Catholic Intelligence

Archdiocese of Brisbane

Brisbanen(sis)

The Archdiocese of Brisbane covers southeast Queensland and serves as metropolitan see for the suffragan dioceses of Cairns, Rockhampton, Toowoomba and Townsville. Founded as a diocese in 1859 and elevated to an archdiocese in 1887, it is led by Archbishop Shane Mackinlay, installed on 11 September 2025.

The see

Rank
Metropolitan see
Tradition
Latin Church
Erected
12 April 1859
Latin
Brisbanen(sis)
Patron
Saint Mary MacKillop
Annuario code
001000958

The see in figures

Catholics
663,000
Population
2,849,000
Catholic share
23.3%

of the people living within its bounds

Priests
245
Catholics per priest
2,706
Extent
65,000 km²
Catholics per km²
10

Figures as recorded in the register, from the Annuario Pontificio and the see's own published statements. Shares and ratios are computed from the two figures shown beside them.

The bishop

Archbishop
Shane Mackinlay

A see whose chair stands empty is recorded as vacant rather than filled with a guess. On what a bishop is, see the bishop.

The cathedral

Cathedral of St Stephen, Brisbane stands in Brisbane, the church that holds the cathedra from which this see takes its name.

On what a cathedral is, see the cathedral; every see church on earth is gathered at the cathedrals.

The province of Brisbane

This see is the metropolitan of its province.

The sees of this province:

On how the Church is ordered into provinces, see the diocese.

History

Covering south east Queensland and centred on Brisbane, this Latin Church metropolitan archdiocese heads the Ecclesiastical Province of Brisbane. The region was at first administered by the Archdiocese of Sydney; the Diocese of Brisbane was erected in 1859 and raised to an archdiocese in 1887.

What is kept by invitation

The record above is published because it is public: what this see is, when it was erected, who holds its chair, and where it stands among its neighbours.

The working record is not. The chancery's address, telephone and email, the clergy of the see, and the hours of Mass, confession and adoration in the parishes within it are kept for members, and a person reads every request.

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Sources

The see's own website · Wikipedia

This record is compiled from the published statements of the see and the references of the Holy See, among them the Annuario Pontificio. On the method, see the keeping of the record. Whoever finds an error is asked, in charity, to write: [email protected].