Archbishop Costelloe, born in Melbourne in 1954, noted that Archbishop Coleridge led the conference at a difficult time for the Catholic Church in Australia.
Australia’s Catholic Bishops have elected Archbishop Timothy Costelloe as their new leader.
Archbishop Costelloe, a priest of the Salesians of Don Bosco, is the first member of a religious order to hold the post of president of the episcopal conference of Australia.
The 68-year-old Archbishop of Perth, Western Australia succeeds Archbishop Mark Coleridge, who served as president of the Australian Conference of Catholic Bishops for two two-year terms.
Archbishop Coleridge, the Archbishop of Brisbane, was unable to run for a third term because he will turn 75, the usual retirement age for bishops, in September 2023.
Archbishop Costelloe, born in Melbourne in 1954, noted that Archbishop Coleridge led the conference at a difficult time for the Catholic Church in Australia.
“It was Archbishop Coleridge who guided our response beyond the Royal Commission, represented the Church in Australia at the Global Sexual Abuse Summit and guided the Bishops through a pandemic and a host of other challenges,” he said.
“Archbishop Coleridge has been a calm and considered leader locally and in the global church and will be a trusted advisor to me in this new role.”
Bishop Coleridge said, “It has been a great privilege to serve the episcopal conference as president during a turbulent time, which has made the role more intense and demanding than expected.”
“In some ways, the four years felt longer, and I’m not sorry to pass the baton to someone else. Presidents come and presidents go, but the work of the conference, which is the work of the gospel, continues.
The bishops re-elected Bishop Anthony Fisher of Sydney as vice-president of the conference on the opening day of their plenary meeting in Sydney, their first in-person gathering since November 2019.
The two-year terms of Bishop Costelloe and Bishop Fisher will begin on July 13 after the second general meeting of the Australian Church Plenary Council, the highest official gathering of all the particular churches in a country.
Australia, officially known as the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country of 25 million people, nearly a quarter of whom are baptized Catholics.
Bishop Costelloe, who was appointed Auxiliary Bishop of Melbourne in 2007 and Archbishop of Perth in 2012, said: “The Church in this country is an immense contributor to our society, through our parishes, our schools, our hospital and our senior care, our social services and countless other departments.
“As we continue to contemplate how we are living the gospel at this time, including through the Plenary Council, I look forward to working with my fellow bishops and the People of God to advance the mission of Christ.”
