
Pope Francis on Friday appointed Fr Thinh Nguyen and Fr Rene Ramirez RCJ new auxiliary bishops for the Melbourne Archdiocese. Source: ACBC Media Blog.
Australian Catholic Bishops Conference President Archbishop Timothy Costelloe SDB welcomed the appointments.
“The leadership and spiritual guidance of the two bishops-elect will be a source of strength and inspiration for the archdiocese and the wider Church,” Archbishop Costelloe said.
“We look forward to seeing the people of Melbourne grow in faith under their pastoral care and leadership.
“The appointments of Bishops-elect Thinh and Ramirez reflect the multicultural face of the Church in Australia, which is witnessing signs of growth and renewal.”
The bishops-elect will join Bishop Martin Ashe and Bishop Tony Ireland in bringing together the leadership of the four regions of the Melbourne Archdiocese.
Melbourne Archbishop Peter A Comensoli said his archdiocese, the largest in Oceania, had “waited a long time to have our full complement of Auxiliary Bishops to assist in ministering to God’s people”.
“Both Fr Nguyen and Fr Ramirez are men who have a heart for the Gospel and a missionary energy for God’s people,” Archbishop Comensoli said.
Bishop-elect Ramirez, who hails from Gapan, Philippines, has been a priest since June 1998. His first assignment as priest was as the vocation director for the Congregation of the Rogationists of the Heart of Jesus in the Philippines.
Having studied in the Philippines and Rome, he became the pastor of Holy Family Parish in October 2015, overseeing the Catholic communities of West Footscray, Maidstone, and Braybrook in the Melbourne Archdiocese.
His most recent ministry has been as the supervising priest in Rushworth, in the Sandhurst Diocese.
Bishop-elect Nguyen was born in Saigon, Vietnam, and came to Australia as a teenager.
He entered Corpus Christi College Regional Seminary Carlton in 1999 and was ordained for the priesthood by Melbourne Archbishop Denis Hart in 2006.
Having served in several Melbourne parishes and chaplaincies, he was appointed to oversee clergy formation in the archdiocese in 2022.
The Episcopal Ordination for the Bishops-elect is to take place in the morning of February 1, 2025, at St Patrick’s Cathedral, Melbourne.
FULL STORY
Pope Francis appoints two new Melbourne auxiliary bishops (ACBC Media Blog)
Two New Auxiliary Bishops Appointed for Melbourne (Melbourne Catholic)