[1] He began his studies for the priesthood at the diocesan seminary in Vic, but when Bishop Thaddeus Amat y Brusi appealed for missionaries in California, Mora offered his services.

[4] He received his episcopal consecration on the following August 3 from Amat, with Archbishop Joseph Sadoc Alemany and Bishop Eugene O'Connell serving as co-consecrators, at Our Lady of the Angels.

He served for the next 18 years, during which time he worked to put the Catholic Church on a firm footing in southern California.

[5] As a result, the Congregation removed financial control of the diocese from Mora, forbidding him to sell any property or incur any new debts without Rome's permission.

[5] After sustaining injuries in a carriage accident, he was given a coadjutor bishop, George Thomas Montgomery, who was consecrated in April 1894.