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Church in Melbourne
The Archdiocese of Melbourne has the largest population of any diocese in Australia.
Of the 3,319,514 people within its province, almost one million (992,555) are Catholic, according to the 1996 Commonwealth Census figures. That is roughly 30% of the population.
There are 232 parishes in the Archdiocese and 369 diocesan priests. The Archdiocese has a total of 294 priests in religious orders, 199 religious brothers and 1,323 religious sisters.
There is one seminary for diocesan clergy, Corpus Christi College, and three seminaries for religious clergy.
There are a total of 331 catholic schools in the Archdiocese, 256 are primary level, 69 are secondary and 6 are special schools. According to the 1998 census, there were a total of 136,387students enrolled in Catholic schools in the Archdiocese of Melbourne, 77,636 in primary schools and 58,751 in secondary schools.
Catholic Hospitals and Health Care
Within the Catholic Archdiocese of Melbourne there are 10 Catholic hospitals, 18 homes for children, 27 for the elderly and 10 for other purposes.
The Catholic Church was instituted by Christ Jesus Himself. The Church is the Universal Sacrament of Salvation.
The word ‘church’ means ‘assembly’. It describes that place where the Light of Christ shines out visibly. In the liturgical assembly we are gathered together by the Word of God and the Sacraments to form the People of God. This people, nourished by the Word, and by the Body of Christ in the Sacrament of the Eucharist, themselves become the Body of Christ.
