Diocese of Cairns
Cairnen(sis)
Suffragan diocese · Latin Church · Cairns, Australia
The Diocese of Cairns covers far north Queensland including the Tablelands, Cape York and the Torres Strait. Erected as a vicariate apostolic in 1877 and elevated to a diocese in 1941, it is a suffragan of the Archdiocese of Brisbane, led by Bishop Joseph Caddy who was ordained in 2024.
The see
- Rank
- Suffragan diocese
- Tradition
- Latin Church
- Erected
- 10 May 1887
- Latin
- Cairnen(sis)
- Annuario code
- 001001010
The see in figures
- Catholics
- 59,912
- Population
- 235,396
- Catholic share
- 25.5%
- Priests
- 23
- Catholics per priest
- 2,605
- Extent
- 377,000 km²
- Catholics per km²
- 0.2
of the people living within its bounds
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
- Bishop
- Joseph Caddy
- Born
- 14 January 1960
- Birthplace
- Melbourne
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
St Monica's War Memorial Cathedral, Cairns stands in Cairns, 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
A suffragan of Archdiocese of Brisbane.
The sees of this province:
- Archdiocese of BrisbaneBrisbane
- Diocese of RockhamptonRockhampton
- Diocese of ToowoombaToowoomba
- Diocese of TownsvilleTownsville
On how the Church is ordered into provinces, see the diocese.
History
Catholic life in Far North Queensland is organised under the Diocese of Cairns, a Latin Church see suffragan to the Archdiocese of Brisbane. Its origins go back to 1877, when the territory was erected as a vicariate apostolic; full diocesan status came in 1941. The bishop's seat is St Monica's Cathedral. On 6 June, 2024, Joe Caddy, who had served as Vicar general of the Archdiocese of Melbourne, was announced as the new bishop of Cairns.
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.
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].