# Roman Catholic Diocese of Sale

The Roman Catholic Diocese of Sale is a suffragan diocese of the Archdiocese of Melbourne, that covers the south east of Victoria, Australia. The diocese was established in 1887.
Gregory Bennet was appointed bishop of Sale on 27 June 2020.

## History

The Diocese of Sale was established by Pope Leo XIII on 26 April 1887. The first bishop of the Diocese, James Francis Corbett, was a priest of the Diocese of Limerick, Ireland, who was responsible for the Mission (later Parish) of St Kilda and Chancellor of the Archdiocese of Melbourne at the time of his appointment. Corbett was consecrated bishop on 25 August 1887 in St Mary's Church, East St Kilda, by Archbishop of Melbourne, Thomas Carr. Bishop Corbett consecrated St Patrick's Cathedral, Melbourne, on account of his superior vocal ability.
The second Bishop of Sale, Patrick Phelan, saw to the establishment of a school system in the Diocese. The fourth bishop, Patrick Lyons, saw the 1959 change to the boundaries of the Diocese, which incorporated into Sale from the Melbourne Archdiocese the parishes of Berwick, Cranbourne, Pakenham, Iona, Maryknoll, Koo Wee Rup, Dalyston and Korrumburra. These parishes, while they were mainly rural areas at the time, have seen rapid growth and are now considered outer suburbs of the Melbourne metropolitan area.

## Bishops
### Ordinaries

The following individuals have served as Roman Catholic Bishop of Sale:
    Order Name Date enthroned Reign ended Term of office Reason for term end 1James Francis Corbett13 May 188729 May 191225 years, 16 daysDied in office 2Patrick Phelan2 November 19125 January 192512 years, 64 daysDied in office 3Richard Ryan C.M.10 March 192616 June 195731 years, 98 daysDied in office 4Patrick Lyons16 June 195713 August 196710 years, 58 daysDied in office 5Arthur Fox29 November 196725 February 198113 years, 88 daysRetired and appointed Bishop Emeritus of Sale 6Eric D'Arcy25 February 198124 October 19887 years, 242 daysElevated to Archbishop of Hobart 7Jeremiah Coffey8 April 19892 January 200818 years, 269 daysRetired and appointed Bishop Emeritus of Sale 8Christopher Prowse18 June 200919 November 20134 years, 154 daysAppointed Archbishop of Canberra–Goulburn 9Patrick O'Regan26 February 201519 March 20209 years, 226 daysAppointed Archbishop of Adelaide 10Gregory Bennet8 December 2020Incumbent3 years, 306 days

### Coadjutor bishop

* Patrick Francis Lyons (1956–1957)

### Other priests of this diocese who became bishops

* Patrick Mary O'Donnell, appointed Coadjutor Archbishop of Brisbane in 1948
* Noel Desmond Daly, appointed Bishop of Sandhurst in 1979
* Michael Joseph McKenna, appointed Bishop of Bathurst in 2009

## Cathedral

St Mary's Cathedral, Sale is the cathedral church of the diocese, under the patronage of Our Lady of Perpetual Help. Purpose-built as a cathedral, St Mary's boasts a Romanesque onyx high altar, notable stained glass windows and a large statue of Mary Help of Christians as its features. Four of Sale's bishops are buried in the cathedral: Bishop Corbett lies in the main section of the church beneath the front rows of pews on the right hand side and Bishops Ryan, Lyons and Fox are interred in the Lady Chapel.

## Boundaries

The diocese covers south east Victoria, from the eastern suburbs of Melbourne to the New South Wales border, including all of Gippsland.