Archdiocese of Canberra and Goulburn, Australia 🇦🇺

Continent: Oceania

Rite: Roman (Latin)

Type: Archdiocese

Name: Canberra and Goulburn (English) / Camberren(sis) et Gulburnen(sis) (Latin)

Immediately subject to the Holy See

Neighbouring Dioceses: Wagga Wagga (←), Wilcannia–Forbes (↖), Bathurst (↑), Wollongong (↗), Sale (↓)

Depends on: Dicastery for Bishops

Websites:

Celebrations

Liturgical Calendar (National) 📅

History

1948.02.05: Established as Archdiocese of Canberra and Goulburn (English) / Camberren(sis) et Gulburnen(sis) (Latin) (from the suppressed Diocese of Goulburn and without ecclesiastical province)
1951.11.15: Lost territory to establish Diocese of Wollongong

Contact Info

Address: 51 Cooyong St., Braddon, ACT 2612; GPO Box 3089, Canberra, ACT 2601, Australia

Phone: +61 2 6201 9800

Papal Visits

Pope John Paul II (1986.11)

Present Prelates

Archbishop (2013.09.12 – ...):

Archbishop Christopher Charles Prowse (72)

Monsignors (7)

Ordinaries

Archbishops of Canberra and Goulburn (Roman Rite)

Archbishop Christopher Charles Prowse (72)
(2013.09.12 – ...)

Archbishop of Canberra and Goulburn (Australia)

Only Jesus

Born:	1953.11.14 (East Melbourne, Victoria, Australia)
Ordained Priest:	1980.08.16
Consecrated Bishop:	2003.05.19

Priest of Melbourne (Australia) (1980.08.16 – 2003.04.04)

Chaplain of His Holiness (2001.10.06 – 2003.04.04)

Titular Bishop of Bahanna (2003.04.04 – 2009.06.18)

Auxiliary Bishop of Melbourne (Australia) (2003.04.04 – 2009.06.18)

Bishop of Sale (Australia) (2009.06.18 – 2013.09.12)

Archbishop of Canberra and Goulburn (Australia) (2013.09.12 – ...)

Apostolic Administrator of Wagga Wagga (Australia) (2016.09.12 – 2020.05.26)

Apostolic Administrator of the Military Ordinariate of Australia (Australia) (2021.05.24 – 2026.07.03)

Archbishop Mark Benedict Coleridge (77)
(2006.06.19 – 2012.04.02)

Metropolitan Archbishop emeritus of Brisbane (Australia)

Sanguis et aqua

Born:	1948.09.25 (Melbourne, Victoria, Australia)
Ordained Priest:	1974.05.18
Consecrated Bishop:	2002.06.19

Priest of Melbourne (Australia) (1974.05.18 – 2002.05.03)

Chaplain of His Holiness (2001.12.07 – 2002.05.03)

Titular Bishop of Theveste (2002.05.03 – 2006.06.19)

Auxiliary Bishop of Melbourne (Australia) (2002.05.03 – 2006.06.19)

Archbishop of Canberra and Goulburn (Australia) (2006.06.19 – 2012.04.02)

Metropolitan Archbishop of Brisbane (Australia) (2012.04.02 – 2025.06.18)

Vice-President of Australian Catholic Bishops Conference (2016.05.06 – 2018.05.04)

President of Australian Catholic Bishops Conference (2018.05.04 [2018.05.10] – 2022.05.06)

Archbishop Francis Patrick Carroll
(1983.06.25 – 2006.06.19)

Nova et vetera

Born:	1930.09.09 (Ganmain, New South Wales, Australia)
Ordained Priest:	1954.07.27
Consecrated Bishop:	1967.09.05
Died:	2024.03.14 (Wagga Wagga, New South Wales, Australia † 93)

Priest of Wagga Wagga (Australia) (1954.07.27 – 1967.06.12)

Titular Bishop of Tasaccora (1967.06.12 – 1968.02.24)

Coadjutor Bishop of Wagga Wagga (Australia) (1967.06.12 – 1968.02.24)

Bishop of Wagga Wagga (Australia) (1968.02.24 – 1983.06.25)

Archbishop of Canberra and Goulburn (Australia) (1983.06.25 – 2006.06.19)

President of Australian Catholic Bishops Conference (2000 – 2006.05.05)

Archbishop Edward Bede Clancy (later Cardinal)
(1978.11.24 – 1983.02.12)

Fides mundum vincit

Born:	1923.12.13 (Lithgow, New South Wales, Australia)
Ordained Priest:	1949.04.24
Consecrated Bishop:	1974.01.19
Created Cardinal:	1988.06.28
Died:	2014.08.03 (Randwick, New South Wales, Australia † 90)

