The Diocese of Sacramento was officially formed in May 1886, and has served the vast northern California regions since 1868. Prior to that, Rome first identified Marysville as the location for a vicariate apostolic – an interim ecclesiastical jurisdiction for the northern California church, which had formerly been a part of the Archdiocese of San Francisco.

The Diocese of Sacramento is one of 12 dioceses in the state of California. It is in the province of San Francisco and encompasses 20 counties and more than 42,000 square miles. It owns a group camp called Camp Pendola.