Diocese of Christchurch
Christopolitan(us)
Suffragan diocese · Latin Church · Christchurch, New Zealand
Latin rite diocese covering much of the South Island of New Zealand, seated in Christchurch. Erected on 10 May 1887, it is a suffragan of the Archdiocese of Wellington. The Cathedral of the Blessed Sacrament was demolished after the 2011 earthquakes; St Mary's Pro-Cathedral serves as the provisional cathedral.
The see
- Rank
- Suffragan diocese
- Tradition
- Latin Church
- Erected
- 5 May 1887
- Latin
- Christopolitan(us)
- Patron
- san Juan Bautista
- Annuario code
- 001001149
The see in figures
- Catholics
- 68,750
- Population
- 673,790
- Catholic share
- 10.2%
- Priests
- 61
- Catholics per priest
- 1,127
- Extent
- 32,000 km²
- Catholics per km²
- 2.1
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
- Michael Gielen
- Born
- 2 June 1971
- Birthplace
- Cambridge
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 Mary's Pro-Cathedral stands in Christchurch, 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 Wellington
A suffragan of Wellington.
The sees of this province:
- Archdiocese of WellingtonWellington
- Diocese of AucklandAuckland
- Diocese of DunedinDunedin
- Diocese of Hamilton in New ZealandHamilton
- Diocese of Palmerston NorthPalmerston North
On how the Church is ordered into provinces, see the diocese.
History
Christchurch, the largest city in New Zealand's South Island, holds the cathedral and see of the Diocese of Christchurch (Dioecesis Christopolitana), a Latin Catholic suffragan of the Archdiocese of Wellington. The diocese came into being on 5 May 1887, formed from part of the territory of the Diocese of Wellington, which was itself raised to an archdiocese later that same month.
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].