MELBOURNE, ARCHDIOCESE of. – It is situated in the State of Victoria, Australia, and is its capital. The first Mass there was celebrated by the Rev. Patrizio Bonaventura Geoghegan on 13 May 1839. The city was then called Port Philip and, together with the surrounding territory, formed part of the ecclesiastical province of Sydney, from which it was separated and erected as a suffragan diocese on 25 June 1847, simultaneously with the dioceses of Maitland and Victoria, now Darwin (v.). It was elevated to an archdiocese on 31 March 1874; on the same date the dioceses of Ballarat and Sandhurst were separated from its territory, and on 10 May 1887 that of Sale, which are still its suffragans today.
The city of M. is, after Sydney, the most important in Australia. Throughout the archdiocese there are 124 parishes serving 306,000 Catholics, of European origin, among a population of 1,200,000 inhabitants, living in a territory of 16,000 sq km. There are 239 diocesan priests and 230 religious. Of these, 168 were born in Australia, while the others are predominantly Irish. At the major seminary near Werribee, 134 seminarians are studying. There are two university colleges: Newman College for male students (92 resident, 102 non-resident) and St. Mary's Hall for female students (36 resident). Of the twelve Catholic periodicals, the principal ones are The advocate and The tribune, weekly publications. The secondary schools number 71, with 13,082 pupils; the primary schools, eight of which include secondary schools, number 163, with 33,016 pupils; the kindergartens number 16, with 750 children. There are various charitable, social, and Catholic Action institutions. – Vedi tav. XXXVIII.