The Roman Catholic Diocese of Sale is a suffragan diocese of the Archdiocese of Melbourne, that covers the south east of Victoria, Australia. The diocese was established in 1887.
Diocese of Sale Dioecesis Saliensis | |
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Location | |
Country | ![]() |
Territory | South Eastern and Gippsland regions of Victoria |
Coordinates | 38°06′40″S 147°03′47″E / 38.11111°S 147.06306°E |
Statistics | |
Area | 44,441 km2 (17,159 sq mi) |
Population - Total - Catholics | (as of 2004)![]() ![]() ![]() |
Parishes | ![]() |
Information | |
Denomination | Catholic |
Sui iuris church | Latin Church |
Rite | Roman Rite |
Established | 10 May 1887 |
Cathedral | St Mary's Cathedral |
Current leadership | |
Pope | Francis |
Bishop | Gregory Bennet |
Map | |
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Website | |
sale.catholic.org.au |
Gregory Bennet was appointed bishop of Sale on 27 June 2020.
History
editThe Diocese of Sale was established by Pope Leo XIII on 26 April 1887. The first bishop of the Diocese, James Francis Corbett, was a priest of the Diocese of Limerick, Ireland, who was responsible for the Mission (later Parish) of St Kilda and Chancellor of the Archdiocese of Melbourne at the time of his appointment. Corbett was consecrated bishop on 25 August 1887 in St Mary's Church, East St Kilda, by Archbishop of Melbourne, Thomas Carr. Bishop Corbett consecrated St Patrick's Cathedral, Melbourne, on account of his superior vocal ability.
The second Bishop of Sale, Patrick Phelan, saw to the establishment of a school system in the Diocese. The fourth bishop, Patrick Lyons, saw the 1959 change to the boundaries of the Diocese, which incorporated into Sale from the Melbourne Archdiocese the parishes of Berwick, Cranbourne, Pakenham, Iona, Maryknoll, Koo Wee Rup, Dalyston and Korrumburra. These parishes, while they were mainly rural areas at the time, have seen rapid growth and are now considered outer suburbs of the Melbourne metropolitan area.
Bishops
editOrdinaries
editThe following individuals have served as Roman Catholic Bishop of Sale:[1]
Order Name Date enthroned Reign ended Term of office Reason for term end 1 James Francis Corbett 13 May 1887 29 May 1912 25 years, 16 days Died in office 2 Patrick Phelan 2 November 1912 5 January 1925 12 years, 64 days Died in office 3 Richard Ryan C.M. 10 March 1926 16 June 1957 31 years, 98 days Died in office 4 Patrick Lyons 16 June 1957 13 August 1967 10 years, 58 days Died in office 5 Arthur Fox 29 November 1967 25 February 1981 13 years, 88 days Retired and appointed Bishop Emeritus of Sale 6 Eric D'Arcy 25 February 1981 24 October 1988 7 years, 242 days Elevated to Archbishop of Hobart 7 Jeremiah Coffey 8 April 1989 2 January 2008 18 years, 269 days Retired and appointed Bishop Emeritus of Sale 8 Christopher Prowse 18 June 2009 19 November 2013 4 years, 154 days Appointed Archbishop of Canberra–Goulburn 9 Patrick O'Regan 26 February 2015 19 March 2020 9 years, 176 days Appointed Archbishop of Adelaide 10 Gregory Bennet 8 December 2020 Incumbent 3 years, 256 days
Coadjutor bishop
edit- Patrick Francis Lyons (1956–1957)
Other priests of this diocese who became bishops
edit- Patrick Mary O'Donnell, appointed Coadjutor Archbishop of Brisbane in 1948
- Noel Desmond Daly, appointed Bishop of Sandhurst in 1979
- Michael Joseph McKenna, appointed Bishop of Bathurst in 2009
Cathedral
editSt Mary's Cathedral, Sale is the cathedral church of the diocese, under the patronage of Our Lady of Perpetual Help. Purpose-built as a cathedral, St Mary's boasts a Romanesque onyx high altar, notable stained glass windows and a large statue of Mary Help of Christians as its features. Four of Sale's bishops are buried in the cathedral: Bishop Corbett lies in the main section of the church beneath the front rows of pews on the right hand side and Bishops Ryan, Lyons and Fox are interred in the Lady Chapel.
Boundaries
editThe diocese covers south east Victoria, from the eastern suburbs of Melbourne to the New South Wales border, including all of Gippsland.
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ "Diocese of Sale". The Hierarchy of the Catholic Church. 21 May 2011. Retrieved 25 September 2011.