Archbishop Joseph Sadoc Alemany (1814-1888)

Today in 1888 marks the death of Joseph Sadoc Alemany, first Archbishop of San Francisco. Born in Spain, he joined the Dominicans at seventeen and was ordained a priest in 1837. After further studies, he was sent to the United States in 1840. He worked in Ohio until 1850, when he was named Bishop of Monterey in California. Three years later, when the Archdiocese of San Francisco was founded, he was named its first Archbishop. After he resigned in 1884, he went back to Spain, where he served humbly as a religious in the Dominican order. He was buried in Spain, but in 1965 were re-interred in San Francisco.