The Roman Catholic Diocese of Sale 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 Archdiocese of Melbourne

Archdiocese of Melbourne

The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Melbourne is a Latin rite metropolitan archdiocese, located in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.Erected initially in 1847 as the Diocese of Melbourne, a suffragan diocese of Archdiocese of Sydney, the diocese was elevated in 1874 as an archdiocese of the...

, established in 1887, covering the south east of Victoria

Victoria (Australia)

Victoria is the second most populous state in Australia. Geographically the smallest mainland state, Victoria is bordered by New South Wales, South Australia, and Tasmania on Boundary Islet to the north, west and south respectively....

, 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...

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History

The Diocese of Sale was erected by Pope Leo XIII on 26 April 1887. The first bishop, James Francis Corbett, was a priest of the Diocese of Limerick, Ireland, who was responsible for the Mission (later Parish) of St Kilda and Chancellor of the Archdiocese of Melbourne at the time of his appointment. It was in St Mary's Church East St Kilda that Corbett was consecrated bishop by Archbishop Thomas Carr of Melbourne on 25 August 1887. Bishop Corbett consecrated St Patrick's Cathedral, Melbourne, on account of his superior vocal ability.

The second Bishop of Sale, Patrick Phelan, saw to the establishment of a school system in the Diocese. The fourth bishop, Joseph Lyons, presided over the 1959 change to the boundaries of the Diocese, which saw the parishes of Berwick, Cranbourne, Pakenham, Iona, Maryknoll, Koo Wee Rup, Dalyston and Korrumburra incorporated into Sale. These areas were excised from the Melbourne Archdiocese and while they were mainly rural areas at the time, and it is these parishes which have seen rapid growth and are now considered outer suburbs of the Melbourne metropolitan area.

Bishop Christopher Prowse is the eighth Bishop of Sale. He was installed on 15 July 2009. He was previously Auxiliary Bishop of Melbourne (2003-2009).

Ordinaries

The following individuals have been elected as Roman Catholic Bishop of Sale:

Order	Name	Date enthroned	Reign ended	Term of office	Reason for term end
1	James Francis Corbett	13 May 1887	29 May 1912		Died in office
2	Patrick Phelan	2 November 1912	5 January 1925		Died in office
3	Richard Ryan C.M.	10 March 1926	16 June 1957		Died in office
4	Patrick Lyons	16 June 1957	13 August 1967		Died in office
5	Arthur Fox	29 November 1967	25 February 1981		Retired and appointed Bishop Emeritus of Sale
6	Eric D'Arcy Eric D'Arcy Joseph Eric D'Arcy was the Roman Catholic Archbishop of Hobart from 1988 - 1999.Born in Melbourne, he was ordained as a priest of that city in 1949...	25 February 1981	24 October 1988		Elevated to Archbishop Archbishop An archbishop is a bishop of higher rank, but not of higher sacramental order above that of the three orders of deacon, priest , and bishop...  of Hobart
7	Jeremiah Coffey Jeremiah Coffey (Roman Catholic bishop) Jeremiah Joseph Coffey Jeremiah Joseph Coffey Jeremiah Joseph Coffey (born 1 January 1933 is a Roman Catholic Bishop of the Diocese of Sale, Australia. He was born in Cork, County Cork Ireland. He was ordained a priest on 22 June 1958 for the diocese and was appointed Bishop on 8 April 1989. He...	8 April 1989	2 January 2008		Retired and appointed Bishop Emeritus of Sale
8	Christopher Prowse	18 June 2009	present		n/a

Cathedral

St Mary's Cathedral, Sale is the cathedral church of the Diocese, under the patronage of Our Lady of Perpetual Help. Purpose-built as a cathedral, St Mary's boasts a Romanesque onyx high altar, impressive stained glass windows and a large statue of Mary Help of Christians as its features. Four of Sale's bishops are buried in the Cathedral: Bishop Corbett lays in the main section of the church beneath the front rows of pews on the right hand side, and Bishops Ryan, Lyons and Fox are interred in the Lady Chapel.

Boundaries

The diocese covers the southeastern part of Victoria, from the eastern suburbs of Melbourne

Melbourne

Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...

 to the 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...

 border, including all of Gippsland

Gippsland

Gippsland is a large rural region in Victoria, Australia. It begins immediately east of the suburbs of Melbourne and stretches to the New South Wales border, lying between the Great Dividing Range to the north and Bass Strait to the south...

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External links

• Roman Catholic Diocese of Sale