Parishes 25 Phone +61 3 5622 6600 | Area 44,441 km² Bishop Patrick O'Regan | |
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Population- Total- Catholics (as of 2004) 372,979 92,746 ( 24.9%) Similar St Marys Primary School, St Patrick's Campus and Scho, St Thomas Primary School, Gippsland Grammar, Sale Primary School | ||
The Roman Catholic Diocese of Sale is a suffragan Latin Church diocese of Archdiocese of Melbourne, established in 1887, covering the south east of Victoria, Australia.
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The Bishop of Sale is Patrick O'Regan, appointed to the role on 4 December 2014 and consecrated and installed as a bishop by the Archbishop of Melbourne, Denis Hart on 26 February 2015 at a ceremony in Sale.
History
The Diocese of Sale was erected by Pope Leo XIII on 26 April 1887. The first bishop, 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. It was in St Mary's Church East St Kilda that Corbett was consecrated bishop by Archbishop Thomas Carr of Melbourne on 25 August 1887. 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, presided over the 1959 change to the boundaries of the Diocese, which saw the parishes of Berwick, Cranbourne, Pakenham, Iona, Maryknoll, Koo Wee Rup, Dalyston and Korrumburra incorporated into Sale. These areas were excised from the Melbourne Archdiocese and while they were mainly rural areas at the time, it is these parishes which have seen rapid growth and are now considered outer suburbs of the Melbourne metropolitan area.
Ordinaries
The following individuals have served as Roman Catholic Bishop of Sale:
Cathedral
St 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
The diocese covers the southeastern part of Victoria, from the eastern suburbs of Melbourne to the New South Wales border, including all of Gippsland.