Diocese of Broken Bay

The Diocese of Broken Bay was erected on 8 April 1986. Prior to this date, the area was considered within the jurisdiction of the Archdiocese of Sydney.^[6]

According to Roman Catholic Church records, in 1822 Governor Thomas Brisbane granted 490 hectares (1,200 acres) land near Pittwater to Father John Joseph Therry for the purposes of establishing a church. However, attempts to establish a church in 1859 were postponed due to the scarcity of Catholics. A church in Manly was established in 1873 and another in Careel Bay in 1875.^[7] In 1876, Manly was the site of the first parish established in the area, followed by Gosford (1888) and Pymble (1889). Together these three parishes covered most of the present diocese until 1910.^[8] By 1885, work on St Patrick's College, Manly had commenced and was completed in 1888.^[9]

The diocese covers 2,763 km² (1,067 sq mi) and includes both bush and coastal communities. ^[10] Symbolising the diocese is the lighthouse, based on the historic lighthouse at Barrenjoey.^[11]

The following men have been Bishop of Broken Bay:^[12]

More information Order, Name ...

Order	Name	Date installed	Term ended	Term of office	Reason for term end
1	Patrick Laurence Murphy	8 April 1986	9 July 1996	10 years, 92 days	Resigned and appointed Bishop Emeritus of Broken Bay
2	David Louis Walker	9 July 1996	11 November 2013	17 years, 125 days	Resigned and appointed Bishop Emeritus of Broken Bay
3	Peter Andrew Comensoli	12 December 2014	1 August 2018[13]	3 years, 232 days	Appointed Archbishop of Melbourne[14]
4	Anthony Randazzo	7 October 2019	25 March 2026	6 years, 169 days	Appointed Prefect of the Dicastery for Legislative Texts

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On 10 February 2008, Our Lady of the Rosary in Waitara was inaugurated as the cathedral of the diocese,^[15] succeeding Corpus Christi, the parish church of St Ives.^[16][17]

The Diocese of Broken Bay operates a number of agencies and offices to manage various functions of the diocese such as Catholic outreach and evangelism, family support, disability support and education.

• Office for Safeguarding and Professional Standards (Chancery) responsible for the administration and management of professional standards, child protection, and safeguarding responsibilities within the diocese.^[18]
• CatholicCare (Diocese of Broken Bay) belonging to Catholic Social Services Australia responsible for the provision and administration of services for families, children, and people with disabilities as well as foster care and out-of-home services.^[19]
• Catholic Development Fund (CDF) responsible for the management of funds belonging to the diocese and acts as its official treasury service for funds to religious, charitable and educational services. The CDF is considered a charitable institution under the Australian Taxation Office's definitions.^[20][21]
• Office of Evangelisation responsible for Catholic outreach and the promotion of the diocese as well as individual parishes, members, and communities.^[22]
• Catholic Schools Office responsible for the administration and oversight of private Catholic schools within the diocese, currently 44 in total (36 primary schools and 8 high schools).^[23]
• Bishop David L Walker Library responsible for the provision and management of information resources, especially that relating to Roman Catholicism and relevant teachings.^[24]

As of 2006^[update] the diocese was responsible for overseeing the management of 43 schools in its regions (36 Catholic primary schools and 7 Catholic secondary schools) with around 15,000 students. The schools in the diocese are:^[25]

Primary

Secondary

Primary and secondary

• MacKillop Catholic College (Co-ed), Warnervale

• Patricia Madigan