Oceania—1
This blog covers Australia and New Zealand.
Australia
Catholics came to Australia on the first British ships in
1788 and these Catholics were mostly Irish convicts or Royal Marines. By 1828, there were only 10,000 Catholics in
Australia, but by 1841 there were 40,000.
The first priests settled in Australia in 1820 and the first bishop,
John Polding, an English Benedictine, arrived in 1834. Other religious orders, including the
Christian Brothers and the Jesuits arrived in the 1840s.
Australia has 5.8 million Catholic or about 25 percent of
the total population. About 30 percent
of the population are Protestant or Orthodox Christians and 40 percent of
Australians claim no particular religion.
Australia has five Catholic ecclesiastical provinces—Sydney, Melbourne,
Adelaide, Brisbane, and Perth. In
addition, the Roman Rite Archdiocese of Canberra and Goulburn (New South Wales) and the Roman Rite Archdiocese of Hobart (Tasmania), are immediately subject to the Pope. The Diocese of Goulburn was established in
1862 and became the Archdiocese of Canberra and Goulburn in 1948. The Diocese of Hobart was created in 1842 and
was raised to an archdiocese in 1888.
The Anglican Rite Diocese of Our Lady of the Southern Cross is immediately
subject to the Pope. The Chaldean Rite Diocese
of Saint Thomas the Apostle of Sydney, the Greek-Melkite Rite Diocese of St. Michael's of Sydney, the Maronite Rite Diocese of Saint Maron of Sydney, and the Syro-Malabar Rite Diocese of Saint Thomas the Apostle of Melbourne, are immediately subject their respective
patriarchs or major archbishop. There is
also a military diocese.
Province of Sydney
The Province consists of most of
the civil province of New South Wales.
The Apostolic Vicariate of New Holland and Van Diemen’s Land was
established in 1834 and this became the Metropolitan Archdiocese of Sydney in
1842.
The Cathedral Church and Minor
Basilica of the Immaculate Mother of God, Help of Christians (St. Mary's
Cathedral) is located in Sydney. The
English Gothic Revival Cathedral replaced the first cathedral which burned in
1865. The current church, built of
sandstone, began construction in 1868 and was opened and dedicated in 1882. Work continued on the Cathedral and it was
not until 2000 that the 245-foot spires on the south side of the Cathedral were
added. The Cathedral’s stained glass
windows (over 40 of them) were made by Hardman Studios in England in the late
1880s. The Stations of the Cross were
made by a 19th Century French artist. The Cathedral also has a relic of St. Francis
Xavier (his right hand). Pope Pius XI
designated the Cathedral as a minor basilica in 1932. Additional information can be found at
stmaryscathedral.org.au.
The Province has nine suffragan
dioceses.
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The Diocese of Maitland-Newcastle was
established as the Diocese of Maitland in 1847 and was given its current name
in 1995.
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The Diocese of Bathurst was established in 1865.
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The Diocese of Armidale was established in 1869.
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The Diocese of Lismore was established in 1887
as the Diocese of Grafton and became the Diocese of Lismore in 1900.
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The Diocese of Wilcannia-Forbes was established
in 1887 as the Diocese of Wilcannia and acquired its current name in 1917.
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The Diocese of Wagga Wagga was established in 1917.
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The Diocese of Woolongong was established in 1951.
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The Diocese of Broken Bay was established in
1986.
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The Diocese of Parramatta was established in
1986.
Province of Melbourne
The Province consists of the civil
province of Victoria. The Diocese of
Melbourne was created in 1847 and was promoted as the Metropolitan Archdiocese
of Melbourne in 1874.
Construction of St. Patrick’s
Cathedral Basilica in Melbourne began in 1858, and although the nave was
finished within ten years, the official completion would not come until 1939. The Cathedral is constructed of bluestone and
sandstone in a Gothic-revival style. The central spire is 344 feet high and the
flanking towers and spires are 203 feet high.
Since almost all Melbourne Catholics in the middle of the 19th
Century were Irish, the Cathedral was dedicated to St. Patrick. Pope Paul VI designated the Cathedral as a
minor basilica in 1974. The current cathedral choir dates to 1939 when the
Vienna Mozart Boys Choir was stranded in Australia at the beginning of the
Second World War. Today the choir
members are students at St. Kevin’s College.
The Cathedral’s website is cam.org.au/cathedral.
The Province has four suffragan
dioceses.
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The Diocese of Ballarat was established in 1874.
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The Diocese of Sandhurst was established in 1874.
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The Diocese of Sale was established in 1887.
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The Ukrainian Rite Catholic Diocese of Saints
Peter and Paul of Melbourne was established as the Apostolic Vicariate of
Australia in 1958 and attained its current name in 1982.
