Melbourne archdiocese ordains first Pinoy bishop in Australia

A priest who hails from Nueva Ecija has been ordained and will serve as as one of the auxiliary bishops of the Archdiocese of Melbourne in Australia.

In a CBCP report posted on Wednesday, Bishop Rene Ramirez was ordained at St. Patrick’s Cathedral in Melbourne on February 1 alongside Vietnamese-born Bishop Thinh Nguyen.

They will serve as auxiliary bishops in the Archdiocese of Melbourne alongside Archbishop Peter Comensoli, who was the principal consecrator.

Comensoli was joined by Sale Bishop Gregory Bennet and Sandhurst Bishop Shane Mackinlay as co-consecrators.

The Melbourne archdiocese said over 200 priests from Australia, Rome, Philippines, United States and Vietnam joined the celebration, while about 3,000 people filled the cathedral.

In his homily, Comensoli urged the newly ordained bishops to be “willing heralds, faithful apostles, and sound teachers,” as their role is to become “a witness to the Lord in his death and resurrection.”

“The marks of death we each carry — of sin, doubt, despondency, tiredness, fearfulness — are, in Christ, transfigured marks of life — of grace, hope, trust, faith, confidence. In Christ, in his death-defying love, servitude gives way to friendship, and burden gives way to joy,” he added.

In his speech, Ramirez said he was “fully aware of our limitations and shortcomings.”

“However, the courage to accept this calling comes from our complete reliance on God’s love and our trust in His plan, which may still be unfolding for us,” he said.

In November 2024, Pope Francis appointed Ramirez and Nguyen as auxiliary bishops of Melbourne, the largest archdiocese in Oceania.

With Ramirez and Nguyen's ordination, the Melbourne archdiocese now has four auxiliary bishops who will share leadership duties in the four regions of the ecclesiastical territories.

Ramirez was ordained priest of the Rogationists of the Heart of Jesus in 1985 and served in various roles for his congregation in the Philippines.

He then moved to Rome in 2003 to finish his licensure studies in spirituality and earn a diploma in social communications from the Pontifical Gregorian University.

In 2006, Ramirez returned to the Philippines and served as a spiritual director at Rogationist Seminary College in Parañaque City and superior of St. Hannibal Rogate Center also in Parañaque until his assignment in Australia.

Ramirez became the pastor of Holy Family Parish in 2015, where he oversaw the Catholic communities of West Footscray, Maidstone, and Braybrook within the Melbourne archdiocese.

He was designated as parish priest of St. Mel’s Parish in Shepparton South and St Malachy’s Parish in Nagambie in 2023, and in the following year, Ramirez was assigned as supervising priest in Rushworth. — Mariel Celine Serquiña/BAP, GMA Integrated News