Roman Catholic Diocese of Grass Valley

[2] The particular church that became the Diocese of Grass Valley was erected in by Pope Pius IX in 1860 as the Vicariate Apostolic of Marysville from territory formerly belonging to the Archdiocese of San Francisco, of which it was a suffragan see.

[3] In 1868, the see city was changed to Grass Valley, and the vicariate was renamed and elevated by Pius IX to a diocese.

When the vicarate was elevated to a diocese, Bishop Eugene O'Connell resisted the change of see city to Grass Valley, and continued using St. Joseph's as his pro-cathedral.

[5] The diocese served the large mining population in the Sierra Nevada during the California Gold Rush.

By 1886, commercial mining in the Gold Country had slowed considerably, significantly reducing the population in the area, and the diocese was suppressed.