Donald Montrose

Who was Donald Montrose?

Donald William Montrose was the Bishop of the Diocese of Stockton in northern California from 1986 to 1999.

Montrose was born in Denver, Colorado. When he was eleven his family moved to southern California.

Montrose was ordained a Catholic priest on May 7, 1948. He served as head of St. John's Seminary in Camarillo and an auxiliary bishop in Los Angeles before he was appointed bishop of Stockton. Montrose served as the fourth bishop of Stockton from Feb. 20, 1986, until his retirement Jan. 18, 1999.

Montrose focused on getting Spanish-speaking priests in the diocese. He went to Mexico, Colombia and other Latin American countries and met with various bishops to try to get them to send him priests who had Spanish as their mother tongue. In 1988 Montrose succeeded in getting the Sisters of the Cross to relocate to the Stockton Diocese from Mexico. They located in the city of Modesto, California which is the second largest city in the diocese.