Roman Catholic Diocese of Lismore

The Roman Catholic Diocese of Lismore is a suffragan Latin Rite diocese of the Archdiocese of Sydney, established in 1887, initially as the Diocese of Grafton, and then changed to the current name in 1900. The diocese cover the North Coast region of New South Wales in Australia.

For the Irish diocese, see Roman Catholic Diocese of Waterford and Lismore.

Diocese of Lismore Dioecesis Lismorensis
Location
Country	Australia
Territory	North Coast, New South Wales
Metropolitan	Lismore
Coordinates	28°48′14″S 153°16′58″E
Statistics
Area	28,660 km^2 (11,070 sq mi)
Population - Total - Catholics	(as of 2004) 441,734 105,609[1] ( 23.9%)
Parishes	28
Information
Denomination	Roman Catholic
Rite	Latin Rite
Established	5 May 1887 as the Diocese of Grafton and renamed 13 June 1900
Cathedral	St. Carthages Cathedral, Lismore
Patron saint	St. Carthage
Current leadership
Pope	Francis
Bishop	Gregory Homeming
Metropolitan Archbishop	Anthony Fisher OP
Bishops emeritus	Geoffrey Jarrett
Map
Map of the Diocese of Lismore
Website
Diocese of Lismore

Ordinaries

Bishop of Grafton

The following individual has been elected as Roman Catholic Bishop of Grafton:[1]

Order	Name	Date installed	Term ended	Term of office	Reason for term end
1	Jeremiah Joseph Doyle	13 May 1887	4 June 1909	22 years, 22 days	Died in office

Bishops

Bishops of Lismore

The following individuals have been elected as Roman Catholic Bishop of Lismore:[1]

Order	Name	Date installed	Term ended	Term of office	Reason for term end
1	John Carroll	2 December 1909	8 May 1949	39 years, 157 days	Died in office
2	Patrick Joseph Farrelly	8 May 1949	1 September 1971	22 years, 116 days	Retired and was appointed Bishop Emeritus of Lismore
3	John Steven Satterthwaite	1 September 1971	1 December 2001	30 years, 91 days	Retired and was appointed Bishop Emeritus of Lismore
4	Geoffrey Jarrett	1 December 2001	22 February 2017	15 years, 83 days	Retired and was appointed Bishop Emeritus of Lismore[2]
5	Greg Homeming	22 February 2017	present		n/a

Coadjutor bishops

• Patrick Joseph Farrelly (1931-1949)
• John Steven Satterthwaite (1969-1971)
• Geoffrey Hylton Jarrett (2000-2001)

Other priests of this diocese who became bishops

• Terence Bernard McGuire, appointed Bishop of Townsville in 1930
• Norman Thomas Gilroy, appointed Bishop of Port Augusta in 1934; future Cardinal
• Thomas Absolam McCabe, appointed Bishop of Port Augusta in 1938
• Thomas William Muldoon, appointed Auxiliary Bishop of Sydney, in 1960

Cathedral

The Cathedral of St Carthage's was commissioned by Bishop Jeremiah Doyle, circa 1890. Designed in 1892 by Herbert Wardell (the son of notable Anglo – Australian architect and civil engineer William Wardell), the cathedral is modelled in gothic revival style. The foundation stone was laid in 1892 and construction began in early 1904, with the sanctuary, transepts and nave completed by mid-1907 when the first liturgical mass was held. A public appeal was held to raise £2,000 for the peal of twelve bells from Dublin, that were installed in the bell tower by 1911. A large pipe organ completed the project and in 1919, with all debts dissolved, St Carthage's Cathedral received its solemn dedication by the Apostolic Delegate, Archbishop Cattaneo.[3]

In 2007 the cathedral was seriously damaged by hail storms in the region.[4][5][6] An appeal to restore the cathedral commenced in 2007, with initial plans to construct the spire initially designed by Wardell.[3] However, when commissioning the works in 2009, the main focus of the project was on roof slates, stained glass windows, and lead downpipes; with completion of the stone steeple ruled out.[6][7]

Other information

The Catholic Education Office which is responsible for 46 co-educational schools in the Diocese, is located in Lismore.[8] The Aboriginal Catholic Ministry is located in Macksville. The Diocese also offers a number of health and aged care services ranging from child care to nursing homes to natural family planning services.[9]

The Diocese also has a community of Marist Brothers, another of Presentation Sisters and a convent of Carmelite Nuns.

See also

• Roman Catholicism in Australia

References

1. "Diocese of Lismore". The Hierarchy of the Catholic Church. Retrieved 9 May 2009.
2. http://www.catholic-hierarchy.org/bishop/bjarrett.html
3. Jarrett, Geoffrey (22 February 2007). "On the Centenary of St Carthage's Cathedral: A pastoral letter" (PDF). Lismore Diocese. Retrieved 27 September 2011.
4. "Locals count cost after Lismore hail storm". ABC News. Australia. 10 October 2007. Retrieved 27 September 2011.
5. Ramachandran, Arjun (10 October 2007). "Hailstorm lashes Lismore". The Sydney Morning Herald. AAP. Retrieved 27 September 2011.
6. Feain, Dominic (16 April 2010). "Cathedral hits new safety heights". Northern Star. Australia. Retrieved 27 September 2011.
7. "Essential Renovation and Conservation Work Commenced on St. Carthage's Cathedral". Catholic Diocese of Lismore, NSW (Press release). Australia. 29 July 2009. Archived from the original on 13 February 2011. Retrieved 30 September 2011.
8. "Catholic Education in the Diocese of Lismore". Lismore Catholic Education Office. Archived from the original on 2 October 2011. Retrieved 26 September 2011.
9. "Health and Aged Care Services". Diocese of Lismore. Retrieved 8 May 2009.

External links

• Catholic Diocese of Lismore
• Catholic Education Office, Diocese of Lismore