  Context. ULXs ($L_\textrm{X}>10^{39}$ erg s$^{-1}$) are excellent probes of
accretion physics, star formation and IMBHs searches. As the sample size of
X-ray data from modern observatories increases, producing extensive catalogues
of ULXs and studying their collective properties is a possibility and a
priority.
  Aims. We build a ULX catalogue based on one of the latest XMM-Newton
releases, 4XMM-DR9, and the galaxy catalogue HECATE and study whether the
properties of the expanded XMM-Newton ULX population are consistent with
previous findings.
  Methods. We perform cross-matching between XMM-Newton sources and HECATE
objects to identify host galaxies, and flag known interlopers in external
catalogues and databases. Manual inspection of image data from PanSTARRS1 and
the NASA/IPAC database is occasionally performed. We use distance and
luminosity arguments to identify ULX candidates. Spectral, abundance and
variability properties of the candidates are studied from 4XMM-DR9, HECATE and
4XMM-DR9s parameters.
  Results. We identify 779 ULX candidates. In spiral galaxies the number of ULX
candidates per star forming rate is consistent with previous studies, and a
significant ULX population in elliptical and lenticular is also found.
Candidates hosted by late-type galaxies are more abundant, present harder
spectra and undergo more and more extreme inter-observation variability than
the early-type hosted ones. Around 30 candidates with $L_\textrm{X}>10^{41}$
erg s$^{-1}$ are also identified.
  Conclusions. Our results on the spectral and abundance properties of ULXs
confirm the findings made by previous studies based on XMM-Newton and Chandra
data, while our population-scale study on variability properties is
unprecedented. Our study provides limited insight on the properties of the
brightest ULX candidates due to the small sample size.
