Roman Catholic Diocese of Sale


The Roman Catholic Diocese of Sale is a suffragan Latin Church diocese of Archdiocese of Melbourne, that covers the south east of Victoria, Australia. The diocese was established in 1887.
Gregory Bennet was appointed bishop of Sale on 27 June 2020.

History

The Diocese of Sale was established by Pope Leo XIII on 26 April 1887. The first bishop of the Diocese, James Francis Corbett, was a priest of the Diocese of Limerick, Ireland, who was responsible for the Mission of St Kilda and Chancellor of the Archdiocese of Melbourne at the time of his appointment. Corbett was consecrated bishop on 25 August 1887 in St Mary's Church, East St Kilda, by Archbishop of Melbourne, Thomas Carr. 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, saw the 1959 change to the boundaries of the Diocese, which incorporated into Sale from the Melbourne Archdiocese the parishes of Berwick, Cranbourne, Pakenham, Iona, Maryknoll, Koo Wee Rup, Dalyston and Korrumburra. These parishes, while they were mainly rural areas at the time, have seen rapid growth and are now considered outer suburbs of the Melbourne metropolitan area.

Bishops

Ordinaries

The following individuals have served as Roman Catholic Bishop of Sale:

Bishop-elect

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 south east Victoria, from the eastern suburbs of Melbourne to the New South Wales border, including all of Gippsland.