A NEW AUXILIARY BISHOP FOR MELBOURNE
A New Auxiliary Bishop for Melbourne Bishop Anthony (Tony) Ireland (1974) was born a short walk from St Patrick’s Cathedral in Melbourne. He was ordained a priest in the cathedral and on Saturday 31 July 2021, was ordained a bishop within those same walls. In his 34 years as a priest for the Catholic Archdiocese of Melbourne, Bishop Ireland has served in various academic and leadership roles, but at the heart of his ministry lies his desire to invite people to know and love the person of Jesus Christ. Bishop Ireland grew up in Caulfield, in Melbourne’s inner south, in a home that fostered Catholic life and culture. The eldest of three children, his devoted parents Bernard and Elizabeth Ireland (now both deceased), led the family in Rosary each night. The family attended Mass weekly and they were all involved in local sodalities, or Catholic groups, that fostered friendship and camaraderie within the context of prayer and service. He attended De La Salle College, in his teens and remembers the positive influence of the Brothers and the nearby Vincentians. “The Brothers always folded their arms when they prayed. And before doing the Sign of the Cross, they always began their prayer with, “Let us remember that we are in the Holy presence of God”,’ he said. “That stayed with me for a long, long time. It still does. If I’m asked to lead prayer, I occasionally use that phrase.” Only a week after graduating from De La Salle College, Bishop Ireland started work at the then National Australia Bank and later worked for the City of Hawthorn. He also studied Business part-time. In his early 20s, inspired by his Catholic
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faith and those who had helped shape him, he applied to enter the seminary at Corpus Christi College in Clayton. “At Corpus Christi College, we were blessed with staff who were good pastoral models. Monsignor Peter Jeffrey was rector at the time and he always spoke of his hometown, Bendigo, and about service of the people. He was and is a good pastoral man.” he said. Bishop Ireland doesn’t describe himself as a typical poster boy for vocations. “Initially, I didn’t consider ‘this is for me’, but considered ‘I’m going to give this a try’. He said he ‘knew’ it was going to work when, aged 29, he was ordained a Deacon in 1986. ‘When the Bishop said, “we choose this man”, that’s when I knew.’ He was ordained to the priesthood one year later and went on to serve in
the parishes of Grovedale, Torquay, Mentone, Sandringham, Langwarrin and Frankston. For the last 12 years he has been the parish priest of St Gregory the Great in Doncaster. During his priesthood, he has undertaken academic studies in Italy, receiving higher degrees in Moral and Spiritual Theology, as well as a doctorate. He has lectured in Moral Theology at Catholic Theological College in East Melbourne and was Head of the Department of Moral and Practical Theology for eight years. He has been a tutor at Corpus Christi Seminary College in Carlton, was appointed its Dean of Studies and was also Rector for several years. “I can still remember when I first started the academic work at Catholic Theological College. I wasn’t so keen on that,” he said. “But Fr Austin Cooper OMI took me aside and said, ‘Now, you
