# Roman Catholic Diocese of Lismore

The Diocese of Lismore is a Latin Church ecclesiastical jurisdiction or diocese of the Catholic Church in New South Wales, Australia. The diocese was established in 1887, initially as the Diocese of Grafton, and then changed to the current name in 1900. The Diocese of Lismore covers the North Coast. It is a suffragan in the ecclesiastical province of the metropolitan Archdiocese of Sydney.

## Ordinaries
### Bishops

Bishops of Grafton:
    Order Name Date installed Term ended Term of office Reason for term end 1Jeremiah Joseph Doyle13 May 18874 June 190922 years, 22 daysDied in office

## Bishops
### Bishops of Lismore

Bishops of Lismore:
    Order Name Date installed Term ended Term of office Reason for term end 1John Carroll2 December 19098 May 194939 years, 157 daysDied in office 2Patrick Joseph Farrelly8 May 19491 September 197122 years, 116 daysRetired and was appointed Bishop Emeritus of Lismore 3John Steven Satterthwaite1 September 19711 December 200130 years, 91 daysRetired and was appointed Bishop Emeritus of Lismore 4Geoffrey Jarrett1 December 200122 February 201715 years, 83 daysRetired and was appointed Bishop Emeritus of Lismore 5Greg Homeming22 February 2017present n/a

### Coadjutor bishops

* Patrick Joseph Farrelly (1931–1949)
* John Steven Satterthwaite (1969–1971)
* Geoffrey Hylton Jarrett (2000–2001)

### Other priests of this diocese who became bishops

* Terence Bernard McGuire, appointed Bishop of Townsville in 1930
* Norman Thomas Gilroy, appointed Bishop of Port Augusta in 1934; future Cardinal
* Thomas Absolam McCabe, appointed Bishop of Port Augusta in 1938
* Thomas William Muldoon, appointed Auxiliary Bishop of Sydney, in 1960

## Cathedral

The Cathedral of St Carthage's was commissioned by Bishop Jeremiah Doyle c. 1890. Designed in 1892 by Herbert Wardell (the son of notable Anglo – Australian architect and civil engineer William Wardell), the cathedral is modelled in gothic revival style. The foundation stone was laid in 1892 and construction began in early 1904, with the sanctuary, transepts and nave completed by mid-1907 when the first liturgical mass was held. A public appeal was held to raise £2,000 for the peal of twelve bells from Dublin, that were installed in the bell tower by 1911. A large pipe organ completed the project and in 1919, with all debts dissolved, St Carthage's Cathedral received its solemn dedication by the Apostolic Delegate, Archbishop Cattaneo.
In 2007, the cathedral was seriously damaged by hail storms in the region. An appeal to restore the cathedral commenced in 2007, with initial plans to construct the spire initially designed by Wardell. However, when commissioning the works in 2009, the main focus of the project was on roof slates, stained glass windows, and lead downpipes; with completion of the stone steeple ruled out.

## Other information

The Catholic Education Office which is responsible for 46 co-educational schools in the Diocese, is located in Lismore. The Aboriginal Catholic Ministry is located in Macksville. The Diocese also offers a number of health and aged care services ranging from child care to nursing homes to natural family planning services.
The diocese also has a community of Marist Brothers, another of Presentation Sisters and a convent of Carmelite Nuns.