Bunbury Bishop-elect Fr George Kolodziej SDS says coming to Australia as a 25-year-old priest was like being born anew — a new language, culture, mentality, and the need for a fresh approach to his ministry. Source: The Record.
“It required setting aside everything I thought I knew and opening myself to this “great south land of the Holy Spirit”, as St John Paul II called it,” Bishop-elect Kolodziej said.
“While it was a challenge, I was not afraid. As Pope Francis says: ‘True evangelisation does not fear diversity but embraces it and transforms it into richness’.”
In an interview with Perth Archdiocese’s publication The Record, Bishop-elect Kolodziej spoke about his vocation, his homeland, challenges and his experience in the field of psychology.
His religious journey with the Salvatorians began when he entered the novitiate in 1987. He made his perpetual profession in 1992 and was ordained a priest in 1994, shortly before being sent to Australia.
“Joining the Salvatorians was my response to God’s call to serve others and proclaim the Gospel with joy and hope. My early years in the order were a time of intense spiritual and intellectual formation, which shaped my priestly ministry,” Bishop-elect Kolodziej said.
“From the beginning, I aspired to be a tool in God’s hands, ready to serve with joy wherever I was sent.
“When I reflect on this now, I’m reminded of what Pope Francis says in Evangelii Gaudium: ‘We are all called to be missionary disciples. We cannot remain in comfortable positions; we must go to the peripheries of the world, where Christ’s presence is needed’.”
Bishop-elect Kolodziej said he was “surprised and a bit overwhelmed” by the Pope’s decision to appoint him as the Bishop of Bunbury.
“Becoming a bishop was never in my plans, but I embraced the appointment with gratitude and humility. After all, it is not my plan but God’s that is important.”
He said he aspires to make the diocese “a welcoming home for all – a place where everyone can find refuge, acceptance, and hope”.
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My relationship with Jesus must be the foundation of all I do,” says new Bunbury Bishop (The Record)
