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.^[1] 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.

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 6 September 1950, Pope Pius XII accepted a request from Thomas Martin Fox, who was Bishop of Wilcannia-Forbes at the time, to declare the Blessed Virgin Mary, under the title of Our Lady of Perpetual Help, as Patroness of the Diocese.^[2]

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.^[3] 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.^[4]

Bishops

Ordinaries

The following men have been Bishop of Wilcannia:^[5]

The following individuals have been elected as Bishop of Wilcannia–Forbes:^[5]

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):^[6]

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.^[1]

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)