Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Canberra and Goulburn

Archdiocese of Canberra – Goulburn Archidioecesis Camberrensis – Gulburnensis Archdiocese of Canberra and Goulburn
Coat of Arms of the Archdiocese of Canberra and Goulburn
Location
Country	Australia
Territory	The Australian Capital Territory, and the South West Slopes, Southern Tablelands, Monaro and the South Coast regions of New South Wales
Metropolitan	Immediately subject to the Holy See
Coordinates	35°17′41″S 149°07′36″E / 35.29472°S 149.12667°E / -35.29472; 149.12667
Statistics
Area	88,000 km2 (34,000 sq mi)
Population - Total - Catholics	(as of 2006) 569,000 159,670 ( 28.1%)
Parishes	55
Information
Denomination	Roman Catholic
Rite	Latin Rite
Established	17 November 1862 as the Diocese of Goulburn; 5 February 1948 as the Archdiocese of Canberra (and Goulburn); 19 June 2006 as the Archdiocese of Canberra – Goulburn
Cathedral	St. Christopher's Cathedral
Patron saint	St. Mary
Current leadership
Pope	Francis
Archbishop	Christopher Prowse
Emeritus Bishops	Francis Carroll (archbishop); Pat Power (auxiliary)
Website
Archdiocese of Canberra – Goulburn

The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Canberra – Goulburn is a Latin Rite archdiocese located in the Australian Capital Territory, and the South West Slopes, Southern Tablelands, Monaro and the South Coast regions of New South Wales, Australia. Erected in 1948, the archdiocese is attached to the Archdiocese of Sydney but immediately subject to the Holy See.

St. Christopher's Cathedral at Manuka is the seat of the Catholic Archbishop of Canberra – Goulburn. On 12 September 2013 it was announced that the Bishop of Sale, Christopher Prowse, had been appointed as the next Archbishop of Canberra and Goulburn. Archbishop Prowse was installed on 19 November 2013.

The diocese of Goulburn was established in 1864 to serve the needs of the scattered rural, overwhelmingly Irish, Catholics of the south coast, southern highlands and south-west slopes of New South Wales.

The following individuals have been elected as Roman Catholic Bishop of Goulburn:

The following individuals have been elected as Roman Catholic Archbishop of Canberra – Goulburn:

St Christopher's was built as the first parish church of Canberra by the first priest, Father Patrick Haydon, although the beginnings of Catholic life in the district go back to 1862 when the Diocese of Goulburn was erected. The parish was originally part of St Gregory's Parish, Queanbeyan, until 1912. Following the erection of the Diocese of Wagga Wagga in 1918, the parish was transferred to the Diocese of Goulburn. A foundation stone was laid by Archbishop Kelly in 1927 for a church and school. The following year St Christopher's became an independent parish with the first classes taught in the adjacent school, and the open day attended by the Prime Minister, Bruce. In 1930 a large cathedral was proposed for the site behind Regatta Point, but economic circumstances and World War II made this impractical. A foundation stone for the cathedral was laid in 1938 by Archbishop Gilroy in a ceremony which included Joseph Lyons and James Scullin. The choice of St Christopher as patron saint was selected on the basis that Canberra would be a place to which many travellers would come. In the presence of Robert Menzies, the Apostolic Delegate, Archbishop Panico, opened the parish church in 1939.