Pope Francis has appointed Perth-based priest Fr George Kolodziej SDS to be the fifth Bishop of Bunbury. Source: ACBC Media Blog.
The appointment was announced on January 6.
Fr Kolodziej, 56, was born in Dobra, Poland, and has been the Superior of the Salvatorians in Australia since October 2018.
Archbishop of Perth Timothy Costelloe SDB, President of the Australian Catholic Bishops Conference, said the bishop-elect was “profoundly marked by the richness of his Salvatorian charism”.
“Fr George will bring a wealth of experience in parish ministry, in youth ministry, and in spiritual and pastoral accompaniment to the new mission to the Church in Bunbury to which the Lord has called him,” Archbishop Costelloe said.
“These same gifts will also enrich the life and work of his brother bishops through his involvement with them in the work of the Australian Catholic Bishops Conference. We look forward to welcoming him among us.”
Fr Kolodziej directs the Salvatorian Spirituality Centre in Perth and is a member of the Council of Catholic Religious Australia and the Council of Priests of the Archdiocese of Perth.
He has served as a chaplain for Catholic Education Western Australia since January 2019.
Fr George’s religious journey with the Salvatorians began when he entered the novitiate in September 1987.
He made his perpetual profession in the Society of the Divine Saviour (SDS) in September 1992.
Ordained to the priesthood by Cardinal Franciszek Macharski, Archbishop of Krakow, in 1994, he was sent to the Australian region of the Salvatorians, where he undertook pastoral work in the Archdiocese of Perth and the Diocese of Bunbury.
In December 2000, Fr George began ministry in the Diocese of Broken Bay, where he held a number of parish and leadership roles, including as a member of the Council of Priests and the College of Consultors for the Diocese of Broken Bay.
In 2017, he joined the Salvatorian Formation Commission and served as a spiritual father at the Salvatorian Formation House in Melbourne.
Fr George holds Master’s degrees in theology and pastoral care/psychotherapy, along with a postgraduate diploma in addiction studies.
The ordination and installation service is expected to be held in March.
FULL STORY
Church welcomes appointment of new Bishop of Bunbury (ACBC Media Blog)
RELATED COVERAGE
A letter to the people of God in the Diocese of Bunbury (Bunbury Diocese)
Catholic Religious Australia welcomes appointment of the new Bishop of Bunbury (Catholic Religious Australia)
