World Youth Day 2008
Days In The Diocese
World Youth Day provides great opportunities for young people to experience their Church in other parts of the world. We would like to invite you to stay with us in the diocese of Wilcannia-Forbes and experience a little of the outback of NSW, Australia, as you make your way to Sydney for WYD2008.
Our diocese is over 414,000 sq. kilometres in area and covers more than half the state of NSW. There are 20 parishes in our diocese, most of them are centred around small towns of only a couple of thousand people, and while the church community in each of them is small, they have remained centres of great faith through the good seasons and bad that come with rural life. Some of the parishes are quite distant from others, perhaps by several hundred kilometres. Some parishes also have several mass centres where people who live on farms and stations in the surrounding districts gather regularly for Mass and other community events. The priests in these parishes often travel several hundred kilometres each month to celebrate the Mass in each centre. The Bishop himself lives 850 kilometres from his cathedral. He visits there several times through the year and spends a great deal of time travelling around the parishes of his diocese.
Broken Hill is the cathedral city of our diocese. Sacred Heart Cathedral was opened in 1905. It is one of the most significant buildings in the city, and over the last one hundred years it has welcomed people from all over the world who have come to find work and a new life in the city.
Our diocese is a rural diocese and many parishes have within their boundaries, some beautiful natural landscapes. The national parks of outback New South Wales are full of surprises and each is quite unique and preserve the natural beauty of our land as well as some of our Aboriginal and European heritage. Our diocese is indeed a special place to live and we believe that it reflects the wonder of our Australian landscape, our Australian way of life, and our faith in Christ.
The western region of New South Wales is the traditional home to a number Aboriginal groups. Long before European settlement in the 1800s, many of these groups lived along the rivers cross this part of the country. Today, most Aboriginal people of western NSW live in the small towns that dot the countryside. However, there are many places that hold the story of the traditional owners, many are protected in National Parks and reserves.
As the settlement population increased in the region through the 19th century, the Church also grew. Our diocese was established in 1887 to ensure the spiritual and pastoral care of the Catholic people living in the rural and isolated areas of the colony of New South Wales.
Bishop John Dunne, the first diocesan bishop, chose to make his home in Broken Hill. At that time, Broken Hill was growing rapidly with the expansion of mining in lead, silver, and zinc. Today the city of Broken Hill is the largest town in the diocese with a population of around 20,000. It is still the centre for major mining interests. It is also renowned for its local artists and as the gateway to the outback areas of eastern Australia.
We would love to welcome you among us as part of your pilgrimage to World Youth Day 2008 in Sydney. If you would like more information on Days in the Diocese of Wilcannia-Forbes, then you can contact our WYD2008 Diocesan Coordinator.