Roman Catholic Diocese of Wilcannia–Forbes

The Diocese of Wilcannia–Forbes is a Latin Church ecclesiastical jurisdiction or diocese of the Catholic Church in Australia. It is a suffragan in the ecclesiastical province of the metropolitan Archdiocese of Sydney. The Diocese of Wilcannia–Forbes was established in 1887, initially as the Diocese of Wilcannia (this town on the Darling River was then important due to the dominance of river transport). The diocese adopted its current name in 1917 when six parochial districts of Diocese of Bathurst, including those of Parkes and Forbes, were added to its western neighbour. The diocese covers the Far West region of New South Wales in Australia. The Bishop's office is in Forbes but his seat is in Sacred Heart Cathedral, Broken Hill.

Diocese of Wilcannia–Forbes Dioecesis Vilcanniensis–Forbesinus
Sacred Heart cathedral in Broken Hill; consecrated in 1960
Location
Country	Australia
Territory	Far West region of New South Wales
Ecclesiastical province	Sydney
Coordinates	31°57′12″S 141°27′33″E
Statistics
Area	414,398 km2 (160,000 sq mi)
Population - Total - Catholics	(as of 2004) 118,257 35,904 ( 30.4%)
Parishes	20
Information
Denomination	Catholic Church
Sui iuris church	Latin Church
Rite	Roman Rite
Established	10 May 1887 as the Diocese of Wilcannia; 28 July 1917 as the Diocese of Wilcannia–Forbes
Cathedral	Sacred Heart, Broken Hill
Current leadership
Pope	Francis
Bishop	Columba Macbeth-Green, OSPPE
Metropolitan Archbishop	Anthony Fisher OP
Vicar General	Arthur Givney
Bishops emeritus	Christopher Henry Toohey
Map
Website
Official website

History

In 1887, the Diocese of Wilcannia was erected by Pope Leo XIII, on territories taken from the three now-neighbouring dioceses: Armidale, Bathurst (see below) and Goulburn (later absorbed in the present Canberra-Goulburn Archdiocese), making it one of the oldest dioceses in Australia.

In 1917, the area of the diocese was enlarged (at the expense of the neighbouring Diocese of Bathurst) and its name changed to the Diocese of Wilcannia–Forbes to take account of the added parishes.

On 9 June 2009, Pope Benedict XVI accepted the resignation of Bishop Christopher Toohey due to reasons of personal health. In April 2011, Bishop Toohey released a personal statement admitting that his behaviour during the early years of his ministry with young adults in his pastoral care was "not consistent with that required of a good person". Although the specific behaviours were not mentioned, the church stated that any acts were not criminal in nature. To date, Bishop Toohey is the most senior member of the Church to admit to inappropriate behaviour with young adults. The Pope appointed Sydney auxiliary bishop Terence Brady as apostolic administrator from 2009 until 2011. In 2011 the Bishop Emeritus of Parramatta, Kevin Michael Manning, was appointed to succeed Brady.

Bishops

Ordinaries

The following men have been Bishop of Wilcannia:

Order	Name	Date installed	Term ended	Term of office	Reason for term end
1	John Dunne	13 May 1887	25 December 1916	29 years, 226 days	Died in office

The following individuals have been elected as Bishop of Wilcannia–Forbes:

Order	Name	Date installed	Term ended	Term of office	Reason for term end
1	William Hayden	13 March 1918	11 February 1930	11 years, 335 days	Elevated as Archbishop of Hobart
2	Thomas Martin Fox	9 June 1931	10 July 1967	36 years, 31 days	Died in office
3	Douglas Joseph Warren	26 September 1967	30 March 1994	26 years, 185 days	Retired
4	Barry Francis Collins	30 March 1994	15 November 2000	6 years, 230 days	Died in office
5	Christopher Henry Toohey	9 July 2001	9 June 2009	7 years, 335 days	Resigned
6	Columba Macbeth-Green, OSPPE	12 April 2014	present	10 years, 220 days	Currently bishop

In absence of an appointed Bishop, the following bishops have been appointed as Apostolic Administrator of Wilcannia–Forbes:

• Terence John Gerard Brady – Apostolic Administrator (9 June 2009 – 30 Dec 2011)
• Kevin Michael Manning – Apostolic Administrator (30 December 2011 – 1 December 2012)
• Michael Robert Kennedy – Apostolic Administrator (01 Dec 2012 – 6 July 2014)

Auxiliary bishop

• Douglas Joseph Warren (1964–1967), appointed Bishop here

Other priests of this diocese who became bishops

• Andrew Killian, appointed Bishop of Port Augusta in 1924
• William Joseph Brennan, appointed Bishop of Toowoomba in 1953
• William John Brennan, appointed Bishop of Wagga Wagga in 1984

Cathedral

Sacred Heart Cathedral, Broken Hill has been the cathedral of the diocese since 1905, though the bishops of Wilcannia had their residence in Broken Hill since 1889. The cathedral parish has some 5,500 parishioners, most of whom live in Broken Hill.

