Roman Catholic Diocese of Wollongong


The Roman Catholic Diocese of Wollongong is a suffragan Latin Rite diocese of the Archdiocese of Sydney, established in 1951, covering the Illawarra and Southern Highlands regions of New South Wales, Australia.
St Francis Xavier's Cathedral, Wollongong is the seat of the Roman Catholic Bishop of Wollongong, currently Brian Mascord.

History

On 15 November 1951, Pope Pius XII announced that a new diocese would be created from the two archdioceses of Sydney and Canberra & Goulburn. To be named Wollongong, the diocese was officially established on 11 February 1952. Bishop Thomas McCabe was transferred from Port Pirie to become its first bishop and the historic Church of St Francis Xavier in Wollongong became the cathedral. At the time of establishment, there was a Catholic population of approximately 22,000 in 18 parishes.
While the Wollongong diocese is relatively recent, the churches of Campbelltown, Appin, Wollongong, Picton, Kiama, Camden, Shellharbour, Nowra, The Oaks, Albion Park, Bulli, Berrima and Milton-Ulladulla trace their Catholic legacy back to the early times of European settlement and to the era of Archbishop John Bede Polding, Australia's first bishop.
Initially, the diocese was composed of parishes in the Illawarra, Shoalhaven and Southern Highland regions. In 1954 it was expanded to include Camden and Campbelltown and in 1975 the parishes of Batemans Bay, Moruya and Narooma reverted to the Archdiocese of Canberra & Goulburn. The boundaries of the diocese have since remained the same. The most recently established parish is Rosemeadow, which incorporates the church in Appin, the oldest continuously used Catholic church on the Australian mainland.
In 1959 Pope John XXIII dedicated the diocese to the Immaculate Heart of Mary.

Bishops

Bishops of Wollongong

The following individuals have been elected as Bishop of Wollongong:
OrderNameDate enthronedReign endedTerm of officeReason for term end
1Thomas Absolem McCabe15 November 195110 May 1974Resigned and appointed Bishop Emeritus of Wollongong
2William Edward Murray5 June 197512 April 1996Retired and appointed Bishop Emeritus of Wollongong
3Philip Wilson12 April 199630 November 2000Elevated to Archbishop of Adelaide
4Peter Ingham6 June 200130 November 2017Retired and appointed Bishop Emeritus of Wollongong
5Brian Mascord22 February 2018presentn/a

Other priest of this diocese who became bishop

Parishes

The diocese is divided into ten deaneries that administer individual parishes, dedicated to particular saints:
  1. Illawarra deanery with regular liturgical services held in the parishes of Albion Park, Fairy Meadow, Gwynneville, Unanderra, Warrawong, West Wollongong, and Wollongong
  2. Macarthur deanery with regular liturgical services held in the parishes of Camden, Campbelltown, Eagle Vale, Ingleburn, Macquarie Fields, Picton, Rosemeadow, Ruse, The Oaks, and Varroville
  3. South Coast deanery with regular liturgical services held in the parishes of Kangaroo Valley, Kiama, Milton, Nowra, and Vincentia
  4. Southern Highlands deanery with regular liturgical services held in the parishes of Bowral, Mittagong, Moss Vale and Penrose Park

    Other information

The diocese is the eighth largest diocese in Australia in terms of Catholic population and the largest non-capital city diocese. The diocese now ministers to 195,000 Catholics in 31 parishes, with 15 migrant chaplaincies. There are 43 Catholic schools, various youth ministries and a range of aged care, disability and welfare services together with special faith movements in the local area.