Roman Catholic Diocese of Cairns
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Diocese of Cairns Dioecesis Cairnensis |
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|---|---|
| Location | |
| Country | Australia |
| Territory | Far North region of Queensland |
| Ecclesiastical province | Brisbane |
| Metropolitan | Brisbane |
| Coordinates | 16°55′00″S 145°46′21″E / 16.91667°S 145.77250°E |
| Statistics | |
| Area | 377,000 km2 (146,000 sq mi) |
| Population - Total - Catholics |
(as of 2006) 235,396 59,912 ( 25.5%%) |
| Parishes |
 24 |
| Information | |
| Denomination | Roman Catholic |
| Rite | Latin Rite |
| Established | 1877 as Vicariate Apostolic of Queensland; 10 May 1887 as Vicariate Apostolic of Cooktown; 8 July 1941 as Diocese of Cairns |
| Cathedral | St Monica's Cathedral, Cairns |
| Current leadership | |
| Pope | Francis |
| Bishop | James Foley |
| Website | |
| Roman Catholic Diocese of Cairns | |
The Roman Catholic Diocese of Cairns is a Latin Rite suffragan diocese of the Archdiocese of Brisbane, erected initially as a vicariate apostolic in 1877 and elevated to a diocese in 1941, covering the far north region of Queensland, Australia.
St Monica's Cathedral is the seat of the Catholic Bishop of Cairns, currently James Foley.
Following the discovery of gold near Cooktown in 1872 and the establishment and growth of sugar production during the 1870s, the Bishop of Brisbane, James Quinn, visited Cooktown in 1874. The first church was opened a year later. Quinn had earlier been petitioning the Roman Curia to create a vicariate in north Queensland to minister to Catholics in the region and to evangelise the Aborigines, with the Vicariate Apostolic of Queensland officially created in 1877. An initial attempt to install Italian priests from the Pontifical Seminary of the Apostles Saints Peter and Paul of Rome was a failure; mainly due to cultural and language issues with both the indigenous and predominately Irish lay population. Quinn, from Ireland, appointed one of his fellow countryman, John Cani as the first Pro-Vicar who served up until Quinn's death in 1882 when Cani returned to Brisbane before being appointed as the first Bishop of Rockhampton. A short term under Monsignor Paul Fortini followed, with clashes between laity and priests before the parish of Herberton was placed interdict in 1883; meaning that sacraments could not be celebrated. Fortini was recalled to Rome.
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