Parishes

Churches are located in the following parishes and locations (dedicated to saints as indicated):

Image	Location	Coordinates	Name	Built
	Balranald	34°38′16″S 143°33′52″E	St Dymphna
	Barham		Sacred Heart
	Bogan Gate		All Saints
	Booligal		St Michael
	Bourke		Holy Spirit and St Ignatius
	Brewarrina		St Patrick
	Broken Hill		Sacred Heart Cathedral	1905
	Buronga		St Micheal
	Cobar		St Laurence O'Toole
	Condobolin	33°5′3″S 147°8′46″E	St Joseph
	Dareton		St Maria Goretti
	Deniliquin		St Michael
	Fifield		St Dymphna
	Forbes	32°22′48″S 148°0′29″E	St Laurence O'Toole
	Goolgowi		St John Vianney
	Hay		St Fergal
	Hillston		Our Lady of Good Counsel
	Ivanhoe		St Laurence O'Toole
	Mathoura		St Brigid
	Menindee		St Patrick
	Moama		St Aloysius
	Moulamein		St Mary
Narromine Roman Catholic Church 001	Narromine		Blessed Sacrament and St Augustine
Nevertire Roman Catholic Church 001	Nevertire		St Brigid
	North Broken Hill		Ss Peter and Paul
	Nymagee		St Mary
St Patrick's Roman Catholic church, Nyngan, 2017 (01)	Nyngan	31°33′48″S 147°11′29″E	St Patrick
	Parkes	33°08′17″S 148°10′35″E	Holy Family
	Peak Hill		St James
	Tooleybuc	35°1′43″S 143°20′23″E	St Mary
	Tottenham		St Anthony
	Trangie		St Carthage
	Trundle		St Michael
	Tullamore		St Mary
	Wakool		St Joseph
Warren Roman Catholic Church 002	Warren		St Mary
	Wentworth		St Francis Xavier
	Wilcannia		St John
	Womboota		St Paul

Boundaries

With 414,398 square kilometres (160,000 sq mi) in its territory, the Diocese of Wilcannia–Forbes is the largest diocese in New South Wales. More than half of the State is part of its territory. The Diocese comprises the territory in New South Wales west of a line from the Murray River 16 kilometres (9.9 mi) west of Tocumwal, to the Murrumbidgee River near Darlington Point, to the Lachlan River 32 kilometres (20 mi) down from Euabalong but excluding the Murrumbidgee Irrigation Area; thence to the eastern boundary by the Lachlan River including the whole of the Forbes Shire. The eastern boundary is the Eurow-Nyrang Mountains, the Harvey Range, a line from the junction of the Brummagen Creek and the Macquarie River to a point on the Macquarie River 16 kilometres (9.9 mi) north of Warren, thence north in a straight line crossing the Barwon River, 16 kilometres (9.9 mi) west of Walgett, to the Queensland border, including Carinda, Lightning Ridge and Goodooga. The boundaries were enlarged in 1917 to include six new parochial areas taken from Bathurst Diocese, including the parishes of Forbes and Parkes.

Schools

• Balranald (St Joseph's Primary School)
• Bourke (St Ignatius Primary School)
• Brewarrina (St Patrick's Primary School)
• Broken Hill (Sacred Heart Parish Primary School)
• Cobar (St John's Primary School)
• Condobolin (St Joseph's Primary School)
• Deniliquin (St Michael's Parish School)
• Forbes (St Laurence's Primary School and Red Bend Catholic College
• Hay (St Mary's Primary School)
• Hillston (St Joseph's Primary School)
• Narromine (St Augustine's Primary School)
• Nyngan (St Joseph's Primary School)
• Parkes (Holy Family Primary School)
• Peak Hill (St Joseph's Primary School)
• Trangie (St John's Primary School)
• Trundle (St Patrick's Primary School)
• Warren (St Mary's Primary School)
• Wilcannia (St Therese's Community School)

See also

• Catholic Church in Australia

External links

• Catholic Diocese of Wilcannia–Forbes
• Schools Office - Catholic Diocese of Wilcannia–Forbes