The Roman Catholic Diocese of Parramatta is a suffragan

Suffragan Diocese

A suffragan diocese is a diocese in the Catholic Church that is overseen not only by its own diocesan bishop but also by a metropolitan bishop. The metropolitan is always an archbishop who governs his own archdiocese...

 Latin rite diocese of the Archdiocese of Sydney

Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Sydney

The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Sydney is a Latin rite metropolitan archdiocese, located in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.Erected in 1842 and directly responsible to the Holy See, the Archdiocese is responsible for the suffragan dioceses of Armidale, Bathurst, Broken Bay, Lismore,...

, established in 1986, covering the western suburbs

Greater Western Sydney

Greater Western Sydney is a term used to describe the western region of the metropolitan area of Sydney, Australia. The University of Western Sydney defines Greater Western Sydney as comprising 14 local government areas...

 of Sydney

Sydney

Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...

, New South Wales

New South Wales

New South Wales is a state of :Australia, located in the east of the country. It is bordered by Queensland, Victoria and South Australia to the north, south and west respectively. To the east, the state is bordered by the Tasman Sea, which forms part of the Pacific Ocean. New South Wales...

, Australia

Australia

Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...

.

History

The Diocese is located in one of the fastest growing areas of New South Wales, Australia. 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 individuals have been elected as Roman Catholic Bishop of Parramatta:

Order	Name	Date enthroned	Reign ended	Term of office	Reason for term end
1	Bede Heather	8 Aprril 1986	10 July 1997		Retired and appointed Bishop Emeritus of Parramatta
2	Kevin Manning	10 July 1997	8 January 2010		Retired and appointed Bishop Emeritus of Parramatta
3	Anthony Fisher Anthony Fisher Bishop Anthony Fisher is the Catholic Bishop of Parramatta, NSW Australia and a friar of the Order of Preachers . He was installed as the third Bishop of Parramatta on 4 March 2010, having previously served as Auxiliary Bishop of the Archdiocese of Sydney.-Early life and education:Anthony Fisher... , O.P.	8 January 2010	present		n/a

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 re-built after a 1996 fire devastated the original church, established in 1854. A tower was built on the original St Patrick's Church, that was consecrated in 1880 and blessed in 1883. A cast broze 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 (pictured above). 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

Romaldo Giurgola

Romaldo Giurgola AO is an Italian-American-Australian academic architect, professor, and author. Giurgola was born in Galatina, in the south of Italy in 1920. After service in the Italian armed forces during World War II, he was educated at the Sapienza University of Rome...

, the new cathedral that was completed in 2003 has won the Sir Zelman Cowen

Zelman Cowen

Sir Zelman Cowen, was the 19th Governor-General of Australia. He is currently the oldest living former Governor-General of Australia.-Early life:...

 Award for Public Buildings from the Australian Institute of Architects.

External links

• Catholic Diocese of Parramatta