Catholic Intelligence

Diocese of Sandhurst

Sandhursten(sis)

Latin Church diocese erected in 1874 covering central and north-east Victoria, a suffragan of the Archdiocese of Melbourne with its seat at Sacred Heart Cathedral, Bendigo. René Ramirez RCJ was appointed ninth bishop on April 11, 2026, succeeding Shane Mackinlay who was transferred to Brisbane.

The see

Rank
Suffragan diocese
Tradition
Latin Church
Erected
30 March 1874
Latin
Sandhursten(sis)
Annuario code
001002886

The see in figures

Catholics
91,400
Population
341,850
Catholic share
26.7%

of the people living within its bounds

Priests
53
Catholics per priest
1,725
Extent
45,178 km²
Catholics per km²
2.0

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
René Ramirez, RCJ

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

Sacred Heart Cathedral, Bendigo stands in Sandhurst, 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 Melbourne

A suffragan of Archdiocese of Melbourne.

The sees of this province:

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

History

Central and north-east Victoria, including Bendigo, form the territory of the Diocese of Sandhurst, a Latin Church jurisdiction erected in 1874 and suffragan to the metropolitan Archdiocese of Melbourne. The bishop's seat is Sacred Heart Cathedral in Bendigo.

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.

Ask to enter

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].