Catholic IntelligenceA work of service to the Church

Archdiocese of Melbourne

Melburnen(sis)

The Archdiocese of Melbourne is the metropolitan see for the ecclesiastical province of Melbourne, with suffragan dioceses of Ballarat, Sale, and Sandhurst. Erected in 1847 and elevated to an archdiocese in 1874, it is led by Archbishop Peter Comensoli, appointed in 2018.

The see

Rank
Metropolitan see
Tradition
Latin Church
Erected
25 June 1847
Latin
Melburnen(sis)
Patron
Saint Patrick
Annuario code
001002213

The see in figures

Catholics
1,264,150
Population
4,810,000
Catholic shareof the people living within its bounds
26.3%
Priests
511
Catholics per priest
2,474
Extent
27,194 km²
Catholics per km²
46

Figures as recorded in the register, from the Annuario Pontificio and the see's own published statements. Shares and ratios are computed from the two figures shown beside them.

The bishop

Archbishop
Peter A. Comensoli

A see whose chair stands empty is recorded as vacant rather than filled with a guess. On what a bishop is, see the bishop.

The cathedral

St Patrick's Cathedral, Melbourne stands in Melbourne, the church that holds the cathedra from which this see takes its name.

On what a cathedral is, see the cathedral; every see church on earth is gathered at the cathedrals.

The province of Melbourne

This see is the metropolitan of its province.

The sees of this province:

On how the Church is ordered into provinces, see the diocese.

History

First erected in 1847 as the Diocese of Melbourne, a suffragan of the Archdiocese of Sydney, the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Melbourne was raised in 1874 to a metropolitan archdiocese in Victoria, Australia. As head of the Ecclesiastical Province of Melbourne it is the metropolitan see for the suffragan dioceses of Sale, Sandhurst and Ballarat, together with the Ukrainian Catholic Eparchy of Ss Peter and Paul.

Catholic Intelligence

Get early access

We are indexing the whole visible Church: every diocese and parish on earth, searchable and mapped, with Mass times, clergy, and diocesan contacts. Launching soon. Sign up to be first in when it opens, starting with [object Object].

One email at launch. Nothing else.

Sources

The see's own website · Wikipedia

Compiled from the published statements of the see and the references of the Holy See, among them the Annuario Pontificio. Corrections: hello@catholicintelligence.com.