# Roman Catholic Diocese of Sandhurst

The Diocese of Sandhurst is a Latin Church ecclesiastical jurisdiction or diocese of the Catholic Church in Australia. It is a suffragan in the ecclesiastical province of the metropolitan Archdiocese of Melbourne. The Diocese of Sandhurst was erected in 1874 and covers the central and north-east regions of Victoria, including Bendigo.
Sacred Heart Cathedral in Bendigo is the seat of the Bishop of Sandhurst. On 3 February 2012, the Vatican announced the appointment of Les Tomlinson as the seventh Bishop of Sandhurst. He was installed in a liturgical ceremony on 1 March 2012.
On 23 July 2019, Fr Shane Mackinlay was announced as the next Bishop of Sandhurst.

## History

The Diocese of Sandhurst was established on 30 March 1874, from the Diocese of Melbourne. When the Diocese of Melbourne was made an archdiocese, the Diocese of Sandhurst became one of its suffragans. Both dioceses are within the Ecclesiastical Province of Melbourne.
By 1911, the diocese had Augustinian Fathers, Marist Brothers, Sisters of Mercy, Sisters of St. Brigid, Sisters of St. Joseph, Presentation Sisters, Faithful Companions of Jesus and Good Shepherd Sisters.
Construction of the Sacred Heart Cathedral began in 1885 under Bishop Crane. Its organ was installed in 1905, under Stephen Reville. The cathedral was completed in 1977 under Bernard Stewart. Sacred Heart Cathedral is one of the largest Neo-Gothic or Gothic Revival cathedrals in Australia and its construction was largely made possible by the estate of the Paderborn-born German pioneer priest Henry Backhaus, the first Roman Catholic priest on the goldfields of Bendigo.

## Bishops

Bishops of Sandhurst:
    Order Name Date enthroned Reign ended Term of office Reason for term end 1Martin Crane, OSA †4 August 187421 October 190127 years, 78 daysDied in office 2Stephen Reville OSA †21 October 190118 September 191614 years, 333 daysDied in office 3John McCarthy †14 February 191718 August 195033 years, 185 daysDied in office 4Bernard Denis Stewart †18 August 195021 April 197928 years, 246 daysRetired and appointed Bishop Emeritus of Sandhurst 5Noel Desmond Daly †21 April 19791 July 200021 years, 71 daysResigned and appointed Bishop Emeritus of Sandhurst 6Joseph Grech †8 March 200128 December 20109 years, 295 daysDied in office 7Les Tomlinson1 March 201223 July 20197 years, 142 daysRetired and appointed Bishop Emeritus of Sandhurst 8Shane Mackinlay16 October 2019current4 years, 359 days
Following the death in office of Joseph Grech, Monsignor Frank Marriott, the administrator of Sacred Heart Cathedral, was appointed to serve as administrator of the diocese. On 3 February 2012, Monsignor Marriott announced that Pope Benedict XVI had appointed Les Tomlinson as the next bishop. Tomlinson's installation took place on 1 March 2012.

### Coadjutor bishops

* Stephen Reville, O.E.S.A. † (1885–1901)
* Bernard Denis Stewart † (1946–1950)

### Priests of the diocese who became bishops

* Hugh Edward Ryan † - appointed Bishop of Townsville in 1938
* Thomas Vincent Cahill † - appointed Bishop of Cairns in 1948
* Francis Xavier Thomas † - appointed Bishop of Geraldton in 1962
* Francis Peter de Campo † - appointed Coadjutor Bishop of Port Pirie in 1979

## Other information

The diocese comprises the area north of the Great Dividing Range, south of the Murray River and east of the Loddon River, an area of 45,178 km$^2$ (17,450 sq mls). The diocese is divided into 41 parishes and has 74 priests, 109 religious sisters and 5 brothers. The diocese had a Catholic population of about 86,000 in 2006.
There are 50 Catholic schools in the diocese – 40 primary, nine secondary and one P–10 school – catering for 7,700 primary and 5,850 secondary students. Bendigo's oldest Catholic church is St Kilian's.
Saint Augustine's Church, Myers Flat, is the oldest Roman Catholic church building in the Diocese of Sandhurst. The church was built by John O'Brien and consecrated by Monsignor Hayes in 1864.