The Archdiocese of Hobart is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or archdiocese of the Catholic Church in Australia located in Hobart and covering Tasmania, Australia.

Immediately subject to the Holy See, the area covered was initially administered by the Apostolic Vicariate of New Holland and Van Diemen's Land. In 1842, the Vicariate Apostolic of Hobart was erected; elevated as a diocese a few weeks later; and as an archdiocese in 1888.

St Mary's Cathedral is the seat of the Catholic Archbishop of Hobart, currently Anthony Ireland, installed on the 12th of August, 2025.

History Established 5 April 1842 as the Vicariate Apostolic of Hobart and became Diocese of Hobart on 22 April 1842. On 3 August 1888 the diocese became the Archdiocese of Hobart.

Bishops The following individuals have been appointed as Bishops of Hobart or any of its precursor titles: OrderNameTitleDate enthronedReign endedTerm of officeReason for term end Robert Willson † Bishop of Hobart 22 April 1842 16 February 1866 Resigned and appointed Bishop Emeritus of Hobart Daniel Murphy † Coadjutor Bishop of Hobart 14 November 1865 8 March 1866 Succeeded as Bishop of HobartBishop of Hobart 8 March 1866 3 August 1888 Elevated as Archbishop of HobartArchbishop of Hobart 3 August 1888 Died in office Patrick Delany † Coadjutor Archbishop of Hobart 15 June 1893 Succeeded as Archbishop of HobartArchbishop of Hobart 7 May 1926 Died in office William Barry † Coadjutor Archbishop of Hobart 7 April 1919 8 May 1926 Succeeded as Archbishop of HobartArchbishop of Hobart 8 May 1926 13 June 1929 Died in office William Hayden † 11 February 1930 2 October 1936 Died in office Justin Simonds † 18 February 1937 6 September 1942 Appointed as Coadjutor Archbishop of Melbourne 7 December 1942 Resigned and appointed Archbishop Emeritus of Hobart Guilford Clyde Young † 10 October 1954 20 September 1955 Succeeded as Archbishop of Hobart Archbishop of Hobart 16 March 1988 Died in office Eric D'Arcy † 24 October 1988 26 July 1999 Retired and appointed Archbishop Emeritus of Hobart Adrian Leo Doyle Coadjutor Archbishop of Hobart 10 November 1997 26 July 1999 Succeeded as Archbishop of Hobart Archbishop of Hobart 26 July 1999 19 July 2013 Retired and appointed Archbishop Emeritus of Hobart Julian Porteous 17 September 2013 12 August 2025 Resigned and appointed Archbishop Emeritus of Hobart12Anthony IrelandArchbishop of Hobart12 August 2025presentIncumbent

The above table also includes coadjutors, all of whom later served in this see. There was another coadjutor whose appointment did not take effect: Thomas Butler †, appointed Coadjutor Bishop on 13 Mar 1860.

Other priests of this diocese who became bishops Anthony Joseph Burgess †, appointed Coadjutor Bishop of Wewak, Papua New Guinea in 2000 Geoffrey Hylton Jarrett, appointed Coadjutor Bishop of Lismore in 2000

Cathedral St Mary's Cathedral, Hobart is the cathedral for the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Hobart.

Parishes Southern Tasmania Parish Location Church name Image Bellerive-Lindisfarne Parish Corpus Christi Church of the Incarnation John Paul II Bridgewater-Brighton Parish St Paul's Pontville St Matthew's Cathedral Parish Hobart St Mary's Cathedral Sacred Heart Central Tasmania Parish New Norfolk St Peter's Immaculate Conception St Andrew's Tunnack St Brigid's St Colman's St Paul's Claremont Parish St Bernard's Glenorchy Parish St John's St Monica's Hobart Parish Hobart St Joseph's Huon Valley Parish St James Geeveston St Joseph St Mary of the Cross Catholic Church St Mary Our Hope Kingston Channel Parish Kingston Beach Christ the Priest Church of the Holy Spirit St Aloysius Alonnah St Brendans St Mary's Moonah-Lutana Parish St Therese's Richmond Parish St John the Evangelist Dodges Ferry Community Centre Hall Triabunna St Anne's St Patrick's St Thomas' Sandy Bay Parish Holy Spirit St Canice Taroona St Pius X South Hobart Parish South Hobart St Francis Xavier's

Northern Tasmania Parish Location Church name Image Campbell Town Parish Campbell Town St Michael's Our Lady of the Perpetual Succour Our Lady of the Sacred Heart Flinders Island Parish Whitemark St Paul's George Town Parish Our Lady Star of the Sea Karoola Sacred Heart St Anne's Kings Meadows Parish St Peter's St Augustine's Launceston Parish Church of the Apostles West Launceston Carmelite Monastery Sacred Heart St Finn Barr's Prospect Vale St Patrick's College Chapel Meander Valley Parish Holy Trinity Holy Redeemer Scottsdale Parish St Patrick's Ringarooma Sacred Heart St Mary's St Mary's Parish Bicheno Bicheno Community Church St Mary of the Assumption Our Lady of the Sacred Heart St Helena & St Stanislaus St Joseph's West Tamar Parish St Francis of Assisi St Canice St Francis Xavier

North Western Tasmania Parish Location Church name Burnie-Wynyard Parish Burnie St Mary's Star of the Sea Marist Regional College Chapel Sacred Heart St Brigid's St Joseph's Circular Head Parish St Peter Chanel Our Star of the Sea King Island Parish , King Island Our Lady Star of the Sea Mersey Leven Parish Our Lady of Lourdes Holy Cross Church Sacred Heart Port Sorell St Joseph's Mass Centre St Mary's St Patrick's West Coast Parish St Joseph's Holy Trinity (parish makes use of Anglican parish church of the same name) Zeehan St Fursaeus St Joseph's

Monasteries Notre Dame Priory is a Benedictine monastery in Colebrook, Tasmania, Australia, founded in 2017 which is part of the Archdiocese.

Controversy

In 2007 Gregory Ferguson, a Marist priest, was sentenced to two years jail (eligible for parole after 12 months) for offences in 1971 against two boys aged 13 at Marist College, Burnie, Tasmania. On 13 December 2007 he was sentenced to an additional three years' jail for offences against a third boy.

While in 2008, a jury found former priest Roger Michael Bellemore guilty on three counts of maintaining a sexual relationship with a young person under the age of 17 years in the 1960s and 1970s, while he was at the same College.

In 2015, Archbishop Julian Porteous was notified that a complaint had been filed with the office of Tasmania's Anti-discrimination Commissioner in relation to the distribution in all Tasmanian Catholic schools of a booklet, Don't Mess with Marriage, stating marriage should be a "heterosexual union between a man and a woman" and changing the law would endanger a child's upbringing. The complaint was filed by a transgender activist and Federal Greens candidate Martine Delaney. The complaint was called "'an attempt to silence' the Church over same-sex marriage" by Archbishop Porteous. The complaint was treated as a possible breach of the Anti-Discrimination Act 1998 (Tas), and sparked fierce debate on the issues of freedom of religion, freedom of expression, and tolerance. The complaint was ultimately withdrawn.

It has been reported that "The real problem with the Porteous case was that it was unresolved".

See also

Roman Catholicism in Australia

References

External links Catholic Archdiocese of Hobart