Diocese of Toowoomba Dioecesis Tuumbanus | |
---|---|
Location | |
Country | Australia |
Territory | Darling Downs and South West regions of Queensland |
Ecclesiastical province | Province of Brisbane |
Metropolitan | Brisbane |
Coordinates | 27°33′41″S151°57′53″E / 27.56139°S 151.96472°E |
Statistics | |
Area | 487,456 km2 (188,208 sq mi) |
Population - Total - Catholics | (as of 2004) 232,900 65,912 ( 28.3%%) |
Parishes | 35 |
Information | |
Denomination | Roman Catholic |
Rite | Latin Rite |
Established | 28 May 1929 |
Cathedral | St Patrick's Cathedral, Toowoomba |
Patron saint | Mary of the Southern Cross, Blessed Virgin Mary |
Secular priests | 50 |
Current leadership | |
Pope | Francis |
Bishop | Kenneth Howell |
Bishops emeritus | Robert McGuckin William Morris |
Map | |
Website | |
Roman Catholic Diocese of Toowoomba |
The Roman Catholic Diocese of Toowoomba: is a suffragan diocese of the Archdiocese of Brisbane, established in 1929, covering the Darling Downs and south west regions of Queensland, Australia.
St Patrick's Cathedral is the seat of the Catholic Bishop of Toowoomba. The diocese covers an area of 487,000 square kilometres (188,000 sq mi). with 48 priests and 57 members of religious orders. There are 77,400 Catholics among the 276,700 total population within the diocese's borders.[ citation needed ]
In 1929, the Diocese of Toowoomba was excised from the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Brisbane. [1]
Bishop Bill Morris was appointed in 1992 to head the Toowoomba diocese. In 2006 he released a pastoral letter [2] calling for discussion of the ordination of married men and the ordination of women to compensate for the lack of priests in his large diocese. [3]
An apostolic visitation of the diocese was conducted by Charles J. Chaput OFM Cap., then Archbishop of Denver, [4] during April 2007. Discussions continued between Morris and the Vatican for several years.
On 1 May 2011, Bishop Morris announced his early retirement at age 67, stressing the fact that he had not resigned. On 2 May 2011, the Holy See removed Morris from pastoral care of the diocese, attracting international press coverage. The Holy See appointed Brian Vincent Finnigan, Auxiliary Bishop of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Brisbane, to serve as Apostolic Administrator of the Diocese. [5]
On 14 May 2012, it was announced that Pope Benedict XVI had named the Reverend Monsignor Robert McGuckin as bishop-elect of the Toowoomba diocese. He was installed on 11 July.
On 24 May 2023, Pope Francis announced Bishop Kenneth Howell would be the Bishop of the Diocese of Toowoomba, after accepting the resignation of Bishop Robert McGuckin. [6]
The following have served as Bishops of Toowoomba: [7]
Order | Name | Date enthroned | Reign ended | Term of office | Reason for term end |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | James Byrne | 28 May 1929 | 11 February 1938 | 8 years, 259 days | Died in office |
2 | Joseph Basil Roper | 13 July 1938 | 14 October 1952 | 14 years, 93 days | Resigned and appointed Bishop Emeritus of Toowoomba |
3 | William Joseph Brennan | 7 August 1953 | 11 September 1975 | 22 years, 35 days | Died in office |
4 | Edward Francis Kelly, MSC | 19 December 1975 | 20 November 1992 | 16 years, 337 days | Retired and appointed Bishop Emeritus |
5 | William Morris | 20 November 1992 | 2 May 2011 | 18 years, 163 days | Retired [3] [8] [9] and appointed Bishop Emeritus |
6 | Robert McGuckin | 11 July 2012 | 24 May 2023 | 10 years, 317 days | Retired and appointed Bishop Emeritus |
7 | Kenneth Howell | 24 May 2023 | present | 1 year, 158 days | |
There are currently 35 parishes in the diocese and 42 diocesan priests.
The diocese has the following schools:
The diocese has a number of heritage-listed sites, including:
In February 2014 the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse, a royal commission of inquiry initiated in 2013 by the Australian Government and supported by all of its state governments, [12] began an investigation into allegations of child sexual abuse and the response by the Diocesan Catholic Education Office. [13] The former Bishop of Toowoomba, Bill Morris, admitted that "there had been a number of significant systemic failings which led to the failure to properly deal with" the abuse of thirteen young girls at a Toowoomba Catholic primary School in 2007–08. [14]
Charles Joseph Chaput OFMCap is an American prelate of the Catholic Church. He was the ninth archbishop of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia in Pennsylvania, serving from 2011 until 2020. He previously served as archbishop of the Archdiocese of Denver in Colorado (1997–2011) and bishop of the Diocese of Rapid City in South Dakota (1988–1997). Chaput was the first archbishop of Philadelphia in 100 years who was not named a cardinal.
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William Martin Morris is an Australian Catholic prelate who served as Bishop of Toowoomba from 1992 to 2011. In May 2011, the Holy See removed Morris from office, attracting international press coverage.
Robert McGuckin is a retired Catholic Bishop who was the Bishop of Toowoomba in Queensland, Australia, from July 2012 until his retirement in 2023.
Christopher Charles Prowse is an Australian Roman Catholic bishop. He is currently the archbishop of the Archdiocese of Canberra – Goulburn; appointed to the post on 12 September 2013 and installed as archbishop on 19 November 2013. On 12 September 2016, Prowse was named as apostolic administrator of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Wagga Wagga following the retirement of Bishop Gerard Hanna. On 26 May 2020, Pope Francis announced Mark Stuart Edwards would become the sixth Bishop of Wagga Wagga, however Prowse remained apostolic administrator until Bishop Edwards' installation on 22 July 2020.
Peter Andrew Comensoli is an Australian Catholic prelate who was named the ninth Archbishop of Melbourne on 29 June 2018.
Dr James Byrne (1870–1938) was an Irish-born priest, who served as the first Roman Catholic Bishop of Toowoomba, in Queensland, Australia.
Michael McCarthy is the bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Rockhampton. He was previously a priest of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Brisbane. He was consecrated by Archbishop Mark Coleridge at St Joseph's Cathedral, Rockhampton on 29 May 2014.
Kenneth Howell is the bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Toowoomba. He was previously an auxiliary bishop of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Brisbane. He was consecrated by Archbishop Mark Coleridge at St Stephen's Cathedral, Brisbane on 14 June 2017. He was appointed Bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Toowoomba by Pope Francis on 24 May 2023.
Brian Finnigan is the auxiliary bishop emeritus of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Brisbane. He retired as auxiliary bishop on 30 December 2015 amid accusations he was not honest when giving evidence before the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse. He was consecrated by Archbishop John Bathersby on 8 April 2002.