The Whitman massacre in 1847 and the ensuing Cayuse War increased tensions between Christians and the native population of the Oregon Territory , and as a result by 1850 the Diocese of Walla Walla was abandoned and its merged-in territory administered from Oregon City . On May 31 , 1850 , Pope Pius IX created the '' ' Diocese of Nesqually ' '' out of the defunct Walla Walla diocese , with Augustin Blanchet as bishop . In January 1851 , Augustin Blanchet dedicated St. James Church near Fort Vancouver as the new diocese 's cathedral . A new St. James Cathedral was built in Vancouver , Washington in 1885
Whitman massacre
Whitman massacre
Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Seattle