Priest of Sydney (Australia) (1949.04.24 – 1973.10.25)

Titular Bishop of Ardcarne (1973.10.25 – 1978.11.24)

Auxiliary Bishop of Sydney (Australia) (1973.10.25 – 1978.11.24)

Archbishop of Canberra and Goulburn (Australia) (1978.11.24 – 1983.02.12)

Metropolitan Archbishop of Sydney (Australia) (1983.02.12 – 2001.03.26)

President of Australian Catholic Bishops Conference (1986 – 2000)

Cardinal-Priest of S. Maria in Vallicella (1988.06.28 – 2014.08.03)

Archbishop Thomas Vincent Cahill
(1967.04.13 – 1978.04.16)

Born:	1913.02.22 (Bendigo, Victoria, Australia)
Ordained Priest:	1935.09.21
Consecrated Bishop:	1949.02.09
Died:	1978.04.16 (Sydney, New South Wales, Australia † 65)

Priest of Sandhurst (Australia) (1935.09.21 – 1948.11.11)

Bishop of Cairns (Australia) (1948.11.11 – 1967.04.13)

Archbishop of Canberra and Goulburn (Australia) (1967.04.13 – 1978.04.16)

Archbishop Eris Norman Michael O’Brien
(1953.11.16 – 1966.11.20)

Born:	1895.09.29 (Condobolin, New South Wales, Australia)
Ordained Priest:	1918.11.30
Consecrated Bishop:	1948.04.06
Died:	1974.02.28 (Richmond, New South Wales, Australia † 78)

Priest of Sydney (Australia) (1918.11.30 – 1948.02.05)

Titular Bishop of Alinda (1948.02.05 – 1951.01.11)

Auxiliary Bishop of Sydney (Australia) (1948.02.05 – 1951.01.11)

Titular Archbishop of Cyrrhus (1951.01.11 – 1953.11.16)

Coadjutor Archbishop of Canberra and Goulburn (Australia) (1951.01.11 – 1953.11.16)

Archbishop of Canberra and Goulburn (Australia) (1953.11.16 – 1966.11.20)

Titular Archbishop of Apamea in Syria (1966.11.20 – 1974.02.28)

Archbishop Terence Bernard McGuire
(1948.02.05 – 1953.11.16)

Born:	1881.09.17 (Moree, New South Wales, Australia)
Ordained Priest:	1904.03.19
Consecrated Bishop:	1930.05.25
Died:	1957.07.04 (Goulburn, New South Wales, Australia † 75)

Priest of Lismore (Australia) (1904.03.19 – 1930.02.12)

Bishop of Townsville (Australia) (1930.02.12 – 1938.06.14)

Bishop of Goulburn (Australia) (1938.06.14 – 1948.02.05)

Archbishop of Canberra and Goulburn (Australia) (1948.02.05 – 1953.11.16)

Titular Archbishop of Leontopolis in Augustamnica (1953.11.16 – 1957.07.04)

Former Prelates

Coadjutor Archbishop: Archbishop Eris Norman Michael O’Brien (1951.01.11 – 1953.11.16)
Auxiliary Bishop: Bishop Patrick Percival Power (1986.03.08 – 2012.06.07)
Auxiliary Bishop: Bishop Patrick Dougherty (1976.10.15 – 1983.09.01)
Auxiliary Bishop: Bishop John Aloysius Morgan (1969.03.06 – 1985.01.02)
Auxiliary Bishop: Bishop John Neil Cullinane (1959.01.13 – 1967.11.29)
Auxiliary Bishop: Bishop Guilford Clyde Young (later Archbishop) (1948.07.15 – 1954.10.10)

Special Churches

Cathedral: St Christopher’s Cathedral, Manuka, Australian Capital Territory
Former Cathedral: Old Cathedral of St Peter and St Paul, Goulburn, New South Wales
Jubilee Churches in the Extraordinary Jubilee of Mercy (2016)
Jubilee Churches in the Holy Year 2025

Churches by City (109)

Wagga Wagga (←), Wilcannia–Forbes (↖), Bathurst (↑), Wollongong (↗), Sale (↓)

Statistics (2022.12.31)

Area: 88,000 km²

Population: 186,570 Catholics (27.0% of 691,740 total)

Pastoral Centres: 57 parishes, 5 missions

Personnel: 72 priests (54 diocesan, 18 religious), 7 deacons, 82 religious (22 brothers, 60 sisters), 2 seminarians