LISMORE, DIOCESE of. - It is located in the State of New South Wales in Australia and was erected on 10 May 1887 under the name of Grafton, its territory being detached from the diocese of Armidale. The first bishop was G. G. Doyle, who found there 8 parishes, 3 houses of sisters, and 3 Catholic schools, with 10 priests. On 13 Jan. 1900 the see was transferred to L. and its name was consequently changed.
Over an area of 17,600 sq. km., it has 160,543 inhabitants, of English and Irish origin. There are very few aborigines and some Italians. Catholics number 31,110, in a proportion of 1 to 5 in relation to Protestants belonging to various denominations. There are no pagans properly so called, and Muslims are few in number.
It is entrusted to the secular clergy, with 46 diocesan priests and 13 religious, distributed among 25 parishes and 85 churches and chapels. It has a hospital, an orphanage, and a home for the aged. There are 38 elementary schools and 26 secondary schools, with 5,915 pupils. Catholic associations are numerous.