As Bishop-elect Mark Freeman prepares for his episcopal ordination and installation as Bishop of Ballarat on March 19, the desire to fully embrace this new chapter in his priestly vocation is foremost in his mind. Source: Hobart Archdiocese.
“There are millions of thoughts running around in my mind,” the parish priest of Bellerive-Lindisfarne said.
“But uppermost is a desire to be open to what God is inviting me to in this further and unexpected call on my life.”
Bishop-elect Freeman said he was looking forward to “getting to know the people of the diocese” of Ballarat, and “joining them in faith as together we come to life in coming to know the Lord”.
“It’s a huge move at this stage of my life, but I’m sure I will fall in love with the people as I have done in every parish in which I have worked throughout Tasmania.”
He first heard the news of Pope Leo XIV’s decision to appoint him Bishop of Ballarat on December 18 via a FaceTime call from Apostolic Nuncio Charles Balvo.
“The Nuncio told me that Pope Leo wanted to appoint me as Bishop of Ballarat. Would I accept? With a deep sense of peace, I simply replied, ‘Yes’.
The Vatican announced his appointment on January 7, the date of his late parents’ wedding anniversary. He had told the nuncio he would like the announcement made on the day that would have been their 70th wedding anniversary.
“Because they loved me into life and instilled a deep faith in me, it seemed there was no better day for such a significant announcement.”
In a touching gesture, Bishop-elect Freeman has requested that his parents’ wedding rings be melted down to form his bishop’s ring, which he will receive during his episcopal ordination.
“The bishop’s ring is a sign of his consecration to the People of God in his diocese in much the same way a couple are consecrated to each other in the Sacrament of Marriage,” Bishop-Elect Freeman said.
“Symbolically, my deeply loving and faith-filled parents will be with me at every step of the way as their commitment to each other inspires my commitment to the people of Ballarat Diocese.”
Bishop-elect Mark Freeman’s episcopal ordination and installation as Bishop of Ballarat will take place at 11am on March 19 at St Patrick’s Cathedral in Ballarat.
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‘A deep sense of peace’: Bishop-Elect Mark Freeman prepares for new and ‘unexpected call’ on his life (By Catherine Sheehan, Hobart Archdiocese)