Province of Adelaide
The Province consists of the civil
provinces of South Australia and the Northern Territory. The Diocese of Adelaide (South Australia) was
established in 1842. It was promoted as
the Metropolitan Archdiocese of Adelaide in 1887.
Construction of St. Francis
Xavier’s Cathedral in Adelaide began in 1856 and the church was dedicated in
1958. Several expansions have been made
over the years and the bell tower was not completed until 1996. The main bell was cast in 1867 and seven of
the other 13 bells came from St. Mary’s Cathedral in Sydney. The Cathedral features a statue of St. John
the Baptist baptizing Jesus, carved in Italy in 1925; a chapel altar made of
Carrara marble with panels of lapis lazuli made in 1954; and windows depicting
St. Patrick and St. Lawrence. The
Cathedral’s website is adelcathparish.org.
The Province has two suffragan
dioceses.
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The Diocese of Darwin (Northern Territory) began
as the Apostolic Vicariate of Essington in 1845 and became the Diocese of
Victoria in 1847. It acquired its
current name in 1938.
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The Diocese of Port Augusta was established in
1887 and became the Diocese of Port Pirie (South Australia) in 1951.
Province of Brisbane
The Province consists of the civil province of Queensland. The Diocese of Brisbane was created in 1859
and became the Metropolitan Archdiocese of Brisbane in 1887.
St. Stephen’s Cathedral in Brisbane is a Gothic Revival
building made of Brisbane tuff and freestone.
The towers are made of sandstone.
Construction began in 1863 and the incomplete Cathedral was dedicated in
1874. The Cathedral’s Stations of the
Cross were made in Germany. For
additional information, see cathedralofststephen.org.au.
The Province has four suffragan
dioceses.
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The Diocese of Rockhampton was established in 1881.
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The Diocese of Toowoomba was established in 1929.
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The Diocese of Townsville was established in 1930.
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The Diocese of Cairns was established as the
Apostolic Vicariate of Queensland in 1877 and became a diocese in 1941.
Province of Perth
The Province consists of the civil
province of Western Australia. The
Diocese of Perth was established in 1845 and was promoted to the Metropolitan
Archdiocese of Perth in 1913.
The Cathedral of the Immaculate
Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Perth replaced an earlier cathedral
built in 1865. Construction of the
current building began in 1926 and was opened in an incomplete state in
1930. Full completion of the Cathedral
did not come until 2009. The Cathedral
is made of limestone and is designed in an English Perpendicular Gothic
style. The Cathedral has stained glass
windows from England and mosaics based on the Irish Book of Kells. The Cathedral’s website is stmaryscathedralperth.com.au.
The Province has three suffragan
dioceses.
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The Diocese of Geraldton was established in 1898.
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The Diocese of Bunbury was established in 1954.
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The Diocese of Broome was established as the
Apostolic Vicariate of Kimberly in Western Australia in 1887 and acquired its
current name in 1966.
New Zealand
British colonization of New Zealand began in 1840, but it
would take until 1872 for the British to fully defeat the Maori people. New Zealand gained independence in 1907. Catholic missionaries came to New Zealand in
1840 and today New Zealand has 540,000 Catholics, or 12 percent of the total
population. Less than half of New
Zealanders claim to be Christian.
New Zealand has one province—Wellington. There is also a military diocese. Chaldean Catholics, Greek-Melkite Catholics,
and Ukrainian Catholics are under the leadership of bishops in Australia.
Province of Wellington
The Province consists of New
Zealand. The Diocese of Wellington
(North Island) was established in 1848 and became the Metropolitan Archdiocese
of Wellington in 1887.
The Metropolitan Cathedral of the
Sacred Heart in Wellington replaced an earlier Cathedral that burned in 1898. The current Cathedral was opened in 1901 and
is mainly built with Oamaru limestone in a basilica style. At one time, the Cathedral had two bell towers,
but they were torn down in 1942 after being damaged by an earthquake. The Cathedral has bronze sculptures by a
local artist that depict Mary’s sorrow underneath each of the Stations of the
Cross. There is also a carved rock that
was a gift of Catholic Maori that depicts the Faith given by Jesus at the base,
and above that representations of various aspects of the Faith. The courtyard has a statue of the Blessed
Virgin Mary that was made in France and that was originally placed in the old
Cathedral. The statue fell 80 feet
during the 1898 fire, but was largely undamaged. The Cathedral’s website is
mcshwellington.org.
The Province has five suffragan
dioceses.
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The Diocese of Auckland (North Island) was
created as the Apostolic Vicariate of New Zealand in 1842 and became a diocese
in 1848.
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The Diocese of Dunedin (South Island) was
established in 1869.
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The Diocese of Christchurch (South Island) was
established in 1887.
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The Diocese of Hamilton (North Island) was
established in 1980.
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The Diocese of Palmerston North (North Island)
was established in 1980.
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