Roman Catholic Diocese of Geraldton

For the Anglican Church in North West Australia, see Anglican Diocese of North West Australia.

Diocese of Geraldton

Dioecesis di Geraldton
St Francis Xavier Cathedral, Geraldton
Location
Country Australia
TerritoryMid West, Western Australia
Ecclesiastical provinceProvince of Perth
MetropolitanPerth
Coordinates28°46′38″S 114°36′50″E / 28.77722°S 114.61389°E / -28.77722; 114.61389
Statistics
Area1,318,310 km2 (509,000 sq mi)
Population
- Total
- Catholics		(as of 2006)
Decrease 114,662
Increase 27,135 (Increase 23.7%)
ParishesSteady 12
Information
DenominationCatholic Church
Sui iuris churchLatin Church
RiteRoman Rite
Established30 January 1898
CathedralSt Francis Xavier's Cathedral, Geraldton
Current leadership
PopeFrancis
BishopMichael Henry Morrissey
Metropolitan ArchbishopTimothy Costelloe
Bishops emeritusJustin Joseph Bianchini
Website
Catholic Diocese of Geraldton

The Roman Catholic Diocese of Geraldton is a Latin Church ecclesiastical jurisdiction or diocese of the Catholic Church covering the Mid West, Western Australia. It is a suffragan diocese in the ecclesiastical province of the Metropolitan Archdiocese of Perth.

Its cathedral episcopal see is St Francis Xavier Cathedral, in Geraldton.

History

Established on 30 January 1898 as Diocese of Geraldton / Geraldtonen(sis) (Latin), on territory split off from the then Diocese of Perth (now its Metropolitan).

Statistics

As of 2014, it pastorally served 29,700 Catholics (23.1% of 128,800 total) on 131,831 km² in 16 parishes and 24 missions with 18 priests (12 diocesan, 6 religious), 35 lay religious (10 brothers, 25 sisters), 3 seminarians.

Parishes

The diocese has fifteen parishes with regular liturgical services held in the following locations, with churches dedicated to particular saints:[1]

Bishops

Episcopal ordinaries

The following individuals have been elected as Bishops of Geraldton:[2]

Order Name Date enthroned Reign ended Term of office Reason for term end
1 William Bernard Kelly † 21 March 1898 26 December 1921 23 years, 280 days Died in office
2 Richard Ryan, Congregation of the Mission (C.M.) 30 January 1923, previously Apostolic Vicar of Kimberley in Western Australia (1894–1909) 10 March 1926 3 years, 39 days Appointed Bishop of Sale (Australia) (10 March 1926 – 16 June 1957)
3 James Patrick O'Collins † 11 February 1930 23 December 1941 11 years, 315 days Appointed Bishop of Ballarat (Australia) (23 December 1941 – 1 May 1975)
4 Alfred Gummer † 24 February 1942 5 April 1962 20 years, 40 days Died in office
5 Francis Xavier Thomas † 18 June 1962 31 July 1981 19 years, 43 days Retired as Bishop Emeritus of Geraldton
6 William Foley † 13 July 1981 26 October 1983 2 years, 105 days Elevated as Metropolitan Archbishop of Perth (26 October 1983 – 10 February 1991)
7 Barry Hickey 22 March 1984 23 July 1991 7 years, 123 days Elevated as Metropolitan Archbishop of Perth (23 July 1991 – 20 February 2020), also Vice-President of Australian Catholic Bishops Conference (5 May 2006 – 4 May 2012)
8 Justin Joseph Bianchini 25 March 1992 15 May 2017 32 years, 269 days Retired as Bishop Emeritus of Geraldton
9 Michael Morrissey 15 May 2017 incumbent 7 years, 218 days

Other priest of this diocese who became bishop

Catholic Education

Crest School Location Details
St Francis Xavier Catholic Primary School Geraldton Primary K–6
St Lawrence's School Bluff Point Primary K–6
St John's School Rangeway Primary K–7
St Paul's School Karratha Primary K–7
Our Lady of Mt Carmel Mullewa Primary K–7
St Mary's School Northampton Primary K–7
St Mary's Star of the Sea Catholic School Carnarvon Combined Primary and Secondary, K–10
St Cecilia's Catholic Primary School Port Hedland Primary K–7
Nagle Catholic College Geraldton Secondary Day school, 7–12
St Luke's College Karratha Secondary Day school, 8–12
Christian Brothers Agricultural School Tardun Secondary Day school, 8–10

See also

References

  1. ^ "Parishes of the Garaldton Diocese". Catholic Diocese of Geraldton. Archived from the original on 5 October 2011. Retrieved 9 October 2011.
  2. ^ "Diocese of Geraldton". The Hierarchy of the Catholic Church. 20 February 2011. Retrieved 9 October 2011.