Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Brisbane

The Archdiocese of Brisbane is a Latin Church metropolitan archdiocese of the Catholic Church in Australia located in Brisbane and covering the South East region of Queensland, Australia.

Archdiocese of Brisbane

Archidioecesis Brisbanensis
Coat of Arms of the Archdiocese of Brisbane
Location
CountryAustralia
TerritorySouth East region of Queensland, including Greater Brisbane
Ecclesiastical provinceBrisbane
Coordinates27°27′56″S 153°02′41″E
Statistics
Area65,000 km2 (25,000 sq mi)
Population
- Total
- Catholics		(as of 2012)
2,849,000
663,000 (23.3%)
Parishes103
Information
DenominationCatholic Church
Sui iuris churchLatin Church
RiteRoman Rite
Established12 April 1859 as the
Diocese of Brisbane;
10 May 1887 as the
Archdiocese of Brisbane
CathedralCathedral of St Stephen
Patron saintSaint Mary of the Cross
Secular priests245
Current leadership
PopeFrancis
Archbishop of BrisbaneMark Coleridge
Auxiliary BishopsKenneth Michael Howell
Tim Norton SVD[1]
Bishops emeritusBrian Vincent Finnigan
Joseph John Oudeman, OFMCap
Map
Website
bne.catholic.net.au

Part of the Ecclesiastical Province of Brisbane, the region covered was initially administered by the Archdiocese of Sydney. In 1859 the Diocese of Brisbane was erected, and elevated as an archdiocese in 1887. The archdiocese is the metropolitan of the suffragan dioceses of Cairns, Rockhampton, Toowoomba and Townsville.

The Cathedral of St Stephen is the seat of the Archbishop of Brisbane. On 12 May 2012 Mark Coleridge was installed as the sixth Archbishop of Brisbane, the seventh Bishop of Brisbane.[2][3]

History

The Diocese of Brisbane was established in 1859, with responsibility for the entire state of Queensland. Prior to its establishment, Queensland was part of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Sydney.[4]

On 27 January 1877 Pope Pius IX excised the northern part of the Diocese of Brisbane from Cape Hinchinbrook and then west to the border with South Australia (now Northern Territory) to create the Vicariate Apostolic of Queensland (later the Diocese of Cairns.[5]

On 29 December 1882, the Diocese of Rockhampton was excised from the Archdiocese of Brisbane. The new Rockhampton diocese had responsibility for northern Queensland while the Brisbane archdiocese retained responsibility for southern Queensland.[6][7]

In 1929, the Diocese of Toowoomba was excised from the Archdiocese of Brisbane.[4]

Bishops

Ordinaries

The following people have been appointed as Archbishops of Brisbane or any of its precursor titles:[8]

Order Name Title Date enthroned Reign ended Term of office Reason for term end
1James Quinn †Bishop of Brisbane14 April 185918 August 188122 years, 126 daysDied in office
2Robert Dunne †Bishop of Brisbane3 January 188210 May 18875 years, 127 daysElevated as Archbishop of Brisbane
Archbishop of Brisbane10 May 188713 January 191729 years, 248 daysDied in office
3James Duhig †Coadjutor Archbishop of Brisbane27 February 191213 January 19174 years, 321 daysSucceeded as Archbishop of Brisbane
Archbishop of Brisbane13 January 191710 April 196548 years, 87 daysDied in office
4Patrick Mary O'Donnell †Coadjutor Archbishop of Brisbane8 November 194810 April 196516 years, 153 daysSucceeded as Archbishop of Brisbane
Archbishop of Brisbane10 April 19655 March 19737 years, 329 daysRetired and titled Archbishop Emeritus of Brisbane
5Francis Roberts Rush †Archbishop of Brisbane5 March 19733 December 199118 years, 273 daysRetired and titled Archbishop Emeritus of Brisbane
6John Bathersby †Archbishop of Brisbane3 December 199114 November 201119 years, 346 daysRetired and titled Archbishop Emeritus of Brisbane
7Mark ColeridgeArchbishop of Brisbane11 May 2012present11 years, 167 daysn/a

Coadjutors are included in the table above.

Auxiliary bishops
Current
Former
  • Henry Joseph Kennedy † (1967–1971), appointed Bishop of Armidale
  • John Joseph Gerry † (1975–2003)
  • Eugene James Cuskelly, MSC † (1982–1996)
  • Michael Ernest Putney † (1995–2001), appointed Bishop of Townsville
  • Brian Vincent Finnigan (2002–2015)
  • Joseph John Oudeman, OFMCap (2002–2017)
  • Kenneth Howell (2017–2023), appointed Bishop of Toowoomba[9]

Other priests of the diocese who became bishops

Cathedral
Main article: Cathedral of St Stephen, Brisbane

The gothic revival cathedral is located on a site bounded by Elizabeth, Charlotte and Edward Streets, in the Australian city of Brisbane. Built between 1864 and 1922, with extensions made in 1989, the cathedral was established with James Quinn as its first bishop. Quinn planned to construct a large cathedral to accommodate a growing congregation. On 26 December 1863, the Feast of St Stephen, Quinn laid the foundation stone for a grand cathedral designed by Benjamin Backhouse. Backhouse's original design was changed and downsized numerous times over the course of the cathedral's completion, mainly for economic reasons.

In 1927, there was a plan to replace St Stephen's with a new Holy Name Cathedral to be built in Fortitude Valley, Brisbane. However, funding was only sufficient to build the crypt. Eventually the project was abandoned, the crypt demolished and the land sold.

Parishes

Economic contribution

The archdiocese contributes around $2.5 billion to the economy through its schools and other institutions, providing employment to 22,000 people.[10]

The archdiocese manages 98 parishes and 144 Catholic schools. It also provides services to 12,992 aged care and disability clients, support for 8362 seniors to live at home, support to 23,000 victims of domestic violence and help for 4,000 people with mental illness.[10]

See also

References
  1. "Fr Tim Norton named new Auxiliary Bishop of Brisbane". 11 November 2021.
  2. "Appointment of the new Metropolitan Archbishop of Brisbane: The Most Revd Mark Benedict Coleridge, DD" (PDF) (Press release). Catholic Church in Australia. 2 April 2012. Retrieved 3 April 2012.
  3. Macdonald, Robert (3 April 2012). "Catholic Church names Brisbane Archbishop Mark Coleridge". The Courier–Mail. Retrieved 3 April 2012.
  4. "Our Story". Archdiocesan Profile. Archdiocese of Brisbane. Retrieved 20 July 2013.
  5. "QUEENSLAND". Advocate. Vol. VI, no. 463. Victoria, Australia. 17 November 1877. p. 6. Retrieved 4 September 2020 – via National Library of Australia.
  6. "Diocese History". Catholic Diocese of Rockhampton. Retrieved 20 July 2013.
  7. "ROMAN CATHOLIC BISHOPS IN QUEENSLAND". The Argus. Melbourne. 21 December 1881. p. 7. Retrieved 20 July 2013 – via National Library of Australia.
  8. "Archdiocese of Brisbane". The Hierarchy of the Catholic Church. 16 October 2011. Retrieved 27 October 2011.
  9. "POPE FRANCIS NAMES NEW BISHOP FOR CATHOLIC DIOCESE OF TOOWOOMBA" (PDF). Catholic Diocese of Toowoomba. 24 May 2023. Retrieved 25 May 2023.
  10. The Catholic Leader July 15, 2020
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.