and fellow miners, forty years earlier.  And it's location was fortutitous, as it resides just one block from the State Capitol grounds.  The 161 year History of the Golden State of California, is replete, with such illustrations of how have co-existed and complemented the story of California, for the common good of our citizens.  On this Admission Day 2011, may the commitment and dedication we show, as citizens and as disciples, continue to grow and flourish the best interests of CALIFORNIA, USA...........Fr.  Troy