Roman Catholic Diocese of Parramatta

Diocese of Parramatta Dioecesis Parramattensis
St Patrick's Cathedral, Parramatta; consecrated in 1837; devastated by fire in 1996; rededicated in 2003
Location
Country	Australia
Territory	Western suburbs of Sydney, New South Wales and Blue Mountains
Metropolitan	Archdiocese of Sydney
Coordinates	33°48′29″S 151°00′16″E / 33.80806°S 151.00444°E
Statistics
Area	4,289 km^2 (1,656 sq mi)
Population - Total - Catholics	(as of 2004) 924,621 330,000 ( 33.2%)
Parishes	47
Information
Denomination	Roman Catholic
Sui iuris church	Latin Church
Rite	Roman Rite
Established	8 April 1986
Cathedral	St Patrick's Cathedral
Current leadership
Pope	Francis
Bishop	Vincent Long Van Nguyen OFM Conv
Metropolitan Archbishop	Anthony Fisher OP
Vicar General	Christopher de Souza Peter G Williams
Emeritus Bishops	Bede Vincent Heather Kevin Michael Manning
Website
parracatholic.org

The Roman Catholic Diocese of Parramatta is a suffragan Latin Church diocese of the Archdiocese of Sydney, established in 1986, covering the western suburbs of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.

St Patrick's Cathedral, Parramatta is the seat of the Catholic Bishop of Parramatta. On 5 May 2016, Pope Francis appointed the Most Rev. Vincent Long Van Nguyen OFM Conv to be its fourth bishop.^[1] His installation took place on 16 June 2016.

History

The diocese is located in one of the fastest-growing areas of New South Wales. The diocese is west of Sydney and reaches from Dundas Valley, west to Katoomba, south to Luddenham and north to Richmond. The diocese was established 8 April 1986 and by 2004 served 307,392 parishioners out of a total population of 924,621.

Bishops of Parramatta

The following prelates have served as Bishop of Parramatta:^[2]

Order	Name	Date enthroned	Reign ended	Term of office	Reason for term end
1	Bede Vincent Heather	8 April 1986	10 July 1997	11 years, 93 days	Resigned and appointed Bishop Emeritus of Parramatta. Resides on the Central Coast.
2	Kevin Michael Manning	10 July 1997	8 January 2010	12 years, 182 days	Retired and appointed Bishop Emeritus of Parramatta. Is in residence at St Patrick's Cathedral, Parramatta
3	Anthony Fisher, OP	8 January 2010	12 November 2014	4 years, 253 days	Elevated to Archbishop of Sydney
4	Vincent Long Van Nguyen, OFM Conv	16 June 2016		183 days

Cathedral

With origins of the first Mass occurring on the present day site of the cathedral going back to 1803, St Patrick's was extensively rebuilt after a 1996 fire devastated the original church established in 1854. A tower was built on the original St Patrick's Church, which was consecrated in 1880 and blessed in 1883. A cast bronze bell was installed in the tower in 1904. As the needs of the parish grew, a new church was built on the site in 1936, incorporating the existing tower and spire. When the Diocese of Parramatta was established in 1986, St Patrick's Church was designated as St Patrick's Cathedral. The fire of 1996 completely devastated the cathedral, leaving only the bell tower and sandstone walls. A completely new cathedral was rebuilt adjacent to the historic fire ravaged site. Designed in consultation with Romaldo Giurgola, the new cathedral, completed in 2003, has won the Sir Zelman Cowen Award for Public Buildings from the Australian Institute of Architects.^[3][4][5][6]

Parishes

There are 49 parishes located in Diocese of Parramatta within seven deaneries.

Blacktown Deanery Blacktown - St Patrick's Parish Blacktown South - St Michael's Parish Doonside - St John Vianney Parish Lalor Park - St Bernadette's Parish Marayong - St Andrew's Parish Plumpton - Good Shepherd Parish Rooty Hill - St Aidan's Parish Seven Hills - Our Lady of Lourdes Parish Blue Mountains Deanery Blackheath - Sacred Heart Parish Emu Plains - Our Lady of the Way Parish Glenbrook - St Finbar's Parish Lawson - Our Lady of the Nativity Parish Springwood - St Thomas Aquinas Parish Upper Blue Mountains - St Mary of the Cross Mackillop Parish

Hawkesbury Deanery Glenwood-Stanhope Gardens - St John XXIII Parish Kellyville - Our Lady of The Rosary Parish Quakers Hill-Schofields - Mary Immaculate Parish Richmond - St Monica's Parish Riverstone - St John the Evangelist Parish Rouse Hill - Our Lady of the Angels Parish Windsor - St Matthew's Parish Hills Deanery Baulkham Hills - St Michael's Parish Castle Hill - St Bernadette's Parish Kenthurst - St Madeleine Sophie Barat Parish North Rocks - Christ the King Parish Winston Hills - St Paul the Apostle Parish Holroyd Deanery Greystanes - Our Lady Queen of Peace Parish Guildford - St Patrick's Parish Merrylands - St Margaret Mary's Parish Toongabbie - St Anthony of Padua Parish Wentworthville - Our Lady of Mt Carmel Parish

Nepean Deanery Cranebrook - Corpus Christi Parish Glenmore Park - Padre Pio Parish Kingswood - St Joseph's Parish Luddenham-Warragamba - Sacred Heart Parish Mt Druitt - Holy Family Parish Mt Druitt South - Sacred Heart Parish Penrith - St Nicholas of Myra Parish St Clair - Holy Spirit Parish St Marys - Our Lady of the Rosary Parish Parramatta Deanery Dundas Valley - St Bernadette's Parish Granville - Holy Trinity Parish Granville East - Holy Family Parish Harris Park - St Oliver Plunkett's Parish Parramatta - St Patrick's Cathedral Parish Parramatta North - St Monica's Parish Rydalmere - Holy Name of Mary Parish Westmead - Sacred Heart Parish

See also

• Roman Catholicism in Australia

References

1. Diocese of Parramatta
2. "Diocese of Parramatta". The Hierarchy of the Catholic Church. 19 February 2011. Retrieved 6 January 2007.
3. "St Patrick's Cathedral, Parramatta" (PDF). Cathedral Parish of Parramatta. 18 July 2011. Retrieved 26 September 2011.
4. Crittenden, Stephen (4 December 2002). "A new cathedral for Parramatta" (transcript). The Religion Report. Australia. Retrieved 26 September 2011.
5. Crittenden, Stephen (3 December 2003). "New Cathedral for Parramatta (Part 2)" (transcript). The Religion Report. Australia. Retrieved 26 September 2011.
6. "St Patrick's Cathedral, Parramatta". Sir Zelman Cowen Award for Public Buildings. Australian Institute of Architects. 2003. Retrieved 26 September 2011.

External links

• Catholic Diocese of Parramatta