Filipino priest ordained as Perth auxiliary bishop in Australia

A Filipino priest from Leyte has been ordained as auxiliary bishop of Perth, making him the second Filipino bishop in Australia.

Bishop Nelson Po will assist Archbishop Timothy John Costelloe alongside Auxiliary Bishop Donald George Sproxton.

Po was appointed by Pope Leo XIV in February as auxiliary bishop of Perth.

According to a CBCP report on Monday, Costelloe, as principal consecrator, led the episcopal ordination at St. Mary’s Cathedral along with Sproxton and incoming Sandhurst Bishop Rene Ramirez, also a Filipino.

About 19 other bishops from all over Australia joined the Mass, including Apostolic Nuncio Charles Balvo.

In his speech after his ordination, Po described his experience as “so humbling and at one point so humiliating.”

“I may not feel an overwhelming sense of worthiness,” he said, “but I humbly express my commitment to serve you all with compassion.” He also promised to journey with the faithful and walk humbly with God.

Po was born on June 5, 1968 in Cantuhaon in Palompon, Leyte.

He obtained an industrial engineering degree at the then Leyte Institute of Technology (now Eastern Visayas State University). He earned his master’s degree in theology, majoring in pastoral ministry, at the Maryhill School of Theology in Manila.

He moved to Perth in 2003 at the invitation of then-Archbishop Barry Hickey to continue his priestly formation at St. Charles Seminary in Guildford.

Po was ordained a priest in 2005 and served as chaplain at the Royal Perth Hospital and parish priest of Cloverdale and Applecross.

He is the second Filipino bishop in Australia after Ramirez, who was appointed as auxiliary bishop of Melbourne by Pope Francis in November 2024. — JMA, GMA News